Sacramento councilman and one of California’s leading climate regulators owns Chevron stock

Sacramento Councilman Eric Guerra is the owner of at least $10,000 in Chevron stock, public documents show. As a board member of California’s leading air quality regulator, climate advocates say the investment raises questions around conflicts of interest.

Guerra, who’s running for re-election to the council this year, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to the California Air Resources Board in January 2023. The following month, Guerra submitted a financial disclosure form to the city showing he holds Chevron stock valued between $10,000 and $100,000.

He owned the Chevron shares when he was first elected to the council in 2015 but their value was lower than the $2,000 minimum required under state disclosure laws, according to a note he wrote in a later tax filing reporting the stock. In 2017, he first reported the stock, as well as a handful of other investments in major companies such as AT&T and Apple..

As one of the world’s largest multinational fossil fuel companies, Chevron is also a top political spender in the state capital. Last year, the company headquartered in Northern California spent $11.1 million to influence state politics and policy.

As a member of the Air Board, Guerra votes on major climate policies that have a significant impact on the fossil fuel giant’s business. Some environmental advocates say that position should put the politician under greater scrutiny.

“People need to have confidence in our decision makers, especially ones that are really working on these issues,” said Mike Young, political director for California Environmental Voters. “He weighs in on a lot of these really enormous programs that are of national and international importance and it really behooves him to avoid any semblance of conflict.”

He pointed to a precedent set by Mary Nichols, former chair of the Air Board, who sold her stock in Chevron and other oil companies when she was appointed to the position in 2007 by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Guerra defended his environmental track record.

“I have been a consistent vote for the environment, social justice, and climate change throughout my time on City Council and the California Air Resources Board,” Guerra said in a statement through a campaign spokesman. “I have been a fervent advocate of CARB’s Advanced Clean Fleets and making California refineries cleaner, as well as voting against a proposed Chevron station in North Natomas in 2020 (...) which is why the Sierra Club has endorsed me in every one of my campaigns, including this year.”

Council’s rejection of the Natomas Chevron station, which was unanimous, occurred in December 2020. As part of the project, the developer also applied to build two drive-through restaurants.

No other Sacramento council member or Air Resources board member reported in their statement’s of economic interest, also known as Form 700, owning stock in fossil fuel companies.

California accuses Chevron of pollution

Nine months after Newsom appointed Guerra to the Air Board, Newsom announced a major state lawsuit against the world’s top five largest oil subsidiaries, including Chevron. The lawsuit alleges “50 years of deception, cover-up, and damage that have cost California taxpayers billions of dollars in health and environmental impacts,” a September news release stated.

“For more than 50 years, Big Oil has been lying to us – covering up the fact that they’ve long known how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet,” Newsom said in the release. “It has been decades of damage and deception. Wildfires wiping out entire communities, toxic smoke clogging our air, deadly heat waves, record-breaking droughts parching our wells. California taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill. California is taking action to hold big polluters accountable.”

The 16-member Air Board’s mission, according to its web page, is to “promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy.”

In the year since Guerra was appointed to the board, it has passed major policies including one that set strict emission standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Guerra voted in favor of the program.

The board is also expected to consider reforms this year to the state’s flagship climate program called cap-and-trade, which is meant to cut carbon emissions by allowing industry such as oil refineries to purchase and trade permits to pollute.

Guerra also has $2,000 to $10,000 of stock in chemical company DuPont, according to his December 2023 form. He also has Stock in DuPont and Dow Chemical.

In November 2022 the state of California sued DuPont and other companies alleging their products contained a group of chemicals known as PFAS for decades despite knowing they cause cancer and developmental defects.

He also has accepted donations from industries that are actively lobbying the Air Board. He received $1,500 from Visalia-based California Dairies Inc. in 2024; $500 each from from L and D Landfill Limited Partnership and Atlas Disposal Industries LLC in 2023.

In addition to the Air Board, Guerra also sits on the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District board. That entity, according to its website, is responsible for “monitoring air pollution within the Basin and for developing and administering programs to reduce air pollution levels below the health-based standards.”