What I said to my daughters

This is not the message I expected to write today. I never wanted to wake up this morning to sit down with my daughters to hear the disappointment in their voices as we discussed last night’s Presidential election.

Last night our country elected a man who ran a campaign to open our public lands to drilling, end subsidies for clean energy, and who believes climate change is a hoax. As President, he has the potential to roll back all of the progress Obama has made in the last 8 years on climate. And he has the majorities in Congress to make this a very real possibility.

Yet when I look at California, I see hope. In much of the of the country the results were disheartening, here we elected Kamala Harris, a bold Environmental Champion, to the United States Senate to fight for our values. We won six of six Propositions we had endorsed, including upholding our state’s leadership ban on single-use plastic bags. We won all three of our priority legislative races, defeating Big Oil and their allies to win some impressive victories.

In total, 83% of CLCV endorsed campaigns won the night. And, in the face of opposition at the federal level, our work in California has never been more important. It’s not enough, not nearly enough, to fight to stop Trump from rolling back our national successes – California is now the best hope we have of moving environmental policy forward. We need to keep up the pressure and hit the ground running.

Can you make a monthly donation today to help CLCV continue to advocate for strong environmental policy in California and provide leadership to our country?

I know you are tired of campaigns, exhausted from this election, and deeply upset by last night’s national results. I am too. But our team is here, in the office, hard at work to welcome in a whole new class of legislators – and what a group it is!

In AD 47, environmental groups worked with labor and local activists to elect a new champion Eloise Reyes and defeat Cheryl Brown, Chevron’s greatest ally in the Assembly -- despite an unprecedented $2.2 million dollar campaign by Big Oil and their allies.

In San Jose, CLCV priority candidate Ash Kalra pulled ahead from a dead heat to an upset victory this morning and will be a tireless advocate for improving access to public transportation in Sacramento.

In SD 27, Environmental Attorney (and lead environmental staff for Senator Pavley!) Henry Stern won his bid to succeed Fran Pavely in the State Senate to continue her legacy of leading our fight against climate change in California.

CLCV’s team is incredibly excited to be welcoming these environmental champions to the legislature, along with an impressive class of new conservation leaders ready to get to work.

Can you make a sustaining donation today to help us have the resources to hit the ground running to turn our electoral gains into legislative victories?

Together we sent oil companies, plastics manufacturers, and those who would seek to trash California’s environmental protections a powerful message that our state and our environmental values are not for sale.

Together our voices are powerful. I’ve never believed that more than I do today. And with your continued support, we can continue to win critical victories in our state and begin the work to challenge the forces in Washington.

Thanks for all you do,

Sarah Rose, CEO
California League of Conservation Voters