Arizona Threatens to Cut LA's Power over Boycott
Turnabout is fair play.
Arizona is threatening to cut off its supply of electricity to Los Angeles if the city goes through with the proposed boycott of Arizona. Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce stated yesterday that the state may terminate all power supply contracts with Los Angeles if the immigration boycott stands. Pierce sent a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa suggesting that he "reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona's economy."
Los Angeles was one of a number of cities including Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, Boston, Austin and Seattle, to pass some form of Arizona immigration boycott against after the state passed its controversial immigration law, SB 1070.
The law gave police officers the power to stop and question people about their immigration status. Arizona has been heavily criticized and groups have organized against the state from several directions. However, the state has recently made moves to be proactive about its position. Gov. Jan Brewer recently outlined the rationale of SB 1070 in an op-ed piece. Counter-boycott groups have formed on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.
However, City Councilman Tom LaBonge appeared on ABC news and attempted to even the playing field with Arizona. He gave a brief presentation, and stated that Los Angeles owns the power plants that are providing the city's power and therefore the city has nothing to worry about. LaBonge mapped out the power plant locations and argued that Arizona is unable to simply cut power from Los Angeles.
We'll keep you posted on this as the controversy shows no signs of slowing down.
Related Resources:
- Arizona Fights Back Against Boycott Threats Due to Immigration Law (ABC)
- Arizona threatens to cut power to Los Angeles over immigration row (The Guardian)
- Los Angeles Passes Arizona Boycott (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- SB 1070 (PDF)