Fracking exposes rift between Jerry Brown, Democrats

Gov. Jerry Brown speaks at the California Democratic Party convention in L.A., where fracking opponents heckled him. Gov. Jerry Brown speaks at the California Democratic Party convention in L.A., where fracking opponents heckled him. Photo: Jonathan Alcorn, For The Chronicle Photo: Jonathan Alcorn, For The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Fracking exposes rift between Jerry Brown, Democrats 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Fracking has opened vast oil and natural gas deposits across the country, creating legions of fans and foes alike. Now the technology has exposed a rift between Gov. Jerry Brown and a very vocal part of his Democratic base.

Brown has come under increasing fire from the state's powerful environmental lobby for his support of hydraulic fracturing, the drilling technique that has revolutionized America's oil and gas industry.

The split erupted into public view when fracking opponents heckled Brown throughout his speech at the recent California Democratic Party convention. While some delegates shouted "Ban fracking!" others held aloft signs proclaiming "Another Democrat Against Fracking." The state party's platform now calls for a fracking moratorium - an idea Brown rejects.

Fracking foes also debuted a fake online commercial for "Frack Water, a fragrance by Jerry Brown." Modeled after a 2004 Stetson cologne ad, it shows a Brown stand-in relaxing in the arms of a woman wearing an oil company's hard hat.

For months, opponents have hounded Brown at public appearances across the state, with some nicknaming the governor Big Oil Brown.

'It's rattling him'

"We know it's rattling him," said David Turnbull, campaigns director for Oil Change International, the environmental group behind the fragrance spoof. "We know he's paying attention and he's hearing it. And we're hopeful that he's going to change. He does care about his legacy - that's pretty clear."

Turnbull's group has also made a point of publicizing the oil industry's financial contributions to Brown's past campaigns. According to Oil Change, fossil fuel companies have given more than $2 million since 2006 to Brown and his pet causes. Those causes include two charter schools he helped create in Oakland, as well as his 2012 statewide ballot initiative to raise funding for education.

A 4th term

The fracking issue threatens to split Democrats just as Brown, who's seeking a fourth term in office, wants to craft a legacy that balances environmental protection with economic growth. Brown has long counted environmentalists as his strongest supporters, and he has made global warming a key priority of his administration.

The governor, however, also sees fracking as a potential source of money and jobs in a state whose economy is still recovering. Fracking, oil companies say, could help unlock the estimated 15.4 billion barrels of petroleum trapped in an immense shale formation under the Central Valley.

Green-minded Democrats, however, view the technique - which uses a high-pressure blend of water, sand and chemicals to crack underground rocks - as an environmental catastrophe in the making.

They argue that fracking chemicals could taint groundwater supplies, although California oil regulators say there's no evidence that has ever happened in the state. In addition, many environmentalists don't want California's massive shale formation, the Monterey Shale, developed at all. Opponents also say that producing more oil will only make climate change worse, the same argument they make against the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Whether opponents can sway Brown is an open question.

Brown has not hesitated to engage fracking protesters in public. Because most of them aren't likely to vote Republican, the governor may decide he can safely ignore their demands, said Thad Kousser, a political-science professor at UC San Diego.

"They need to have somewhere to run, if they want to run away from Jerry Brown," Kousser said. "So Jerry Brown's free to fend off these attacks on the left. And in fact, the more he fends off attacks from the left, the more he looks like a centrist."

The divide

The rift emerged last year when Brown supported a bill from Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills (Los Angeles County), that allowed fracking to continue while the state launched a study of its environmental risks. Pavley authored California's landmark 2006 climate change law, AB32, and many environmentalists consider her a legislative hero. But her fracking bill, SB4, provoked a fierce backlash that quickly focused on Brown.

Fracking opponents want a statewide ban on the practice - or at least a moratorium. (Pavley's bill initially included a moratorium, but she removed it after concluding the bill couldn't pass otherwise.) Until last fall, many hoped Brown would side with them.

Some still think he can be persuaded.

"Gov. Brown is one of the smartest politicians there is," said Kassie Siegel, senior counsel with the Center for Biological Diversity. "Ending fracking is the right thing to do. I think we're at a pivotal moment, and I think he just needs a little more time to get beyond the smoke-and-mirror arguments from the oil industry."

Study time

Brown, however, insists critics should give the state time to study whether fracking poses a threat to water supplies. And although the state is moving to reduce its dependence on oil, Brown says dropping fossil fuels entirely can't happen overnight.

"You can be sure, everything that needs to be done to fight climate change that we can accomplish, we'll do it," Brown told the protesters Saturday.