Huntington Beach Wins Ballot-Phrase Dispute

An appeals court has sided with Huntington Beach in its battle with an energy company over the language used to describe the AES power plant in a March ballot measure.

The measure, if approved, would impose a 5% utility tax on the AES plant. The ballot measure included the lines “The AES plant is ugly, pollutes our air, and our ocean” and “The AES plant has been a blight on Huntington Beach for over 40 years.”

AES officials went to court to strike the language, and an Orange County Superior Court judge in December sided with the company.

AES President Ed Blackford argued that the ballot measure “contains pejorative and libelous attacks on AES and its power plant that undermine the integrity of the electoral process.”

The city went before an appellate court, which on Tuesday sided with the city and allowed the language to stay.

The 4th District Court of Appeal however, did agree that other wording in the ballot measure should be rewritten or removed.

The city’s ballot language stated that the measure would require AES to pay “the same utility tax paid by all residents and businesses in Huntington Beach.”

The phrase is misleading, the higher court said, “because the plant is already paying the ‘same’ tax as everyone else.”

Overall, however, Mayor Debbie Cook said “it’s a big victory for the electoral process, for the little guy.”