Most of the candidates in this election are newbies, and I'm not sure that they appreciated when getting into the race just how much media attention and investigation could or would be heaped upon them. It really makes one think twice about choosing to serve the public by running for office.
In response to recent articles in the SF Bay Guardian, I received this yesterday from Mr. Moss, who asked me to post it here on his behalf. These are his words, not mine, but because of the importance of this issue to the election, I felt it important to allow him to express his side of the story here. Please leave comments below if you feel so inclined, and please continue to be respectful in your language used toward the candidates and one another.
Steve Moss writes:
"M.Cubed, a policy consulting firm in which I'm a partner, submitted the original $1.5 million funding proposal to the San Francisco Department of the Environment to start SF Power in 2001. SF Environment awarded the contract to M.Cubed. After this contracted ended in 2004 M.Cubed and SF Power continued to collaborate together, under the auspices of SF Power's board, as a means to address a number of organizational issues. First, M.Cubed staff -- almost entirely me -- served as development directors for SF Power on a performance basis. That is, M.Cubed wasn't paid unless it actually secured project funding, which we did, quite successfully. Many of these projects resulted from regulatory interventions at the California Public Utility Commission, a time-intensive endeavor that requires a specific skill set that I've developed over the years.
"Second, SF Power wasn't creditworthy, and, even after it started to secure contracts in its own name in its fourth year of existence, did not have adequate cash flow to support staff or purchase the energy efficient equipment it was distributing. In that respect M.Cubed served as SF Power's bank, and was repaid for the labor and equipment it supported. Third, M.Cubed provided insurance coverage, workers compensation and health care benefits to its staff, something SF Power developed over time. In that respect M.Cubed acted as an employment agent for SF Power, including for energy auditors and installers.
"This arrangement put M.Cubed at some financial risk, but the partnership was ultimately paid back for staff time and materials. I have never drawn a salary to serve as SF Power's executive director, but instead have always been paid on an hourly basis. This enabled SF Power to avoid overhead, and provided me with flexibility to pursue other work opportunities. This model, while not ubiquitous, has been employed by other nonprofit organizations, particularly in the energy policy arena. Likewise, in every case the funds invested were used to accomplish a specific outcome, with results evaluated or audited by the funder.
"Lost in all of this is that the M.Cubed/SF Power collaboration has resulted in significant benefits to the community. Although I haven't done the math, the collaboration resulted in upwards of $8 million of energy and water conservation investments in Southeast San Francisco, in the form of energy and water-saving devices and cash payments to program participants, which leveraged millions more in energy and water utility bill reductions for working families and small businesses. We've distributed or installed tens of thousands of water saving toilets and energy efficient lighting, refrigerators, thermostats, heaters, and other devices, and trained and employed dozens of community members. M.Cubed staff dedicated to this effort, including me, were paid for our time, but I don't think anyone was unduely rewarded.
"Other models could have been employed, but the collaboration was successful in what it set out to do: close power plants, employ community members, and provide significant energy and water conservation services to a hard-pressed community."
