By Howard Strassner
The Sierra Club needs you! Sort of like Uncle Sam and the Second World War. The Club tries to be as “grass roots” as possible mostly by successfully inviting dues-paying members to take part in and often responsibility for major and local environmental initiatives. But our Club also needs local oversight and direction. This is the job of Group and Chapter Executive Committee members, who are annually elected by their Sierra Club members/neighbors. If you read the election issue of the Yodeler that comes out every fall, you will see that there are ample candidates for the Chapter ExComm but too often too few candidates for Group Executive Committees. The Chapter has eight Groups covering the four counties that constitute the Chapter so your Group is (or should be!) dealing with your concerns. The graphic below shows the seats up for election in 2021 for each Executive Committee:
Over many years my service on the San Francisco Group ExCom has been enhanced by the collegiality of my fellow members. They have provided needed support and guidance for my major issue, Muni transit service. Another responsibility of each Group is working on the many environmental issues dealt with by local and state governments. This leads to Group ExComm initial endorsement of local political candidates and ballot measures. In these very political times is where grassroots grow out of mud. All of this takes more than a few hours per month. I consider my Group ExComm service as part of my dues — and a thank you because I met my wife on a Sierra Club hike fifty years ago.
The process of running for an ExComm seat is relatively easy. You can submit a candidate packet and questionnaire that provides Group voting members with information about your background, proposed future environmental efforts and reasons for running. There is also an option to run by petition. You can find the nomination materials for either method here.
Good luck!
For more information about your local group, including the Group Executive Committee meeting schedule, visit our Groups webpage.
Interested in running for an ExComm seat this fall? The deadline to submit your application for nomination by committee is July 30th, and the deadline to run by petition is August 30th. Want to learn more? Check out our Chapter Elections webpage, attend an ExComm meeting, or contact the Chapter Nominations and Elections Committee at elections@sfbaysc.org.
Howard Strassner is a member of the San Francisco Group Executive Committee. This article was originally published in May 2020.