The Loma Prietan
February 2002
Chapter Announces March 5th Election Endorsements
by Rafael Reyes
Sally Lieber for AD22
With great pleasure the Chapter is endorsing Sally Lieber for Assembly District 22 (Cupertino, Mt. View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara). Ms. Lieber is a widely recognized environmental champion, not only receiving our endorsement but also the support of the California League of Conservation Voters. We endorsed Ms. Lieber in 1998 for the Mountain View City Council due to her efforts on Moffett Field and her knowledge on environmental issues.
On the Council, she has shown herself as a hard worker pushing a wide range of important issues. A highly knowledgeable leader on energy and emissions, she advanced the purchase of electric vehicles for the city, elimination of polluting wood smoke fireplaces, and solar and green building guidelines for Mountain View. She has worked to protect open space at Cuesta Park Annex. She has also shown great integrity and actively sought the input of environmentalists in the community. As an assemblymember she will work to address the energy crisis in an environmentally responsible manner. She will push for enforcement of greenbelt areas and more incentives for in-fill and transit-oriented development. Sally Lieber is committed to preserving the quality of life in the Silicon Valley, and will fight to strengthen laws protecting endangered habitats and wildlife.
Vote for Sally Lieber on March 5th, and/or volunteer to help the campaign. Contact Marva Diaz, campaign manager, at marvadiaz@yahoo.com or Rafael Reyes, Loma Prieta Chapter Political Chair, rkreyes@yahoo.com.
19th Assembly Race
The 19th Assembly district race presents voters with the most interesting and important race for the district in many years. Long- time incumbent Lou Papan is stepping down due to term limits, opening the field to
a diverse group of challengers. Several candidates have real merits and we highly encourage all of you to give this race careful attention.
After much consideration and for reasons we explain below, we are not endorsing a candidate at this time. Nevertheless we wish to offer the information we have gathered to help you make an informed judgement.
Much of the institutional support has gone to Gina Papan (Democrat), daughter of the incumbent. Papan has an impressive list of endorsements and considerable funding due to tapping her father's campaign war chest. The elder Papan has had a long-standing antagonistic relationship with the Sierra Club and to her credit, Gina Papan has made considerable effort to differentiate herself, most notably by committing to establish an "environmental consultation committee."
However, Papan has not opposed filling in the Bay and has not yet developed a record on environmental issues. And while Papan has expressed support on a range of issues of concern ranging from water quality to development, we believe Papan needs to grow in her understanding on the issues and make them higher priority.
Gene Mullin (Democrat), Mayor of South San Francisco, has a clear grasp and commitment on housing and transportation. Mullin supported the establishment of the highest affordable housing requirement in the Bay Area with 25%. This is laudable as it supports working families. In addition, bringing together housing and jobs is possibly the most significant action that can be taken to reduce greenhouse emissions from automobiles and protection of habitat and open space. Mullin was also an innovative teacher, working with students to put in place an award-winning recycling program in the early 1970s.
These factors have led the California League of Conservation Voters to endorse Mullin. Unfortunately, we would like to see a broader-based commitment on environmental issues. Despite considerable technical knowledge, he has avoided stating opposition to filling the Bay and opposes high- speed rail.
Furthermore, Mullin suggested that emission controls and riparian setbacks may not need additional attention. Lastly, to our great disappointment, he voted against the appointment of the highly qualified Steve Schmidt to the SamTrans board, in favor of a problematic challenger.
A late entry to the race is Handspring executive and Redwood City planning commissioner, David Pine (Democrat). Pine is running a largely self-funded race and has put together a strong campaign organization, making him a serious candidate. He is active in the community in a number of organizations and has the unusual distinction of having been an elected representative in the New Hampshire legislature at 19. Beyond this, however, his experience in public service is limited.
Nevertheless, Pine has shown considerable intelligence and sincerity on the issues, including support for renewable energy sources, support for regional airport solutions instead of Bay fill, endorsement of high-speed rail, and innovative looks at solutions to urban development. Even though we are not endorsing him at this time due to his limited record and the need to deepen his understanding of the issues, Pine shows great potential.
In addition to the above Democratic candidates, we also interviewed Green Party candidate Jo Chamberlain (candidates from other parties declined our invitation). Chamberlain holds a high leadership position within the party and has received the endorsement of Ralph Nader and other figures in her party. She is well informed on numerous issues including water quality, where she has hands-on experience as a stream monitor. Chamberlain furthermore provides clear commitment on Bay protection, addressing development and sprawl, emissions and other issues. She also shows strength in areas such as campaign finance reform. It is unclear, however, whether Chamberlain can put together the necessary campaign organization.We will be staying in contact with Chamberlain and the Green Party to see their progress.
In conclusion, we see real differences between the candidates though none met our threshold for endorsement. We encourage you to weigh carefully each candidate for the early primary on March 5th and the general election in November. And by all means VOTE! Your vote is most important, especially in the March primary.