By Betsy Johnson, September 2012
Environmentalists in most Maryland Congressional districts are fortunate to have representatives who take environmental protection seriously. This is reflected in their scores on the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) scorecard (lcv.org).
In evaluating incumbents for endorsement we take into account the dynamics of their district (liberal/conservative), their leadership on any issues, as well as their current and lifetime scores on the scorecard. For example, an incumbent who represents a more conservative district may receive our endorsement even if his or her LCV score is not as high as others in the delegation but is high for incumbents in comparable districts. In a liberal district, our standard may be higher than average and may depend on the dynamics of the race. The Sierra Club has this policy because we’ve found it to be critical to our lobbying efforts. Members do not respond well when they repeatedly vote the way we ask them to and then we turn around and endorse their opponent in the election.
Endorsements at all levels must be approved by a 2/3 vote of two levels of the Club. For federal endorsements the MD Chapter Executive Committee and the National Political Committee are the approving levels.
In the table below you can see the current LCV score (2011) and the member’s lifetime score. Note that we have not made any endorsement in District 1. Despite the fact that we have reached out to Andy Harris’s opponent, we have not heard back from her. District 6 (Western MD, Catoctin and parts of Montgomery County) is now a very competitive district thanks to redistricting and we encourage all Sierra Club members to get involved in helping to elect John Delaney.
| District | Endorsed Candidate's Last Name | 2011 LCV Score | Lifetime LCV Score as of 2010 | Things to Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Cardin | 100% | 90% | Leader on many issues |
| Dist. 1 | None | Current incumbent, Andy Harris, has score of 9% | ||
| Dist. 2 | Ruppersberger | 89% | 85% | Bay Restoration |
| Dist. 3 | Sarbanes | 97% | 95% | No Child Left Inside Act |
| Dist. 4 | Edwards | 97% | 96% | Leader on many issues |
| Dist. 5 | Hoyer | 97% | 77% | House Minority Leader |
| Dist. 6 | Delaney | N/A | N/A | See Chesapeake article, p. 1 |
| Dist. 7 | Cummings | 100% | 94% | Leader on many issues |
| Dist. 8 | Van Hollen | 100% | 99% | Leader on energy and Bay issues |
Betsy Johnson is the immediate past chair of the Maryland Chapter Political Committee and now serves as Political Vice Chair.