Dutra Asphalt Plant Surfaces as an Issue in Congressional Campaign

With still 15 months to go before the November 2012 election, candidate rhetoric is heating up on the North Bay campaign trail.

On Tuesday, Norman Solomon, one of five candidates in the Congressional District race stood before a crowd of supporters at the and told them that one of the things that separated him from Assemblymember Jared Huffman, another candidate in the race, was his opposition to the Dutra asphalt plant across from Shollenberger Park.

The project was approved last December by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and has been widely criticized as being unsuitable for the location.

Solomon told the crowd that Huffman, who has represented Marin County and Southern Sonoma counties in Sacramento since 2006, has not taken a public position on the project, “despite calling himself an environmentalist.”

Reached for a comment this week, Huffman expressed disappointment with Solomon’s comments, but would not say whether he was for or against the project.

“It’s unfortunate that nine months before the (primary) election, a candidate is already engaging in this kind of personal attacks,” Huffman said. “This is why people are so disgusted with politics and Congress in particular, and it’s not the kind of campaign I’m going to run. I’ll be focusing on the issues and my record of getting things done for the North Bay, and not attacking other candidates.”

Solomon, a media critic, author and anti-war activist who has never held public office may have been trying to win points by mentioning a hot-button local topic, but some opponents of the Dutra project say it was a misstep to question Huffman's record on the issue.

“Mr. Huffman has been a consistent, intelligent and fair voice for the community's interests, for the public trust, for environmental values and community health, and for effectively engaging the state and federal regulatory agencies,” said David Keller, a Petaluma environmental activist and one of the plaintiffs in the ongoing suit against Sonoma County for approving the Dutra plant.  

In May 2009, Huffman and his staff organized a community forum in Petaluma to discuss the then-proposed plant, bringing state legislators, environmental experts along with Dutra Materials to discuss the project.

According to Keller, Huffman also placed a call to the U.S. Coast Guard after it was revealed that the agency was planning on writing a letter of support for the project, asking the agency to consider impacts of the project on recreational boaters.

“He and his staff have been of great assistance to us in a very professional, even-handed and non-political way,” Keller said.

Friends of Shollenberger Park and Moms for Clean Air, two local groups fighting the plant, did not want to publicly comment on the issue so as not to be viewed as endorsing any candidate. But a source close to the issue who did not want to be identified said the group has appreciated Huffman's behind the scenes work on the issue.

"Actions speak louder than words," said the source. "What has Norman Solomon done for the project besides criticize it?"

But Solomon said it was only fair to know where Huffman stood on the issue.

“I see it as a moral issue,” he said. “Any environmentalist should oppose this project and not doing so is a conscious choice. The general concept of supporting the environment is good but when the rubber meets the road, there are often important interests that are being protected. And the silence can be deafening.”

Candidates in the race for the newly expanded district—which will stretch from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border— are still collecting endorsements. One coveted one is from Operating Engineers Union Local 3, which represents some 40,000 local heavy equipment operators and construction workers throughout Northern California and which is in favor of the Dutra plant.

Chris Snyder, a local representative for the union, said the group was still considering which candidate to endorse, but according to sources, is strongly leaning toward Huffman. 

According to Maplight.org, a website on campaign finance, the group donated $6,000 to Huffman in 2010. Additionally, the Building and Construction Trades Council, which advocates for construction projects around California, is the biggest single donor to Huffman's office, donating $10,900 in 2009 and 2010, according to the site.

What do you think? Should a state assemblyman take a position on the Dutra plant near Shollenberger Park?