Statewide Environmental Candidates & Issues Fare Well in Primary
California Leaders Take a Stand Against Offshore Drilling
Statewide Environmental Candidates & Issues Fare Well in Primary
By Kathryn Phillips
Californians voted with the environment on two key statewide ballot measures and in nearly every statewide race in the June 5 primary election.
Proposition 68, a water and parks bond, the most important environmental bond in many years, won with more than 56 percent. The measure, placed on the ballot through legislation pushed by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia and Senator Kevin de León, authorizes $4.1 billion in general obligation bonds.
The bonds will be used to improve and increase local and state park access and maintenance, restore watersheds, clean up groundwater, protect ocean habitat, and more. Some of the funds are earmarked for particular conservancies or projects, while others will be available for grants to communities, parks districts or nonprofit groups.
Proposition 70, a potentially disastrous measure, resoundingly failed with more than 63 percent of voters voting no. The measure would have required a two-thirds vote in the legislature in 2024 on plans to distribute cap-and-trade funds collected through the program aimed at reducing climate pollution. That would have increased the ability of climate deniers and fossil fuel corporations to influence how the money is spent.
Sierra Club and other environmental and environmental justice groups opposed the measure because it would lead to a diversion of funds intended for reducing pollution and improving community health.
Proposition 70 was placed on the ballot by the legislature in 2017, in a deal with Republican Assemblymember Chad Mayes, to garner the needed two-thirds vote on a flawed bill to extend the cap-and-trade program. Governor Jerry Brown supported the measure and was among those who signed the main ballot argument in favor of Proposition 70.
In the election for statewide candidates, Sierra Club California endorsed candidates all finished in the top two, except in the race for Lieutenant Governor. The candidate the Club backed, Jeff Bleich, finished fourth in a race that by the Friday-after-the-election vote count showed Eleni Kounalakis coming in first, with 23.6 percent, just a few points ahead of Ed Hernandez, with about 20.6 percent. Both Kounalakis, a former land developer and ambassador, and Hernandez, a state senator, are Democrats.
Given California’s open primary, where the top two vote getters in the primary move on to the general election in November, two statewide races in November will have Democrats facing each other. One is the Lieutenant Governor’s race and the other is the race for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein will face a challenge by State Senator Kevin de León in November. Sierra Club California has not taken a position in that race.
You can see how all of our endorsed candidates fared in the primary race for statewide office by going to our elections page and clicking through to our endorsements.
There you will also see the status of legislative races in which we endorsed.
Generally, Sierra Club-endorsed candidates did well in the legislative races. Unfortunately, though, a politically charged recall of State Senator Josh Newman, a strong environmentalist, succeeded, leaving the Senate one-vote weaker on environmental issues.
Senator Jackson with staff from Audubon CA, CA Against Waste, Environment CA, NRDC and Sierra Club CA after SB 834 passed on the Senate Floor.
During last month’s floor session, two essential bills for defending the Pacific received enough votes to pass to the next house.Senate Bill 834, introduced by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson has moved to the Assembly and its companion bill Assembly Bill 1775, co-authored by Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi and Monique Limón, has moved to the Senate.
Each bill ensures that no new oil pipelines or other drilling infrastructure can be built in state waters, which are the coastal waters that extend three nautical miles from the shore. Beyond that, federal waters begin and extend 200 miles.
The legislation aims to thwart President Trump’s plan to expand offshore oil drilling in federal waters. When the plan was announced in January, it felt like a direct threat to our coastal communities and marine ecosystems. Pollution from drilling and the threat of an oil spill would impact everything from the food chain to our water and air quality.
Strong coastal tourism and healthy marine life are vital to California’s culture and economy. These bills send an important signal to Washington that Californians will continue to defend the Pacific and aim to advance our clean energy economy.
A coalition of environmental groups worked tremendously hard on SB 834 and AB 1775. They rallied environmental allies, the coastal business community and two labor unions--Unite Here and Service Employees International Union (SEIU)--to express their support for these bills.
Last year, a similar bill failed to clear the Assembly Appropriations Committee. This year’s effort was informed by the Trump Administration’s plan to expand drilling by opening new leases in Northern, Central and Southern California federal waters.
Thank you to everyone that called their legislator to vote yes. We’ll be following these bills closely to make sure they continue moving forward and land on Governor Brown’s desk for his signature.
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