A solar bond for Los Angeles?

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Solar power has suddenly become a front-burner issue in Los Angeles, where the City Council is trying to get a union-backed measure on the ballot for the March 3 municipal election. And so far, supporters say they have the numbers to back it up on election day.

The Green Energy and Good Jobs for Los Angeles Act -- a plan for adding enough rooftop solar panels in Los Angeles to generate 400 megawatts of power by 2013 -- is sponsored by Working Californians, a labor advocacy group with strong ties to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union that represents roughly 8,000 DWP workers.

Working Californians has been talking up a voter opinion poll -- taken in June by the political research firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates –- that showed that as many as 38% of respondents would ‘definitely’ favor a solar ballot measure, which would allow the Department of Water and Power to install and own the new rooftop panels. An additional 21% would ‘probably’ support the measure, while 12% were leaning toward yes.

Poll results shown to Greenspace also indicated that 73% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans would favor the measure, as would 70% of homeowners. Furthermore, it would only need 50% to win approval, according to Council President Eric Garcetti.

But there’s a catch: pollsters did not broach the subject of the initiative’s cost, primarily because no one at City Hall is sure of the price tag. Furthermore, the poll found that support was weakest once pollsters introduced the possibility of DWP rate hikes to pay for the solar plan.

And though it might seem odd to worry about any issue beyond the Nov. 4 presidential election, the council has just three weeks to get the solar measure on the ballot. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has fast-tracked the proposal, which dovetails nicely with next year’s municipal election.

After all, Villaraigosa is running for reelection in March, as are two of the proposal’s initial supporters – Garcetti and Councilwoman Jan Perry. Expect all three to campaign for it.

-- David Zahnhiser