Press Release
April 30, 2009
League of Conservation Voters Urges
San Diego City Council to appoint Environmental Activist Diane Takvorian to the San Diego Port Commission
SAN DIEGO – League of Conservation Voters San Diego announced today that its board has voted to endorse the nomination of Diane Takvorian to be appointed to the Port of San Diego Board of Commissioners. Her name has been placed in nomination by Councilwoman Donna Frye and Councilman Todd Gloria.
Diane Takvorian is the founder and the executive director for the Environmental Health Coalition (EHC), a non-profit, environmental organization dedicated to achieving environmental and social justice. EHC has led the environmental movement in developing projects which address air toxic pollution, lead poisoning prevention, sustainable community development, San Diego Bay Pollution, and cross-border pollution.
“This is an exciting opportunity for those of us who care deeply about the environmental health of the San Diego Bay,” noted LCVSD President Jamie Gonzalez, “Diane has dedicated her life to helping protect the Bay and its surrounding communities, she has the experience, knowledge and passion to be one of San Diego’s best Port Commissioner.”
LCVSD is a chapter of the California League of Conservation Voters, which seeks to protect the environmental quality of the state by working to elect environmentally responsible candidates and hold them accountable to the conservation agenda. By being an "on the ground" voice in the San Diego community, LCVSD provides an opportunity for environmental activists to directly impact the local electoral process while promoting environmental candidates.
February 26, 2009
Press Release
Environmental Groups Release Report Card Ranking City and County Performance
Click here for a detailed copy of the 2008 San Diego Water Quality Report Card
Click here for a detailed copy of the 2008 San Diego County Environmental Report Card
City of San Diego Scores a ‘B+’ on 7th Annual Water Quality Report;
San Diego County Receives ‘C’ on its First-ever Environmental Assessment
FEB. 26, 2009, SAN DIEGO -- The
League of Conservation Voters San Diego (LCVSD), in conjunction with Surfrider
Foundation, San Diego Chapter, San Diego Coastkeeper and Sierra Club, San Diego
Chapter released a pair of environmental report cards today, one addressing the
voting records and actions of the San Diego City Council and Mayor and one on
the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. This marks the first time the four
leading environmental groups have come together to jointly release assessments
of the City and County.
“It is important to educate
the public about the record of our elected officials on environmental
protection, and to hold those officials accountable to a conservation agenda,”
noted LCVSD’s President Jamie Gonzalez. “We were pleased to join with some of
the region’s leading environmental groups to expand the reach of these
assessments.”
The 2008 San Diego Water Quality Report
Card examines the voting record of each San Diego City Council
member and assesses the Mayor’s performance on issues impacting the health of
local waters and coastal habitat over the past year. The City Council and Mayor
Jerry Sanders received an overall grade of B+ on the 7th Annual
Report Card, with five current and past Council members – Toni Atkins, Donna
Frye, Ben Hueso, Jim Madaffer and Scott Peters – scoring in the ‘A’ range. Frye
is the only Council member who has received either an ‘A’ or ‘A-’ in all seven City
report cards.
“We are excited not only to
see those Council members who continue to excel in their commitment to the
environment like Donna Frye and Scott Peters,” noted Coastkeeper’s Executive
Director Bruce Reznik, “but also those Council members who have seen their
performance improve over the years, such as Council members Hueso, Madaffer and
Atkins.”
The 2008 San Diego County Environmental Report Card examines the voting
record of each County Supervisor, and is the first such report card issued on
the county’s governmental agency. The report assesses Supervisors on their
actions related to issues impacting water quality, land use, air quality and
renewable energy. The County
Supervisors’ average grade was a C, with Supervisors Pam Slater-Price and Greg
Cox receiving he highest scores at ‘B-’.
According to Scott Harrison,
Chairman of the San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, “It is clear the
County has a ways to go to be good stewards of our environment, though we want
to recognize Supervisors Slater-Price and Cox in particular for their efforts
to safeguard our natural resources. By assessing the County’s performance for
the first time, we hope to see a marked improvement in coming years.”
The goal of both reports is
to educate San Diegans about the actions taken by City Council members, the
Mayor and County Supervisors, and increase accountability of local elected
officials. Both Report Cards
were prepared by Strategic Community Consulting, a student-managed consulting
firm housed in the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific
Studies at the University of California, San Diego. The reports were commissioned and funded by League of
Conservation Voters San Diego, San Diego Coastkeeper, Surfrider Foundation, San
Diego Chapter, and Sierra Club, San Diego Chapter. While these environmental
groups commissioned the report, SCC consulted with various organizations and
independently assessed the issues and developed this report card.
The City report card, which
was initiated in 2002 by San Diego Coastkeeper, reviewed votes taken by the San
Diego City Council from October 2007 through December 2008, weighting those
votes which had the greatest impact on the health of local waters. The votes considered included water and
wastewater rate increases, land-use decisions that impact urban runoff
pollution and coastal access, enhancement projects (e.g. stream restoration),
the alcohol ban on area beaches, and funding allocation for coastal protection.
Mayor Sanders was evaluated on compliance with Federal, State and County regulations
and Endorsement of water project proposals. Areas examined included water conservation and recycling
efforts, and sewage treatment.
The
San Diego County Environmental Report Card reviewed votes taken by the
Board of Supervisors from January 2008 through December 2008, assessing the
Supervisors on their actions related to four main environmental issues: water
quality, land use, air quality and renewable energy. In addition to voting
records, the report also measures the allocation of community enhancement funds
toward environmental projects, and performance in important on-going San Diego
County environmental issues.
Both assessments outlined
critical issues for 2009. Border sewage, water conservation and polluted
stormwater were identified for the County, while the City faces issues of water supply, land
development and watershed impacts, budget concerns, a proposed plastic bag
ordinance, and border sewage.
“It
is important that these assessment are not only a look backwards,” concluded
Richard Miller of the Sierra Club, San Diego Chapter, “but also that they
highlight those opportunities for our elected officials to be better stewards
of our environment in the future.”
Copies
of the 2008 San
Diego Water Quality Report Card and 2008 San Diego County
Environmental Report Card can be downloaded at www.lcvsd.org.
***************
The League of Conservation Voters San Diego
is a chapter of the California League of Conservation Voters, which seeks to
protect the environmental quality of the state by working to elect
environmentally responsible candidates and hold them accountable to the
conservation agenda.
San Diego Coastkeeper protects the
region’s bays, beaches, watersheds and ocean for the people and wildlife that
depend on them. We balance community outreach, education, and advocacy to
promote stewardship of clean water and a healthy coastal ecosystem.
The Surfrider Foundation, San Diego Chapter
is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and
enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people through
conservation, activism, research and education. San Diego chapter
membership totals 5,000 people throughout the county. Nationally,
Surfrider Foundation membership includes more than 50,000 concerned lovers of
the ocean and beaches.
The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest
and largest grassroots environmental organization founded by John Muir and
others in 1892. The Sierra Club has over 700,000 members in 65 chapters
in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the provinces of Canada. The San Diego
Chapter of the Sierra Club was founded in 1948, covering San Diego and Imperial
Counties, and strives to preserve the special nature of San Diego through
education, activism and advocacy. The chapter has approximately
15,000 members.
Strategic Community Consulting (SCC) provides consulting
services from the University of California's Graduate School of International
Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) to nonprofit clients in the San Diego
area. Additionally, SCC has sought to develop knowledge sharing and community
partnerships between area nonprofits, IR/PS staff, faculty, and students, and individuals interested in
promoting the capacity of civil society in San Diego.
# # #
San Diegans Go Green in 2008 Election
22 of 28 LCVSD Endorsed Candidates Prevail on Nov 4th
Press Release Nov 12, 2008
