Gov. Gavin Newsom has built a troubling track record when it comes to how California handles land and water decisions — one marked by closed-door negotiations, backroom dealmaking and a consistent failure to genuinely involve the communities most affected by these choices.
This pattern has played out repeatedly with the Delta Conveyance Project and the so-called voluntary water agreements, even as the Newsom administration has simultaneously pushed to speed approval of California Forever, a sprawling development proposal that carries its own set of red flags.
Increasingly, it feels as though billionaires, lobbyists and insiders within state government are the ones steering California’s future — not the residents who actually live with the consequences. This kind of governance denies Californians the transparency, due process and public input they are owed on decisions that reshape their communities.
So who ends up paying the price? Ordinary residents.
Take California Forever, which envisions bringing as many as 400,000 new residents to Solano County. The project would place enormous new demands on a water system that is already stretched thin, all without clearly established water rights in place. This is unfolding even as tribal nations continue fighting for water rights they’ve been denied for generations, while accusing state regulators of discriminatory practices.
Then there are the fisheries. Commercial salmon fishing was shut down for three straight years because of excessive water diversions that raised river temperatures and destroyed salmon eggs — a crisis that cost the fishing industry an estimated $45 million in 2023 alone. Salmon season finally reopened this year, but the underlying policies that caused the collapse remain untouched, and the voluntary agreements now being pushed threaten to make matters worse, not better.
Add the Delta tunnel project and the voluntary agreements to the mix, and the strain on California’s water system only intensifies. Now California Forever threatens to pile on even more pressure, as tech-industry billionaires seek water rights within a system that’s already failing to meet its existing obligations.
These same water-management decisions directly affect how much water remains for farmers in and around the Delta, many of whom are already watching their land and water supplies shrink. And through it all, Californians have largely been left out of the conversation. Communities deserve the right to shape their own economic futures — not have those futures dictated by wealthy outside interests.
Tribal nations and the communities bearing the brunt of these decisions deserve a genuine seat at the table when their way of life hangs in the balance.
Having watched water and land negotiations unfold in Sacramento over the past seven years, we can’t say we’re shocked by the secrecy that continues to define the Newsom administration’s approach. But that doesn’t make it any less disappointing — especially for the tribes and environmental advocates who have repeatedly pushed for transparency and meaningful public review, only to be shut out time and again.
Allowing a handful of powerful voices to dictate land and water policy while sidelining the broader public is not the record one would expect from someone eyeing a run for president.
Billionaires, lobbyists and political insiders shouldn’t be the only ones with influence over California’s future. Whether it’s the Delta tunnel, the voluntary water agreements, or the rollout of California Forever, the public deserves a real voice in how the state’s land and water resources are managed.
Having a say in our own future isn’t a favor — it’s a right.
Original source: CalMatters
