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Environment Wins Big on Election Day

June 7, 2006

Oakland – Pro-environmental candidates across the state prevailed in their primary elections on Tuesday, setting the stage for what should be a more environmentally sympathetic legislature in California. Although there is still a general election to play out in November, re-districting ensures that virtually all of the primary winners will also be declared victorious in the fall.

“The people of California spoke loud and clear on Tuesday and the environment was a big winner,” said Susan Smartt, Executive Director of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV). In addition to the many victories on Election Day, the environment was a high-profile campaign issue in several key races, including that at the top of the ticket—the Democratic gubernatorial race between State Treasurer Phil Angelides and State Controller Steve Westly.

“With important decisions looming in the near term surrounding global warming, energy resources and land use, CLCV’s goal in the Governor’s race was to raise the importance of environmental protection as an issue in the campaign, and that’s what we saw leading up to Tuesday,” stated Smartt. “Angelides campaigned very hard on his record of environmental accomplishments, which certainly helped his results at the ballot box.”

A whopping 40 of the 100 seats up for grabs in the legislature were open due to term limits, providing plenty of drama as incumbents were forced out of office. Although term limits create volatility in election years, they can also provide opportunities to replace unreliable environmental votes in the legislature. “When the time comes for California to stand up to big oil and make difficult decision around greenhouse gas emissions, it is going to be incredibly valuable to have replaced problematic members in the legislature with some of the champions we elected in the primary,” remarked Smartt. “Once again Californians have declared that environmental protection is an issue that transcends politics and special interests—it’s important to everybody.”

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