⚡ Lower Electricity Rates

Working families are paying for decades of institutional failure. It's time to explore every path to rate relief.

What Happened

In early 2025, the IID Board implemented what residents widely perceive as the largest electricity rate increase in the district's 100-year history. The residential base rate jumped from 11.69 cents to 19.76 cents per kWh — an apparent 69% increase that shocked families across the valley.

While IID officials argue the actual systemic increase is 8.5% (after folding in the eliminated Energy Cost Adjustment surcharge), the reality on the ground is stark: families in a county with 18.4% unemployment and a median household income of $56,393 — barely half the California average — are struggling to pay their bills. And further increases are planned through 2028, totaling a projected 23.8% real increase for residential customers.

Why It Happened

The IID hadn't meaningfully adjusted base rates in 30 years. Cumulative inflation reached 117% while rates rose only 8.15%. The result: a $100 million per year structural deficit and a $1.3 billion backlog of deferred grid maintenance, with transformers dating to the 1930s through 1960s.

This crisis didn't appear overnight. It was the direct consequence of decades of prioritizing developer interconnections without enforcing strict cost-recovery — exemplified by the Z-Global controversies — while neglecting the core distribution infrastructure that serves residential customers.

What Carlos Will Fight For

• Revenue before rate hikes: Exhaust every revenue-generating opportunity — including responsible large-customer agreements — before asking families to pay more
• Transparent rate-setting: No more rushed processes with less than 60 days notice. Genuine community engagement BEFORE decisions are made
• Targeted relief: Expand and protect assistance programs (READY, CARE, SHIELD) for the most vulnerable residents
• Independent auditing: Regular third-party reviews of IID's financial management to rebuild public trust

💼 Jobs & Economic Growth

Imperial County has among the highest unemployment in America. We need to open doors, not slam them shut.

The Reality

Imperial County's economic numbers tell a painful story:

Metric	Imperial County	California
Unemployment Rate	18.4%	~5%
Poverty Rate	19.6%	11.8%
Median Household Income	$56,393	$100,149
Per Capita Income	$24,065	~$46,000

Our economy relies heavily on agriculture — a $2.6 billion industry that provides over 20,000 jobs but is vulnerable to climate fluctuations, water rationing, and global commodity prices. Educated young people leave because they don't see a future here. That has to change.

The Opportunities We're Missing

The $10 billion AI data center project would be the single largest private investment in Imperial County history. Its economic impact:

• 1,688 union construction jobs during the two-year build phase
• 100+ permanent high-skill tech positions in network engineering, systems administration, and facility management
• $72.5 million in one-time sales tax during construction
• $28.75 million per year in recurring property taxes for schools, fire, police, and public services
• $22-30 million per year in net revenue for IID that could directly benefit ratepayers

Meanwhile, Lithium Valley development around the Salton Sea promises ~700 permanent operations jobs and 1,000+ construction jobs, with a full battery value chain that could unlock billions in long-term investment.

These aren't pipe dreams. They're real projects, with real money, that our current leadership is either blocking or failing to champion.

What Carlos Will Fight For

• Welcome responsible investment: Embrace projects that self-fund their infrastructure, create union jobs, and generate tax revenue
• Local hiring first: Ensure development agreements include local hiring requirements and apprenticeship programs
• Workforce development: Partner with Imperial Valley College and SDSU to build career pathways in energy, tech, and advanced manufacturing
• Retain our youth: Create the economic conditions that give young Imperial Valley residents a reason to stay

🍃 Salton Sea & Clean Air

Our children are breathing toxic dust. This is the public health emergency of our generation.

The Crisis

The Salton Sea — once California's largest lake — is shrinking, exposing thousands of acres of toxic lakebed. When the desert winds blow, that dust carries pesticides, heavy metals, and other contaminants directly into the lungs of our children and families.

Division 1 includes the southwestern edge of the Salton Sea, putting our communities on the front lines of this disaster:

• Childhood asthma rates near the Salton Sea reach 20-24% — nearly three times the national average of ~8%
• Asthma-related pediatric ER visits in Imperial County are double the California state average
• A 2025 UC Irvine study directly linked wind-blown Salton Sea dust to reduced lung function in area children
• Over 16,000 acres of toxic playa are now exposed, and growing

Carlos's Record

Carlos hasn't just read about the Salton Sea — he has reported from its shores. He covered the Bombay Beach Eco Event where environmentalists gathered to demand action. He followed activist William "Irondad" Sinclair on his 95-mile ultramarathon around the receding shoreline, documenting the severe airborne hazards caused by decades of agricultural runoff. His journalism has given voice to the families living in this crisis every single day.

What Carlos Will Fight For

• Accelerate restoration: Push for faster implementation of the Salton Sea Management Program's 29,800-acre habitat and dust suppression plan
• Support innovative solutions: The data center's "purple pipe" system would treat municipal wastewater and return surplus clean water to the Salton Sea watershed — a privately funded environmental benefit
• Health infrastructure: Advocate for expanded respiratory health services and monitoring in Division 1 communities
• Federal funding: Continue pursuing federal dollars for restoration, building on the $250 million already secured

💧 Water Security

Protecting our water rights while supporting smart innovation that doesn't touch a drop of drinking water.

Our Most Precious Resource

IID holds the single largest entitlement on the Colorado River: 2.6 million acre-feet of senior present perfected water rights, with an 1901 priority date among the most senior on the entire river. This water is the lifeblood of our $2.6 billion agricultural economy, sustaining 500,000 farmable acres and over 20,000 jobs.

With post-2026 Colorado River operating guidelines currently being negotiated, protecting these rights is more critical than ever.

Smart Water Innovation

Protecting water doesn't mean blocking every new project. The proposed data center, for example, would use 100% recycled wastewater through a closed-loop "purple pipe" system — zero impact on drinking water or agricultural canals. The developer has committed to $10 million in municipal water plant upgrades and $3 million per year in reclaimed water purchases. Surplus treated water would flow to the Salton Sea watershed, actually helping restoration efforts.

What Carlos Will Fight For

• Protect senior water rights: Ensure post-2026 Colorado River operations comply with the Law of the River and protect IID's 1901 priority rights
• Support agriculture: Water policy must protect the valley's agricultural heritage and food security
• Embrace recycled water: Support projects that use reclaimed/recycled water rather than potable supplies
• Transparent water governance: Ensure water transfer and conservation decisions are made openly with full community input

🔍 Transparency & Accountability

The IID Board has operated behind closed doors for too long. Trust must be earned, not assumed.

A Pattern of Closed-Door Governance

The IID's recent history is marked by a troubling pattern of decisions made without adequate public engagement:

• The Z-Global Scandal (2017): Independent investigations revealed alleged conflicts of interest where consultants operated on both sides of the negotiating table, with infrastructure costs socialized onto ratepayers while favored developers profited
• The Rate Hike (2024-2025): Less than 60 days between the cost-of-service study and board approval. Municipal leaders across the valley — Calexico, Calipatria, Brawley — said they were "blindsided"
• Data Center Obstruction: The board imposed a "gag order" restricting developer access to IID technical staff, forcing all communication through outside legal counsel billing $1,000/hour to ratepayers
• The $4 Billion Demand: IID demanded a 15-year upfront prepayment of all electric fees from the data center developer — over $4 billion in cash — widely characterized as an extortionate poison pill designed to kill the project

What Carlos Will Fight For

• Open meetings: Ensure board deliberations on rate changes and major projects include genuine public participation — not rubber-stamp sessions
• Community engagement first: Major decisions should be preceded by town halls and community input sessions, not followed by damage-control campaigns
• Financial transparency: Regular public reporting on IID's financial health, infrastructure spending, and developer agreements
• End the revolving door: Strict conflict-of-interest policies to prevent a repeat of the Z-Global era

🏭 Responsible Development

A $10 billion opportunity to transform Imperial County — if our leaders will let it happen.

The Data Center Opportunity

The proposed Imperial Valley Data Center is a $10 billion, 950,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing and computing campus that would fundamentally reshape our regional economy. The developer has explicitly offered to:

• Self-fund all infrastructure costs — no socialized costs onto ratepayers (unlike the Z-Global era)
• Operate under interruptible service — IID can cut power to the data center during grid emergencies, prioritizing residential customers
• Deploy an 862 MWh battery storage system (220 Tesla Megapacks) that acts as a grid shock absorber
• Use 100% recycled wastewater — zero impact on drinking water
• Invest $10 million in municipal water plant upgrades
• Generate an estimated $22-30 million per year in net revenue for IID

Community Benefits

Benefit	Impact
Union Construction Jobs	1,688 jobs during 2-year build
Permanent Tech Jobs	100+ high-skill positions
One-Time Sales Tax	$72.5 million
Annual Property Tax	$28.75 million/year for schools, fire, police
Annual IID Net Revenue	$22-30 million/year
County Assessed Value	+$9 billion (~50% increase)

What Carlos Will Fight For

• Welcome responsible development: Evaluate projects on their merits — not through the lens of institutional protectionism
• Protect ratepayers through structure: Support cost-plus wholesale arrangements and interruptible service agreements that ensure developers pay their own way
• Community benefit agreements: Ensure large projects include local hiring, apprenticeship programs, and community investment
• Environmental standards: Support projects that use recycled water, self-funded infrastructure, and contribute to regional environmental goals