Aside from more of Trump’s stupid protectionism, there’s not a lot of news out there today. But this item did come in a little while ago:
South Carolina Sierra Club Formally Endorses James Smith for SC Governor
COLUMBIA, SC – Today, on the beautiful banks of the Congaree River in downtown Columbia, the South Carolina (SC) Chapter of the Sierra Club formally endorsed Representative James E. Smith, Jr. for Governor of the state. This endorsement was unanimously voted upon by the Steering Committee of the state Club following the Midlands’ area John Bachman Group of the Club also unanimously voting to endorse Representative Smith in his gubernatorial bid.
This is the first time in its history that the SC Sierra Club has endorsed a gubernatorial candidate prior to a primary election.
Current Chapter Vice Chair and former longtime Chairwoman during the majority of Rep. Smith’s House tenure Susan Corbett said, “James Smith has done more for environmental protection and citizens’ rights to protect South Carolina’s natural wonders than any other lawmaker in the history of this Chapter’s work in this state. It’s not just his work to advance renewable energy, protect ratepayers, promote enforceable water standards and oppose offshore drilling; it’s his work on the ground which he has done day-in and day-out to stop tremendously bad legislation from being enacted throughout the years that also matters.”
Chapter Chair Ben Mack added, “Ever since I was present to hear James call for a citizens’ Environmental Bill of Rights as an amendment to our state’s Constitution while introducing the state Club before the House of Representatives, I knew we had a real leader and champion for natural resources before us.”
James Smith has been a longtime advocate of the work of the SC Sierra Club. He has been a regular supporter and speaker before the Midlands’ John Bachman Group of the state Chapter.
Conservation Chair Bob Guild noted, “Most recently, James drafted well over 200 amendments to do everything he could to stop a ham-fisted bill seeking to significantly roll back citizens’ rights to challenge bad government environmental permitting decisions. The bill, known as the rollback of the automatic stay, gives waste giants, toxic incinerators and tree-cutters, among others, the tools they need to remove the public from the process of moving forward on doing environmental harm. The current Governor signed the bill into law last week, showing his disregard for the people who James had so courageously fought to protect.”
“This is a no-brainer; no other candidate even compares,” concluded Ms. Corbett. “We’re talking about the Representative that pretty much single-handedly stopped polluters from passing a bill to take away citizens’ rights to stop illegal pollution in our state.”
—
The South Carolina Sierra Club has over 20,000 members and supporters across South Carolina and is dedicated to its mission to explore, enjoy and protect our state. The Sierra Club is the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization with over 3 million members and supporters.
Related Posts
That impresses me. Since SC has shown little interest in conservation, an endorsement by the Sierra club is good news, and does a lot to influence my choice.
There are two remarkable things happening here, beyond a routine endorsement.
First, the Sierra Club has never done this before — endorsed before the primaries. This tell you not only that the organization is completely unimpressed by Democratic challengers Phil Noble and Marguerite Willis, but that it sees the panderers seeking the GOP nomination to be hopeless.
Second, endorsements don’t normally contain statements this strong, praising the candidate to this extent:
He’s done more than any other lawmaker in the SC chapter’s history? Now that’s an endorsement, I can tell you as a longtime practitioner and connoisseur of the art form. That’s much, much more than simply “He’s better than the other candidates.” That’s more like “If we could go out and find the perfect candidate, he would be it.”