CLCV endorses Jerry Brown for governor
Source: Colin Sullivan/Energy & Environment Daily
California's top political environmental group today endorsed Democrat Jerry Brown as the state's next governor.
The California League of Conservation Voters decided to pick Attorney General Brown, governor from 1975 to 1983, over his Republican rival, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, primarily because Brown is defending the state's climate change law from an oil industry-backed effort to suspend it.
Whitman, on the other hand, has called the climate law (A.B. 32) a "jobs killer" and says she would order a moratorium on its implementation for one year if elected. The Republican has not yet taken an official position on a ballot measure, Proposition 23, that would delay A.B. 32 until unemployment in the state drops to 5.5 percent for a full year.
Warner Chabot, the CEO of California LCV, in a video statement released on YouTube, said Brown responded to LCV's endorsement interview process with "a clear set of environmental priorities" for how he intends to create clean-tech jobs and maintain support for the state's climate law. Whitman did not respond to the group's request for an interview.
Chabot also argued that Brown has a long history of defending the state's air pollution laws and advancing renewable energy, as both governor and attorney general. Whitman, in contrast, "for most of her adult life ... never even voted" and has "flip-flopped" on core environmental issues like offshore drilling, Chabot said.
"In all of her campaign, she barely even mentions the environment," Chabot said of Whitman.
Brown has a lifetime 86 percent score on LCV's environmental scorecard. Whitman, new to politics, doesn't have a score.
The endorsement comes as the pressure is picking up on environmental groups in California and elsewhere to get more involved in defending Democrats who are fighting for their seats in a tough midterm election season. A story in the Los Angeles Times this morning said environmental groups have largely been absent so far, leaving many Democrats to fend for themselves against well-financed industry campaigns (Greenwire, Sept. 21).
Asked to address the criticism, Chabot in an e-mail said his group intends to "work to turn out the vote" to reject Prop 23 and will publicize its endorsements through mailers. The group is not planning to spend money to run the Brown endorsement video in key media markets.
Whitman campaign spokesman Darrel Ng said the candidate will announce her position on Prop 23 and all other ballot measures early next week. He did not comment on why Whitman chose not to interview with the California LCV.
Click here to view Chabot's endorsement of Brown on YouTube.