Phil Angelides for Governor

WHY SIERRA CLUB SUPPORTS PHIL ANGELIDES FOR GOVERNOR

By Bill Magavern, Senior Representative, Sierra Club California

We can do better. We can have a governor who moves consistently toward a more sustainable future instead of an executive who tries to please his big-business supporters with one hand while making environmental promises with the other.

That is why Sierra Club has endorsed Phil Angelides for governor. The decision was reached after Angelides filled out a long questionnaire and met with us for a lengthy interview, and after 4 different committees of Sierra Club volunteers deliberated on the decision. (Governor Schwarzenegger declined repeated requests to return our questionnaire and meet with us.) Angelides impressed the interview committee with his thorough knowledge of policy issues and his ability to articulate his positions.

While Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for programs to fund solar energy and reduce diesel emissions, among other advances, his pro-environment promises have too often been undermined by his strong ties to the corporate lobbies that oppose virtually every major proposal to safeguard our air, water and wild places.

Angelides has put smart-growth principles into practice, while Schwarzenegger has supported freeway expansion and the rollback of the landmark California Environmental Quality Act. Angelides supports the Clean Alternative Energy Initiative on the November ballot; Schwarzenegger opposes it. Angelides supports giving communities the ability to enforce California’s public health and environmental laws, while Schwarzenegger backed the business-sponsored initiative that took away that right. Angelides called a halt to the handouts to industrial dairies in the Central Valley, while Schwarzenegger tried to keep giving away pollution-control money to polluters.

Schwarzenegger has named one committed preservationist to the Coastal Commission; Angelides promises to name four. Schwarzenegger went to Ohio in 2004 to campaign for George W. Bush, the most anti-environment president in our history, while Angelides has opposed Bush and is endorsed by environmental champions like Senator Barbara Boxer. Schwarzenegger is proud of his role in creating the gas-guzzling Hummer; Angelides is proud that his family owns 3 hybrid vehicles. Angelides says he would sign AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, in its current form, while Schwarzenegger has asked for several weakening amendments.

While Schwarzenegger raises fears that businesses will flee the state if subjected to

stringent environmental safeguards – a claim not supported by evidence – Angelides has based his campaign on the conviction that California can compete with anyone by taking the high road -- offering its people the best educational opportunities and the cleanest environment.

Sierra Club California’s interview committee was well aware of Angelides’ record as a developer in the Sacramento area in the past, and we discussed it with him. We gave much more weight, though, to his record as our elected Treasurer over the last 8 years. He has put the weight of his office behind real investments in clean energy and smart growth, and has prodded corporations to clean up their environmental practices.

To help elect Phil Angelides, go to http://angelides.vivademocracy.com/

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