State Ad Campaign: Small Businesses Are Calling on Gov. Newsom to Drill More in CA

Washington, D.C. (May, 4 2022)—Today, the Job Creators Network (JCN)—a national small business advocacy organization—launched an ad campaign in California to call attention to the state’s reliance on foreign oil. According to a letter previously sent by a bipartisan group of state lawmakers to Gov. Gavin Newsom, California imports 75 percent of its oil from abroad. Prior to the federal ban on imports, 6 percent of the state’s supply came from Russia.

The ad campaign, which will last at least a month, consists of four traditional billboards in Bakersfield and another in Sacramento calling on the governor to drill more in California. Additionally, a mobile billboard will be circling the California statehouse. According to the latest JCN Foundation Small Business IQ Monthly Poll, 80 percent of small businesses nationwide support increasing domestic energy production.

To poke fun at the leader’s pandemic-era dining scandal at The French Laundry restaurant, one ad reads, “HEY GAVIN, Wish you loved American oil as much as you love your truffle oil.” Another questions, “Why do you prefer getting oil from Putin rather than California?” All the ads end with, “Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less. What are you waiting for?”

Alfredo Ortiz, JCN President and CEO, released the following statement:

“All Americans are feeling the financial squeeze of high gas prices. But when the anti-drilling policies of the Golden State are coupled with those of the Biden administration, the more than four million small businesses in California are experiencing an outsized negative impact. Ballooning costs at the pump are pushing transport costs through the roof, which is only adding to the financial pressure caused by broader inflation. The California small business community is calling on Gov. Newsom to DRILL HERE and DRILL NOW so state residents and Main Street alike PAY LESS. Elon Musk’s Tesla is an impressive feat of innovation and entrepreneurship, but electric cars are not towing grocery store shipments or raw materials across the state just yet.”