PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 28, 2023
Public utilities are providing a public good and they should be publicly-owned. That is the only way that my future, your future – our future – will be prioritized over shareholder profits. Election results can’t change the reality. The fact remains that the investor-owned utility system, with corporate shareholders and captured regulators, was designed to enrich the few. By definition, it cannot prioritize people or our planet. Full stop. Nevertheless, the facts are also that our movement for public power has a lot of work to do. We lost. However, as someone who had more conversations with voters than most, I’m worried people have the wrong idea. ~ The real takeaway is that we were outspent by 37 to 1. ~ Lucy Hochschartner, deputy campaign manager, Pine Tree Power