Pacific Gas and Electric Co., California's largest investor-owned utility, has contributed $250,000 to defeat a ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage in the state, it was announced Tuesday.
Businesses often steer clear of ballot measures that deal with social issues for fear of alienating customers.
But PG&E officials said the San Francisco-based company's effort to defeat Proposition 8 on the Nov. 4 ballot is consistent with its long-time advocacy of equality for all.
Darlene Chiu, a PG&E spokeswoman, said in the 1990s the company contributed to efforts to defeat initiatives that curtailed affirmative action and attempted to crack down on illegal immigration.
"PG&E was also the first utility in the nation that sponsored a (lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender) association in the '80s," Chiu said.
PG&E serves more than 15 million Californians in Northern and Central California.
Chiu said the money for the campaign will come not from ratepayers, but from shareholder-funded political contribution accounts.
PG&E's contribution is the largest corporate and only utility donation received by the No on 8 campaign.
Geoff Kors, a member of the No on 8 campaign committee, said the campaign is "thrilled to partner with PG&E to ensure that the laws of our state are not used to treat people unfairly."
Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman for the Yes on 8 campaign, said campaign officials were not surprised by PG&E's announcement.
"As a heavily regulated monopoly in California, PG&E can make decisions such as this without regard to their customers or fear of boycott," Kerns said.
Kerns said "this is in sharp contrast" to businesses that have "bravely" contributed to Proposition 8 "even in light of recent threats of protests and boycotts."
An anti-Proposition 8 group, called Californians Against Hate, has launched an effort to boycott businesses that contribute to passage of the measure, including Terry Caster, owner of A-1 Self Storage Company of San Diego, and Doug Manchester, owner of two San Diego hotels.
Call Aurelio Rojas, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5545.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.