Election Day is finally upon us. As a longstanding San Benito County resident, landowner, and water district director, I couldn’t be happier. We get to say goodbye to the hype and hysteria that has overtaken our community over the last several months. Now is the time for reason, not emotion. That is why I urge you to vote no on Measure J.
We’ve all seen the signs, the mailers, gotten the calls, and the knocks on the door. We’ve been told that our water, our health, and our very lives are under imminent threat from “Big Oil” and its plans to bring fracking to our community. Well, it’s just not true.
I know it’s not true because my family owns land and minerals within the Vallecitos Field, where they’ve been safely drilling for oil for over 70 years. Our family’s cattle and the local residents have been peacefully coexisting with the oil operation during that entire time. The water has always been clean and healthy. It is beautiful country.
You know those oil workers that you’ve seen in the “No on J”? Many of those guys are San Benito County residents that work on our family ranch. They’re in an industry that is already highly regulated at both the federal and state levels, simply working to make a living to support their families. If Measure J passes, what will happen to them and their families?
Let me make this perfectly clear…
Measure J isn’t just about fracking. That is the scare tactic to suck you in. It clearly states in Section 2 of Measure J that it would prohibit energy companies from doing anything to enhance the flow of oil below ground or the performance of oil and gas wells. This broad prohibition would eventually end energy investment and lead to a shutdown of petroleum production in our county—costing local tax revenue, jobs, and economic activity.
On Tuesday, let reason be your guide and vote no on Measure J.
Robert Frusetta is a fourth-generation cattle rancher in the county.
