Celebrating too soon

Guess those supporters of Measure B, the solar panel initiative, thought their side was going to win late last night. DWP head David Nahai sent an e-mail to reporters hailing Measure B's passage and congratulating voters for making "a bold choice for the environment." Just one problem: Measure B is losing. Absentee and provisional ballots still have to be counted, but Nahai's premature victory statement marks another false note for the DWP head (what is it with these people?). From the LAT's David Zahniser:

The results are a turnaround from a few days ago, when the Measure B campaign boasted that its ballot measure was polling in the high 60s. Because the measure only needed a simple majority, passage seemed inevitable. Yet the solar plan also faced a buzz-saw of criticism from the dozens of neighborhood councils that had taken a position against it. Opponents warned that the plan would dramatically increase electrical rates and prevent construction-trade workers from getting work installing the panels.

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Even if Measure B goes down to defeat, nothing would prevent the city's political leaders from dusting themselves off, reexamining the solar plan and sending it to the commission that oversees the DWP for a vote. Backers of Measure B bypassed that panel the first time around, opting to send it to the ballot instead. The commission's members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who appeared in TV commercials for Measure B. If they act, they could easily breathe new life into the flagging solar plan.