Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Enviros split endorsement in D3

I received an interesting announcement today. The League of Conservation Voters San Diego chose to support Todd Gloria in the San Diego City Council District 3 race. Anyone who has been watching this race closely has to be a little surprised. The Sierra Club came out early to support Stephen Whitburn and John Hartley, basically saying anyone but Gloria. Then, there was a lot of talk about the number of enviros that were lining up for Whitburn, because of all the developer money that showed up on Gloria's campaign disclosures. So, how did he squeeze a sole endorsement from the League? Their board is full of real enviros, so this is really a coup for Gloria. Or, maybe a signal that people on the ground think he has it tied up?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmm? what does it mean?

It could mean that Labor Boss Lorena Gonzalez (who really calls the shots at the League) is behind Todd.

And that's all it means.

you want to know who is really an environmentalist, trust in the sierra club--the real environmental group in town.

Anonymous said...

Your surprise may stem from drinking too much of the Whitburn kool-aid. Every candidate has to raise money and Steve has chosen to attack Todd to distract from the fact that he hasn't raised enough to be viable. Todd is a decent guy and will be great for the environment. This endorsement is a reflection of just that. Facts not spin.

Anonymous said...

First, Lorena has served on the LCVSD Board for years. Long before she went to work for labor. She is an environmental attorney by education and has been an advocate for the environment for as long as I can remember. Second, isn't labor supporting all three candidates?

Anonymous said...

Lorena, is that you?

Anonymous said...

So this boils down to competing environmental groups each claiming the mantle of "being down" with the "real" grasroots (no pun intended)and trying to sway opinions on that basis? Good luck. Other than a single mailing and talk of getting people out, I don't think that these environmental groups have been effective in the past so I question how much of a "real" impact they could have.

Anonymous said...

environmental endorsements are valuable just in their name. If not, all the candidates wouldn't always seek them.

Anonymous said...

According to these posts Sierra Club is the only Enviro org in town and Lorena Gonzalez seems to run the world. Sierra Club is NOT the REAL enviro group in town. There are plenty of well respected groups in town including LCV. Sierra Club and the Carolyn Chase's of the world just dont like to think anyone else is as important as them. They are both dead wrong.

christine said...

An endorsement from the Sierra Club is solid and so is an endorsement from Donna frey! and the Democratic Committee. Whitburn has not gone negative, he doesnt have to, just google "todd gloria developer" and see how much special interest money this guy has. And now he has tons of money from defense contractors as well. His endorsements are all shady politicians that fought for developers in Coronado. This decision is easy!

Anonymous said...

True--Sierra Club is alot more solid than LCV. Whitburn is nothing but genuine. I have met him several times and never once did he discuss his candidacy. It was only after the fact that I knew he was running. He is trying to help us get demo notification so we can protect community character.