Environmental Group Endorses Johnson Campaign
WASHINGTON, March 27–As part of its political debut, a new environmental organization has made U.S. Rep. Nancy L. Johnson, R-Conn., one of its first political endorsements for 2002.
WILD PAC singled out Johnson and Reps. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Rush Holt, D-N.J., on Monday for their strong commitment to preserving the nation’s wild lands.
Launched only eight months ago, WILD PAC is the first non-partisan grassroots political organization “focused on electing leaders and champions who will protect public lands and wilderness,” said the group’s executive director, Victoria Simarano.
“Johnson is the lead Republican to protect the Arctic,” Simarano said. “She has a very strong record of leadership, and that was the deciding factor.”
WILD PAC particularly commended Johnson for co-sponsoring legislation in the House that would permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska from drilling by the oil industry.
The political action committee selected the three House members based on their voting records and positions on particular environmental issues as well as on personal interviews.
“We also look at political viability and who is going to have tough races,” Simarano said. “We want to put our resources in the tight races so we can make a difference.”
Johnson will face Rep. James H. Maloney, D-Conn., in November for the redistricted 5th Congressional District.
The League of Conservation Voters ranked Maloney as an environmental champion in 2001 and tallied his lifetime environmental voting record at nearly 30 percent higher than Johnson’s 58.4 percent. WILD PAC’s endorsement decisions, however, are not focused on as wide a spectrum of environmental issues, such as agriculture and energy, as the league’s, said the LCV’s political director, Betsy Loyless.
“We applaud Rep. Johnson for her leadership on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” Loyless said. “We also recognize Jim Maloney’s leadership to clean up brownfields, but brownfields cleanup and other broader environmental issues don’t appear to be a major part of WILD PAC’s criteria.”
The league has endorsed both candidates over the years, Loyless said, and has not made a decision on “specific contributions” in the Johnson-Maloney race.
Maloney, in an interview, pointed to his efforts to preserve open land spaces and the nation’s wilderness, including securing $2.5 million during the Clinton Administration for the Weir Farm National Historic Site, Connecticut’s only national park, in addition to protecting Candlewood Lake. Maloney is a co-sponsor along with Johnson of the Arctic Wilderness Act of 2001, and has joined fellow Connecticut Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro as a co-sponsor of legislation that would permanently safeguard the nation’s second largest forest, Alaska’s Tongass and Chugach National Forest.
Maloney expressed no concern that his campaign war chest would be hurt by the lack of WILD PAC contributions.
“I am confident that my support from the environmental community as a whole is very strong and very deep. I am not new to the environmental cause,” said Maloney, who added that he still has the support of an “extensive network” of conservationists.
If it becomes law, the Arctic Wilderness Act of 2001 would continue to prohibit oil leasing and drilling as well as preserve the natural ecosystems in the Coastal Plain area of the refuge.
Several multinational oil corporations have been lobbying Congress to open up the currently protected Coastal Plain area, which accounts for only 5 percent of the refuge’s 19 million acres.
“Nancy has a spectacular environmental record,” said Johnson’s campaign manager, David L. Boomer. “She also passed legislation for the Farmington River to make it a Wild and Scenic River, which gets it more protection at the federal level. And she has helped designate the Connecticut River as a Heritage River.”
Based on these and similar accomplishments during Johnson’s 20 years in the House, Simarano said, WILD PAC plans to assist her campaign by making direct contributions, coordinating local fundraising events with environmental leaders, providing campaign staff assistance and initiating “get-out-the-vote” efforts.
But as to which campaign activities Johnson might need help with, “that would be something we would figure out as we get closer to elections,” Simarano said.
Published in The Waterbury Republican-American, in Waterbury, Connecticut.
