With the August 17th Primary Election right around the corner, Washington Conservation Voters staff and volunteers are working hard to elect environmental candidates across the state. Before we get too far into election season, though, we want to pause and give you an inside look at our strategy for 2010.
As the political voice for the environment, Washington Conservation Voters works year-round to identify and endorse environmental candidates and support their campaigns. Our goal is to elect the leaders who will stand up for stronger environmental protections, from cleaning up Puget Sound to addressing climate change.
Defending Incumbent Champions
Many of our strongest environmental champions in the legislature are facing re-election challenges this fall, and WCV will be there to help them defend their seats. We’ve helped to build a pro-environmental state legislature over the past two decades, and it is critical that we return our strongest environmental leaders to Olympia this November.
Visit www.wcvoters.org to see all of our 2010 candidate endorsements.
Electing New Leaders
2010 is also the best opportunity that we’ve had in years to elect a class of new environmental champions to the State Legislature. We are working closely with environmental candidates like Andy Billig in Spokane, Jake Fey in Tacoma, Stew Henderson in Olympia, and Joe Fitzgibbon in Seattle. If elected, these candidates will prioritize the environment and help our state take critical steps forward on the environmental issues that we all care about.
Holding Elected Leaders Accountable
We are also supporting Nick Harper, an environmental leader in Snohomish County, who is challenging an incumbent State Senator. We believe that we need to hold our elected leaders accountable, and Nick’s race is a big opportunity to send a message to Olympia that you value a clean and healthy environment.
Ballot Measures & More
2010 will also be another big year for ballot measures. In November you will be voting on Referendum 52, a measure that will create thousands of green jobs to make our local schools more energy efficient. Unfortunately, Big Oil and Tim Eyman have teamed up to support an initiative, I-1053, that if passed will limit the legislature’s ability to fund environmental protections like oil spill prevention.
Washington Conservation Voters will also be active in the campaigns to elect two new State Supreme Court justices, along with candidates in county races around the state.
Join Us
The stakes are high for all of us in 2010, and we’re going to need your support to be successful. We’ll keep you informed throughout the year about ways to get involved with environmental candidates right in your backyard.
Thank you for all that you do,
WCV Political Director
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