Long lines formed outside a Goleta gas station after Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton hosted a $3-a-gallon sale to make the case that Californians could pay less for fuel.
Here's what to know
At the Storke Road station, Hilton teamed up with longtime gas station owner John Price for a promotion in which the first 150 vehicles were eligible to buy as much as 12 gallons for $3 per gallon, according to KEYT. The site had 12 pumps, drivers were assigned numbers, and the discount limited each transaction to $36.
The promotion drew enough traffic that cars filled the street. Some motorists showed up at 8:30 a.m. even though sales did not begin until 10 a.m. In contrast, a nearby Chevron sold gas for $7 a gallon, as KEYT reported.
"We are being ripped off. Californians are being ripped off by the government, and it starts with the taxes," Hilton said. He also argued, "We pay the highest taxes in the country in California, and we get the worst results."
More background
After the promotion, the cost of gas went up to $5.89 at the station.
"I used to fill this baby with 50 bucks. Now it takes me 80 bucks," Valentine Valerdi told KEYT. Charles DiMauro, a Hilton supporter, said: "We should just get rid of the taxes that we say are going to the roads and make everything cheap again or affordable. We need to survive here in California."
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For Price, the problem involves supply. "In 1975, there was 42 refineries; today there are six, and they just keep closing up," he said, adding that companies are reducing their footprint in both Northern and Southern California.
What's being done?
Though the pitch centered on lowering taxes and questioning where money tied to fuel is going, Sally Hershberger told KEYT: "I like the roads the way they are, and I think California has some of the best public transportation system there is. So, I am OK with the gas tax. That's not what has gone up; it's the gas prices. And it's because of the war."
Central Coast Republican Party Director Bobbi McGinnis said: "$3 a gallon gas. They have it in Texas, they have it in Tennessee, they have it in Idaho. My goodness, why can't we have it here?"
Where can I learn more?
These stories look at the market pressures, policy choices, and energy shifts affecting what drivers pay at the pump.
• In California, gasoline passed $6 a gallon as India's cooking gas scramble tightened supply.
• Across the country, painful realities of gas prices left drivers searching for cheaper options.
• In Washington, refiners pushed Congress to adopt a nationwide gasoline sales policy for E15.
• Federal regulators eliminated a massive credit for start-stop systems, a change tied to fuel costs.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom gave local governments more authority over oil and gas operations.
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