Date : Tue, 10 Sep 2013 12:13:03 -0400
For Immediate Release
September 10, 2013
Contacts:Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, (609) 558-9100
Richard Isaac, NJ Sierra Club, (973) 716-0297
Silvia Alvarez, Deputy Communications Director, Booker for Senate, 646-285-1819
Sierra Club Backs Mayor Cory Booker for US Senate
Hoboken, NJ -- Today the Sierra Club announced its endorsement of Newark Mayor Cory Booker in the special election to fill the US Senate seat vacated earlier this year by the passing of Frank Lautenberg.
"The Sierra Club's support sends a strong signal to New Jersey voters,"
Mayor Cory Booker said. "Working to secure a future where every New Jerseyan can count on clean air and clean water, and that their state is home to 21st century, clean energy jobs, will be my priority in the Senate."
"Mayor Booker has shown strong leadership and a real commitment to protecting our environment and we are proud to endorse him for the US Senate where we will be an environmental champion.He will follow in the tradition of New Jersey's other Senators on the environment such as Lautenberg, Case, and Bradley,"said Jeff Tittel, Director of the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter.
Tittel continued, "There has never been an election with such a clear contrast between two candidates: someone who is an environmental champion and someone who is probably the most anti-environmental candidate we have ever seen.Mayor Cory Booker is acting on the mounting scientific evidence that climate change is impacting our state, while Lonegan denies climate change is even happening and worked to remove New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, costing us jobs, economic growth, and pollution reductions."
Picking a true leader on climate change issues is critical in this Senate Race as New Jersey continues to recover from Hurricane Sandy.Mayor Booker is focused on that challenge and addressing it now to prevent future impacts.He believes in and is acting on the science predicting sea level rise, more extreme weather, and other impacts.He has made ending subsidies for the oil and gas industry a top priority and opposes drilling off the coast of New Jersey.As a Senator, Booker would support climate change legislation to cut our carbon and other greenhouse gas pollution while promoting green technologies.
Lonegan was a paid political operative for a front group for polluters.As the Director for NJ Americans for Prosperity (AFP), Lonegan not only actively denied climate change but opposed all different forms of environmental protection, even open space protection.He advocated for New Jersey to exit the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.He opposed offshore wind and protections for clean air and clean water.
In 2011 AFP was the third highest spender on lobbying in the state when it came to communication lobbying for television and radio ads, spending
$564,218. They were ninth for special interest groups spending $571, 4158 on general lobbying. This was part of their campaign to repeal RGGI.When State Senator Kip Bateman voted for a bill to reduce greenhouse gases, Lonegan and AFP spent over $200,000 attacking him.American's for Prosperity is a special interest front group, funded by the infamous Koch Brothers and the global warming denier David Koch sits on the AFP board of AFP.Koch Industries is one of the biggest toxic polluters in the country and the largest family-owned coal company in the United States.If he is elected the Koch Brothers will get a US Senator from New Jersey.There is only one word that describes Steve Lonegan: extremist.
We know Mayor Booker will be a champion for addressing climate change in the Senate because he has already worked hard to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change in Newark.Under his leadership energy use in municipal buildings was cut by 20% and recycling rates were increased. Newark participated in demand response programs and incorporated energy efficient upgrades, reducing energy use while saving the city money. His administration increased green affordable housing in the city by 400 units and supported residential energy efficiency programs.He supports green jobs and renewable energy to grow our economy.
Mayor Booker is dedicated to upholding protections for clean air and clean water, and holding polluters accountable.Lonegan has called for sunsetting regulations from the EPA and OSHA and attacks EPA protections.
"The Sierra Club is the nation's oldest conservation group and is proud to support Mayor Booker for the US Senate.As a Mayor, Cory has worked hard to make Newark a cleaner, more breathable city with more parks and open spaces for people to enjoy.We know he will bring this same passion to Washington DC if elected," said Ken Johanson, Chair, NJ Sierra Club.
Booker has championed the creation of urban parks in Newark and as Senator he will continue to fund important recreation and conservation programs.
Reducing pollution in the Newark and the region has been a goal of Mayor Booker.He helped build pressure that got better pollution controls installed on an incinerator in Newark and has championed cleaning up the Passaic River.He strongly supports toxic site clean ups, especially Superfund, and bringing them to productive use.
Newark's Sustainability Office, created by Booker in 2008 has championed access to healthy food and urban agriculture.The Office's Sustainability Action Plan has been commended by the EPA as a national model.
Mayor Booker has spoken out against attacks on voter's rights and the roll backs to the Voter's Rights Act and how disenfranchisement will lead to more injustice and "children living in neighborhoods where soil is toxic, and the rivers polluted, and air quality is so poor asthma is epidemic."He will work tirelessly to bring people together to finds solutions so that we all live in a cleaner world.As Mayor of Newark he will bring to the US Senate an important voice and unique perspective on the environmental impacts in urban areas.He will be a leading advocate in the Senate on environmental justice.
"Rarely has the Sierra Club been presented here in New Jersey with the stark contrast between one candidate who proposes anti-environmental action and another who understands the environmental affects us all,"
*concluded Richard Isaac, Political Chair of the Sierra Club's New Jersey Chapter. "We fully embrace Booker for Senate and ask all of New Jersey's voters who care about the environment to do likewise."
/The Sierra Club is the nation's oldest and largest environmental group with more than a million members and supporters, about 20,000 of them here in New Jersey.As Tittel describes it, "The Sierra Club endorsement is the green version of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval."The group is committed to helping Cory Booker win election to the US Senate by contributing volunteers to the campaign, going door-to-door, making phone calls, helping with fundraising, and in other ways./
Paid for by the Sierra Club Political Committee, www.sierraclub.org
<http://www.sierraclub.org/>, and authorized by Booker for Senate.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 10, 2013
Contact:
Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, (609) 558-9100 <tel:%28609%29%20558-9100>
Trey Pollard, Sierra Club, (202) 495-3058 <tel:%28202%29%20495-3058>
View as webpage <http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases>[ACTIVATE LINK]
Sierra Club Backs Mayor Cory Booker for U.S. Senate
(Hoboken, NJ)-- Today in Hoboken, the Sierra Club endorsed Newark Mayor Cory Booker in the special U.S. Senate election to fill the seat vacated by the passing of Frank Lautenberg.
"Mayor Booker has shown strong leadership and a real commitment to protecting our environment, and the Sierra Club is proud to endorse him for the US Senate. There, he will be an environmental champion, following in the strong tradition of Senators Lautenberg, Case, and Bradley,"said Jeff Tittel, Director of the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter. "As evidence mounts that climate change is hurting our families and our state, Mayor Booker is acting while Steve Longean is actively trying to make life easier for big polluters.The choice in this election could not be clearer: a hero for clean air and water or someone who is among the most anti-environmental candidates ever to be on the ballot."
As New Jersey continues to recover from Hurricane Sandy, Booker has advocated for climate action to cut carbon pollution, promoted clean energy, and called for an end to tax giveaways for big oil companies while seeking relief for affected communities.Lonegan, meanwhile, was formerly the director of the New Jersey branch of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a far-right big polluter group funded by the Koch Brothers -- climate deniers, oil and coal billionaires, and some of the country's biggest polluters. While working for the Kochs, Lonegan pushed their climate denial agenda, tried to scrap clean air and water safeguards and worked to end the innovative job-creating pollution reduction programs like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
"After the devastation wrought on our communities, homes, and families, New Jerseyans understand all too well the costs of climate disruption,"
*said Michael Brune, the national Sierra Club Executive Director and a New Jersey native whose childhood home was flooded during Hurricane Sandy."When Cory Booker takes his love for our state to the Senate, I know he will bring with him a drive to act on the climate crisis and protect New Jersey communities. We need a Senator like Cory who will stand up to big polluters - not someone who has been on their payroll."
Under Booker's leadership, energy use in Newark's municipal buildings was cut by 20% and recycling rates were increased while the city incorporated energy efficient upgrades and increased green affordable housing in the city by 400 units.
"The Sierra Club is the nation's oldest conservation group and is proud to support Mayor Booker for the US Senate. As a Mayor, Cory has worked hard to make Newark a cleaner, more breathable city with more parks and open spaces for people to enjoy. We know he will bring this same passion to Washington DC if elected," said Ken Johanson, Chair, NJ Sierra Club.
In Newark, Booker has championed the creation of urban parks, the installation of pollution controls on nearby incinerators, and cleaning up the Passaic River and Superfund sites. Booker also created Newark's Sustainability Office and has championed access to healthy food and urban agriculture. In addition, Booker has spoken out against attacks on voter's rights and - at the recent March on Washington anniversary - was one of the few speakers to demand environmental justice for all Americans.
The Sierra Club is the nation's oldest and largest environmental group with more than a 2.1 million members and supporters nationwide and about 20,000 in New Jersey. The group is committed to helping Cory Booker win election to the US Senate by encouraging its members to volunteer for the campaign and go door-to-door and make phone calls
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-- Kate Millsaps Conservation Program Coordinator NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club 609-656-7612