KTLA News: "Interview with Tom Bradley on oil and his first 500 days in office" (1974)

[KTLA Reporter Jan Mitagawa, partially unintelligible] early what prompts, what a study, the summaries, [Mayor Tom Bradley] I don't know the precise number, off the, ah, shores of Southern California. But the total number is important. and that's about three thousand or more. And it does tie in with what our priorities, ought to be in connection with the Outer Continental Shelf drilling. Ah, that drilling is proposed because they say we are, facing a crisis and that we need the oil in order to be independent. We, certainly ought to have these facts. And if they, in fact, have the capability right now of, ah, recovering oil from those sources, then I think that, the, ah, haste with which the Department of Interior is proposing to proceed with the leasing of these, ah, tests and the Outer Continental Shelf, would certainly be affected. [Mitagawa] Your belief that the oil companies may be, [Mitagawa] withholding the production of oil, especially in the offshore areas to maximize their profits. [Bradley] The study performed by Professor Davidson and a team from Rutgers University, has identified the, difference in the number of, oil wells that have, ah, been in operation. Ah. The number increased, from one thousand to three thousand in a period of, ah, 1971 to '73. These are what are called shut in wells. Where they are known to be producible wells. And yet they've been capped. And are not in production now. And, the question arises, has that been a deliberate effort to withhold that oil from the market. Is it connected with an effort to wait until the prices increase. Or to apply more pressure so that we can, get the Outer Continental Shelf leases approved. Ah, if that is a fact, and I think it is a matter of concern to all of us in this country. Because it ties in with what our priorities ought to be on where and when we should drill for additional oil. And, I think, that the GAO, the General Accounting Office of the federal government, is an impartial body that has the capability to conduct that kind of study and establish the facts. Ah, the truth of the matter will be good for the oil companies as it will be for the general public. And I've asked Senator Tunney to intervene on our behalf to secure, the assistance of the GAO. [Mitagawa] Now, the camping of these oil wells. [Mitagawa] Ah, have you found that they are shut off because they've reached a certain level or, [Mitagawa] is this just an indiscriminate, [Mitagawa] stoppage of the operation. [Bradley] I think this is something that the GAO's office, has to establish. The fact of the matter is they've been identified as oil wells which, will produce profitable quantities of oil. Ah, how much has not been indicated. I think that it is something that  really needs to be established. [Mitagawa] How many of these shut in oil wells are in Southern California, and, [Mitagawa] if an investigation does show that they're, [Mitagawa] quite producible. [Mitagawa] How will this affect the, [Mitagawa] federal, the administration's plan to, [Mitagawa] lease new land for off shore drilling? [Mitagawa] [?] the investigation. The request, [Mitagawa] for an investigation. Will you be taking the request to any state agency? [Bradley] No, it really ought to be done by the federal government because, ah, you know, they have the capability. I think they would have the the prestige, the stature in terms of their credibility, to do the job and to establish convincing facts, to satisfy all parties. [Mitagawa] I'm sure your office, in this investigation, in this, [Mitagawa] the energy problem that we're facing, has, [Mitagawa] come into contact with the oil companies. Their off, their offices. [Mitagawa] Have you asked them about this, [Mitagawa] problem of the shut in oil wells? [Bradley] No I have not. And I think that it would be important to understand that, ah, they're denying this, really would not satisfy the question in the minds of many people. And I think that it would be appropriate, and that kind of impartial answer  be given by the GAO. [Mitagawa] If the GAO's investigation proves, [Mitagawa] that this belief is valid that there is, [Mitagawa] a producible amount, a profitable amount of oil still left. [Mitagawa] Will you be seeking any action against the oil companies? [Mitagawa] To begin mandatory pumping of these oil wells, ah, [Bradley] I think at that point the  federal government would as a, as a normal course of events, include those factors in their federal, ah, policies with regard to energy. And I just feel confident they would do that without any pressure. If they did not then of course, ah, there'd be another question for the kind of action that we would have to take on a local basis. [Mitagawa] Looking at something else now. To this, tonight you're having your [Mitagawa] celebration on your five hundreth day. [Mitagawa] Have these last five hundred days been satisfying to you, and what do you look as, doing accomplishments in the next 500 years, days. [Bradley] Well, they've been very exciting and challenging, ah, days for me. Ah, it's certainly very satisfying. I've, enjoyed my work despite the long hours and many days that I put in. Ah, it has been very satisfactory and I look forward to the next, two and a half years of my term. [Mitagawa] Well, within that next two and a half years, what, ah, are you really looking forward to tackling. What problems, [Mitagawa] do you want to, [Mitagawa] tackle? [Bradley] Well, the problem of transportation, of a rapid transit  system for this community is, is still, ah, an urgent concern. I'm going to continue to work on that. Despite the failure of proposition A. The people in Los Angeles, voted overwhelmingly for it. Many other cities did. But, we simply did not get enough votes in some of the outlying communities. The question of crime. Juvenile violence. Another important issue that we'll be working on. The matter of housing and, and, ah, community development is another major issue, this is, that we are already beginning to tackle. The problem of, employment. How do we encourage new industry to come in. How do we encourage, ah, that which is here, to stay and provide additional jobs. [Equipment noise] [Unintelligible] [Mitagawa] lends a lot of prudence to that, [Camera noise] [Bradley] beyond reproach. [Bradley] See, I'm not [Reporters, unintelligible] [Mitagawa] announced that his, [Unintelligible] [Mitagawa] was talking about Seattle [Mitagawa] [?] building the plant.