Deeds gets the backing of Virginia environmental advocates during oceanfront event

Democrat Creigh Deeds got a forceful nod from the state's environmental community on Thursday, with a number of environmental advocates saying voters who want to preserve clean air, land and water in Virginia have only choice in the race for governor.

Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters officials took to the Virginia Beach oceanfront - Republican Bob McDonnell'shome turf - to compare the voting record of Deeds and the GOP nominee. The groups said that over his time in the General Assembly Deeds has received a 86 percent score from environmental groups, while McDonnell has racked up an 18 percent tally.

It's not a huge surprise that McDonnell couldn't woo environmental advocates, especially with his voting record in Richmond. But the huge gap in emphasis on environmental issues between Deeds and McDonnell ought to be enough to make some middle-of-the-road voters take a second look at the race for governor.

Here are the details:

“Creigh Deeds’ has made protecting the environment a priority throughout his time in the General Assembly,” said Lisa Guthrie, Executive Director of VALCV. “The choice is clear for Virginia voters who want to protect our air, land and water.”

“As opposed to his opponent, Senator Deeds understands the true win-win opportunity that transitioning to a clean energy economy brings to Virginia”, explained Glen Besa, Virginia Chapter Director with the Sierra Club. “His energy plan with its mandatory renewable portfolio standards, tax credit programs, building an energy-based research triangle, will make Virginia extremely attractive to green businesses that will create in Virginia thousands of good, high-paying clean energy jobs.”

The environmental groups were quick to point out Deeds’ opponent, Bob McDonnell’s poor environmental record. “McDonnell’s agenda is a pro-developer and pro-polluter agenda”, added Besa.

Paul Hamaker, a Virginia Resident active in protecting Stumpy Lake objected to then Delegate and attorney Bob McDonnell for his representation of developer Eddie S. Garcia. “Had McDonnell had his way, 145 acres of wetlands and watershed that is today Stumpy Lake Nature Preserve would have been destroyed for yet another massive residential development”, said Mr. Hamaker.

McDonnell has proposes drilling for oil off the coast of Virginia Beach as means of raising revenues for transportation. “In reality, Bob McDonnell has no real plan to meet our critical transportation needs in Hampton Roads,” said Eileen Levandoski, a Virginia Beach resident who works on drilling issues for Sierra Club. “Even if drilling for oil off Virginia Beach was authorized, there is little chance that the Congress will share royalty revenues with Virginia. The US Navy opposes drilling and the massive and continuing spill off the Australian coast should be a message that drilling off our coast simply isn’t worth the risk.”

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Comments

[Neil B ♪]

I hope you think it' worth protecting. But money? It doesn't cost "us" just to keep land from being developed, maybe somebody out there. But if they don't care about me, it's hard to care about them ...

[Matt Archer]

Neil,
This is going to shock you. I agree, Deeds is the better environmental candidate.
It cost a lot of money to protect the environment.

[Neil B ♪]

Just a reminder to all you hunters out there: Development makes hunting inconvenient and spoils the aesthetic. And even though McDonnell got the NRA endorsement, Deeds supports gun rights and even wants to lighten the one/month restriction (the story is, that's why Wilder didn't want to endorse him - too conservative for Wilder!) Virginia is being made ugly, meaningful Civil War/WBTS sites are endangered; we don't want all that development around here (and it contributes to housing bubbles and busts, when not enough people can buy it all.)