Candidates for First Assembly District
  • The 2002 primary election for State Assembly will be on March 5th. There are many qualified candidates running for the First Assembly District seat that is being vacated, due to term limits, by Virginia Strom-Martin. Virginia has been a strong environmental ally and it’s extremely important that the next First District Assemblyperson continues to work for environmental protection and restoration.

    The Redwood Chapter sent questionnaires out to the 8 candidates running for this seat.

    We have included excerpts from those candidates who responded to the questionnaires: Democrats Jim Mastin, Patty Berg, Bob Jehn, and Ed Robey, and Green Party candidate Doug Thron. (We did not receive responses from any Republican candidates.)

    Redwood Chapter’s Political Committee will be interviewing these candidates over the next week and making a decision regarding Sierra Club endorsement prior to the March 5th election. Information: contact Margaret Pennington, 829-2294 or Sierra Club Office, Tom Devlin 544-7651.

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    Question: What do you anticipate will be the three most important environmental issues that you will face if elected, and what actions do you propose to take to resolve them?

  • Candidates in the Democratic Primary

    Patty Berg: "Offshore oil drilling: With President Bush’s energy policy’s clearly geared to domestic oil production, we must remain vigilant in the fight to protect our coast. Watershed management: Degradation of our forests has intensified the stresses we’ve placed on our watershed’s. These are the lifelines of our ecosystems and waters upplies and must be protected. Energy: The recent energy crisis has really brought this issue to the fore."

    Bob Jehn: "Water Quality: Rivers and stream of the North coast have suffered a monumental decline in their fish populations due at least in part to the effects of timber harvesting and development. Energy: We must stop turning our backs on the REAL solution to our energy problem&endash;renewable energy. Coastal Protections: California’s coast is under threat of offshore drilling once again, and we cannot relent in our resolve to prohibit any drilling off the California coast."

    Jim Mastin: "The three most important environmental issues in the First Assembly District will be water, offshore oil drilling and transportation. I have stated publicly that we must "return water to our rivers (Klamath, Trinity and Eel) in order to restore them to health so that we can bring back the fisheries." Water quantity and quality is directly related to the loss of our fisheries and I fully support returning more water to our rivers."

    Ed Robey: "Water: How we manage our water is critical, and encompasses water quality, habitat and species protection, and growth issues. Coastal protection: I support the California Coastal Act, the Coastal Commission and the Marine Life Protection Act, and oppose off shore oil drilling. Public Lands: There are many environmentally special areas in the First Assembly District that should be preserved for future generations."

  • Candidate in the Green Party Primary

    Doug Thron: "I feel the three most important environmental issues that I would face if elected would be: 1) Campaign finance reform. I strongly feel that unless we get big corporate money out of politics we will continue to lose many environmental battles. 2) Wildlands and wildlife protection. Trinity County (newly added to the First district) has the highest concentration of old growth Doug fir forest anywhere in the country. The person who wins this seat must be a very strong pro-wilderness voice for that area so it will be included and kept in Boxer’s upcoming Wilderness Bill. 3) Strengthening and enforcement of environmental laws. These three most important environmental issues are of course intertwined with each other and many other environmental issues." 

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