Attorney general: Jerry Brown

As leader of the state Department of Justice, the attorney general plays an essential role in enforcing California's environmental and public-health laws. Bill Lockyer, our attorney general for the last eight years, has taken enforcement action against many private polluters, and has also sued the Bush administration on numerous occasions for its assaults on our environment.

With Lockyer termed out, Brown is the best candidate for the job of lawyer for California's environment. Having served as governor for eight years and as Oakland mayor for another eight, Brown would bring a wealth of executive experience to the job.

As governor, Jerry Brown was 30 years ahead of everyone else. He was an environmental visionary, pushing alternative energy (remember the state solar tax credits?), green building, and a "smaller is better" philosophy. He slowed freeway construction, focusing instead on mass transit. He appointed similarly thinking individuals such as Huey Johnson and Sim Van der Ryn to key cabinet posts, and he was a strong advocate for river and forest protection.

In his endorsement interview with seasoned Sierra Club activists from around the state, Brown emphasized the need to defend the state vigorously against efforts by the right-wing congressional leadership and the White House to preempt a whole host of important state environmental laws with looser (or non-existent) federal standards. He will be a strong advocate for coastal and forest protection, and will vigorously pursue pollutors in court on our behalf.