Last year, EnviroVoters in the Sierra Nevada region of California faced a problem.
The Sierra Nevadas, one of the most resource-dense regions of California, came out of the 2024 election with anti-environment leadership winning seats over local progressive candidates. As we saw with progressive Karen Alvord’s election to Roseville City Council, these seats were winnable—but we came across tough opposition in this conservative district.
What we needed was a new base of support for progressive candidates; an entity that can advise and provide financial support for progressive climate champions running for office in the Sierra Nevada region. Through our work with other regional Political Action Committees (PACs), we know this support can make all the difference in an election, so we started work immediately to make sure the Sierra Nevada region is ready for the next ballot.
The foundation had already been laid in the summer before the 2024 election as we built strong relationships with local political organizers and candidates running for local seats. The Congressional District 3 (CD3) Sierra Partnership members, including Mayor of Mammoth Lakes Chris Bubser and local advocates like Izzy Martin and Ann Bowler, began meeting regularly to organize and strategize about messaging, funding, and long-term goals for a new Sierra Protection PAC. And it all culminated with the launch of the PAC in February and the in-person launch party in Roseville, California on March 17.
This PAC will make a huge difference in providing regional climate action and environmental protection for local concerns in the Sierra Nevada region. While it’s easy to point to the massive climate change losses on the federal level, the launch and success of this PAC prove that local climate concerns and actions are important to people and worth celebrating. As we like to say, coalition is power–and the success of this launch is proof that local coalition power is thriving!
This new Local League is special to EnviroVoters, expanding to an area that’s deeply affected by environmental justice and particularly vulnerable to polluting resource extraction for oil and gold. We’re confident that more results will come, but we’re more ready than ever before to begin training, volunteering, and getting climate champions elected to protect the beautiful Sierra Nevada region.
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Now you can find out with our 2024 California Environmental Scorecard! Use it to see how California’s leadership scored, how many legislators take dirty oil money, and much more.
