Public Health Groups Team up for Statewide TV Ads on Hogan’s Controversial Clean Air Actions
April Cable Ads Call on Gov. to Unblock Clean Air Protections
BALTIMORE, MD – Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility and Sierra Club have joined together on a new statewide advertising campaign calling on Governor Larry Hogan to swiftly release clean air protections that had been finalized by Maryland’s Department of the Environment but held up by Hogan’s administration. Yesterday, the administration missed its previously announced end of March deadline for identifying a plan to move these critical protections forward.
Beginning Thursday the groups will air a TV advertisement focusing on the importance of protecting Marylanders from dirty air throughout the state. The ads will be featured prominently during prime viewing hours, with a particular focus on Montgomery, Price George’s, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Howard Counties, as well as Baltimore City. The Ads will run on dozens of popular TV stations including CNN, TBS, ESPN, Comedy Central, Food Network, FOX News, and many others.
The ad can be viewed online here sc.org/HoganAdCampaign.
“On his first day in office, Governor Hogan blocked critical clean air protections that would have finally helped clean up our air. Unfortunately, not all Marylanders are aware of this, and that’s why we are taking to the airwaves to ensure that the public knows exactly what’s going on” said Josh Tulkin, Director of the Maryland Sierra Club.
“Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sierra Club and our partners are deeply concerned by actions taken by Governor Hogan to block safeguards that were finalized by Maryland’s Department of the Environment” said Tim Whitehouse, Executive Director of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility. “The protections blocked by Governor Hogan would have resulted in fewer new cases of asthma in children, fewer heart attacks in adults, and fewer deaths from respiratory illness. It would have allowed those suffering from this pollution to breathe a little easier.”
"We've been incredibly surprised that the Hogan administration would block safeguards that brought the Sierra Club and a major coal plant owner together in support of a compromise that results in healthier air for all Marylanders. When that kind of public support across the board, we were expecting a quick review and finalization of the plan" said David Smedick, Maryland Representative of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.
The text of the ad reads:
“Marylanders didn’t vote for dirty air last November--but they might get it from Governor Larry Hogan.
On Hogan's first day in office he blocked critical clean air protections just days before they would have gone into effect.
He claimed he would be ‘the best environmental governor that ever served,’ but his actions just don’t stand up to that boast.
Governor Hogan: turn your words into action, and put these clean air protections to work through the Department of the Environment, so we can all breathe a little easier.”