Valero Energy Corp. CEO Bill Klesse once jokingly suggested oil industry executives should fight global warming by holding their breath. Now, his company has emerged as a major force behind the November ballot measure to suspend California's climate change law.
Since its start as a small Texas gasoline maker more than 30 years ago, Valero has grown into the nation's No. 1 independent oil refiner and a big player in Washington, D.C. The company also is spearheading the oil industry's campaign against the now-stalled federal cap-and-trade legislation.
Fresh from its victory in Congress, Valero, which operates refineries in Benicia and Wilmington, has spent $4 million on the campaign for Proposition 23, which would suspend California's climate change law.
Read the full story at sacbee.com.
