I rather thought the lack of new power plants over those years was because radical left-wing environmentalists put so much pressure on the leislature and other State Agencies that none could ever get approved or built. Generally, IMNSHO, heads of State [Gov's and Prez's] have minimal affect on the "State" they are governing. They are at the mercy of the Legislatures or Congress. All the "head" can do is continue to Veto until s/he gets what they want. At some point the Veto becomes political suicide because the lawmakers are become so crafty in how the bills are written and what is in them.

I am all for deregulation as much as possible and let the free market reign, but utilities are one industry where a strong Public Utilities Commission can be quite effective if they are not subject to the whims of the current Administration. I am torn between thinking these types of positions should be appointed or elected as I have heard good arguements for both sides. If only voters were truly informed...

>One of the reasons people are fed up with Governor Davis has little to do with him or his actions.
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>There was once a Governor of California who was really big on deregulation of the power industry in California. His name was Pete Wilson. AB1890 passed in 1996 is used for reference. While governor’s Wilson and Deukmejian (Republicans) each held office for 8 years in successive terms, no electrical generation plants were built in California. The Republicans blame Davis for all the recent problems.
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>While Pete Wilson was Governor there were 26 disasters in the State of California. Three of the disasters were of natural cause and twenty-three caused by Pete Wilson, according to many Californians.
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>Pete Wilson is the Campaign Manager for Arnold.