SIERRA CLUB NEWS RELEASE
The Southern Nevada Group of the Sierra Club is endorsing Democratic Party candidate Patricia Spearman for state Senate District 1.
“Pastor Spearman’s responses to our questions, as well as her personal contact with many Sierra Club members and friends, clearly show that she has a grasp of the critical conservation and environmental health issues affecting our state and our communities,” said Taj Ainlay, Southern Nevada group chair. “At a time when our values are being attacked by those who put profit before environmental health, we need clear and strong voices for sensible public policy. Pastor Spearman will be such a voice in the Legislature.”
The endorsement comes after a detailed and careful process that included Sierra Club questionnaires submitted by both major party candidates in the race and consideration and recommendations, per club rules, by at least two club committees.
Spearman is competing in the June 12 Democratic primary against incumbent Sen. John Lee, who last year authored and helped pass Senate Bill 271, which set a timetable for pulling Nevada out of an agreement to manage environmental impacts to Nevada’s storied Lake Tahoe.
Conservation advocates were concerned that no environmental or conservation groups were consulted or advised before the submission of SB 271, a bill heavily supported by the gaming industry.
“Ultimately, we need to have candidates and elected officials who are willing to keep the door open for discussion on critical conservation issues,” Ainlay noted. “Pastor Spearman’s experience, her progressive politics and her explicit promise attest to her willingness to consult with the conservation community on the environmental issues affecting our state.”
