John Laird, Recovering Legislator
CLCV's Communications Director Jenesse Miller got a chance to converse with former Assembly Budget Committee Chair John Laird (he of the 100% lifetime environmental score) about the upcoming governor's race.
Assemblymember Laird (who describes himself as a "recovering legislator," with a laugh) emphasizes that the upcoming campaign is extremely important for environmental protection. In addition to signing and vetoing bills, the next governor will make a wide variety of day-to-day administrative decisions that affect the environment. Laird acknowledges that the current political situation -- with no anticipated competition for the Democratic nomination -- has resulted in the candidates emphasizing the environment in the campaign far less than one might expect, considering that mainstream California overwhelmingly supports protecting the environment.
Global warming emissions, protection of marine life, water quality, and repeated assaults on the California Environmental Quality Act, as well as other issues as diverse as plastic bags, solar energy, and state parks, are among the issues Laird says are at stake in the 2010 gubernatorial race.
He points out that it is especially important for voters to speak out and "take action in the public forum" to move the candidates toward protecting the environment, because, as he says, "the world is looking to us" in California for national leadership.
Laird has a particularly wise take on the discouragement that environmentalists can sometimes feel as a result of the political process. He states, "Those people that have a financial interest in not protecting the environment never go away... that financial interest never goes away. Everybody needs to realize we're in this for the long haul, and you win some and you lose some. The reason we've made progress in California is that environmentalists have never left the table, they've never left the battlefield. That's the important thing for everyone to remember going forward... even if there's a momentary setback, we've made long-term gains because everybody's been in it to make a difference. And so keep making that difference, and never write off being involved, because that is what's made the difference."
(3 votes)