A Chosen Few: Sierra Club Congressional Endorsements
Congress doesn't turn green by accident. First, committed candidates have to be found, sometimes
educated, and finally supported in their election bids. Sierra Club endorsements are key to that process.
Coveted by candidates--especially in this election year, when the environment is very much on voters'
minds--our seal of approval is not given lightly.
Out of 435 House races and 34 Senate races, only 131
candidates had gotten the nod from our local chapter and national leaders as Sierra went to press.
The process is ongoing, however; contact your chapter's political chair about recent additions to the list
below.
Senate Races
Arkansas: Winston Bryant (D) Iowa: Tom Harkin (D) Kansas: Sally Thompson (D) Massachusetts: John Kerry (D) New Jersey: Robert Torricelli (D) North Carolina: Harvey Gantt (D) Oregon: Tom Bruggere (D) South Carolina: Elliott Close (D)
House Races (by District)
Arkansas
District 2: Vic Snyder (D)
California
District 1 Michaela Alioto (D)
District 6 Lynn C. Woolsey (D)
District 7 George Miller (D)
District 8 Nancy Pelosi (D)
District 9 Ronald V. Dellums (D)
District 10 Ellen Tauscher (D)
District 12 Tom Lantos (D)
District 13 Fortney "Pete" Stark (D)
District 14 Anna G. Eshoo (D)
District 16 Zoe Lofgren (D)
District 17 Sam Farr (D)
District 26 Howard L. Berman (D)
District 29 Henry A. Waxman (D)
District 30 Xavier Becerra (D)
District 32 Julian C. Dixon (D)
District 33 Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)
District 34 Esteban Edward Torres (D)
District 35 Maxine Waters (D)
District 36 Jane Harman (D)
District 37 Juanita McDonald (D)
District 38 Stephen Horn (R)
District 42 George E. Brown, Jr. (D)
District 46 Loretta Sanchez (D)
District 49 Peter Navarro (D)
District 50 Bob Filner (D)
Colorado
District 2 David E. Skaggs
Connecticut
District 2 Sam Gejdenson (D)
District 3 Rosa L. DeLauro (D)
District 5 James Maloney (D)
Florida
District 3 Corrine Brown (D)
District 17 Carrie P. Meek (D)
District 20 Peter Deutsch (D)
District 23 Alcee L. Hastings (D)
Georgia
District 4 Cynthia A. McKinney (D)
District 5 John Lewis (D)
District 6 Michael Coles (D)
District 7 Charlie Watts (D)
District 9 Ken Poston (D)
Hawaii
District 2 Patsy T. Mink (D)
Illinois
District 1 Bobby L. Rush (D)
District 4 Luis V. Gutierrez (D)
District 5 Rod Blagojevich (D)
District 7 Danny K. Davis (D)
District 9 Sidney R. Yates (D)
District 10 John Edward Porter (R)
District 11 Clem Balanoff (D)
District 14 Doug Mains (D)
District 15 Laurel Lunt Prussing (D)
District 17 Lane Evans (D)
Kansas
District 3 Judy Hancock (D)
District 4 Randy Rathbun (D)
Kentucky
District 3 Mike Ward (D)
Maine
District 1 Tom Allen (D)
Maryland
District 1 Wayne Gilchrest (R)
District 3 Benjamin L. Cardin (D)
District 4 Albert Russell Wynn (D)
District 6 Steve Crawford (D)
District 7 Elijah Cummings (D)
District 8 Constance A. Morella (R)
Massachusetts
District 1 John W. Olver (D)
District 2 Richard E. Neal (D)
District 3 Jim McGovern (D)
District 5 Martin T. Meehan (D)
District 7 Edward J. Markey (D)
District 9 John Joseph Moakley (D)
Michigan
District 8 Debbie Stabenow (D)
District 9 Dale E. Kildee (D)
District 10 David E. Bonior (D)
District 12 Sander M. Levin (D)
District 13 Lynn N. Rivers (D)
Minnesota
District 3 Jim Ramstad (R)
District 4 Bruce F. Vento (D)
District 5 Martin Olav Sabo (D)
District 6 William P. Luther (D)
Mississippi
District 2 Bennie G. Thompson
Missouri
District 1 William Clay (D)
District 3 Richard A. Gephardt (D)
District 5 Karen McCarthy (D)
Montana
District 1 Bill Yellowtail (D)
Nebraska
District 2 James Martin Davis (D)
New Jersey
District 6 Frank Pallone, Jr.
District 8 William J. Martini (R)
District 9 Robert Gordon (D)
District 10 Donald M. Payne (D)
New Mexico
District 3 Bill Richardson (D)
New York
District 5 Gary L. Ackerman (D)
District 8 Jerrold Nadler (D)
District 14 Carolyn B. Maloney (D)
District 18 Nita M. Lowey (D)
District 21 Lee Wasserman (D)
District 23 Sherwood L. Boehlert (R)
District 26 Maurice Hinchey (D)
District 28 Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D)
North Carolina
District 1 Eva M. Clayton (D)
District 2 Bob Etheridge (D)
District 4 David Price (D)
District 9 Michael Daisley (D)
District 12 Melvin L. Watt (D)
Ohio
District 1 Mark P. Longabaugh (D)
District 10 Dennis Kucinich (D)
District 11 Louis Stokes (D)
District 14 Thomas C. Sawyer (D)
Oklahoma
District 4 Ed Crocker (D)
Oregon
District 1 Elizabeth Furse (D)
District 5 Darlene Hooley (D)
Pennsylvania
District 1 Thomas M. Foglietta (D)
District 2 Chaka Fattah (D)
District 3 Robert A. Borski (D)
District 14 William J. Coyne (D)
District 15 Paul McHale (D)
District 21 Ron DiNicola (D)
South Carolina
District 5 John M. Spratt, Jr. (D)
District 6 James E. Clayburn (D)
Texas
District 5 John Pouland (D)
District 9 Nick Lampson (D)
District 29 Gene Green (D)
Utah
District 2 Ross Atkinson (D)
Vermont
District 1 Bernard Sanders (I)
Washington
District 9 Adam Smith (D)
West Virginia
District 3 Nick Joe Rahall, II (D)
Wisconsin
District 5 Thomas M. Barrett (D)
William J. Martini
As Sherwood Boehlert felt compelled to note during the 104th Congress, "all Republicans are not anti-
environmental." Even so, conservationists may be shocked to find a friend among the ranks of retrograde
GOP freshmen. Bucking his party's leadership, New Jersey Republican Bill Martini proudly proclaims
that "protecting the environment is a top priority for me"--and he's spent his first term proving it. Besides
opposing GOP proposals to slash EPA funding, Martini cast important votes in support of clean water,
national forests, national parks, and coastal protection. He now faces a tight race for re-election against
state assemblyman Bill Pascrell, a Democrat with an atrocious environmental record.
Debbie Stabenow
Compared to incumbent Dick Chrysler of Michigan (see "Eco-Thugs in the House," July/August), almost
anyone this side of Rush Limbaugh would look like an environmentalist. Challenger Debbie Stabenow,
however, has genuine green credentials, and something else besides: a real chance to oust freshman
Chrysler, who chalked up a miserable 8 percent rating on the League of Conservation Voters' scorecard.
Stabenow has served in both houses of the state legislature, where she was a leader in strengthening
Michigan's pesticide laws. She opposes "takings" bills and arctic drilling, supports a strengthened
Endangered Species Act, and has called for phasing out federal subsidies for grazing, mining, and timber
sales--positions that would make her a solid environmental ally in the 105th Congress.
John Kerry
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry faces a strong challenge this November from the state's Republican
governor, Bill Weld. Kerry has been a dependable friend to environmentalists throughout his political
career, and he's played a significant role in the 104th Congress, where he led the successful opposition to
then-Majority Leader Bob Dole's sweeping "regulatory reform" proposals. Kerry, who has earned a near-
perfect League of Conservation Voters rating in his two Senate terms, has also supported mining-law
reform, higher grazing fees, and repeal of the salvage-logging rider.
Elizabeth Furse
Rated one of the House's greenest members by the League of Conservation Voters, Democrat Elizabeth
Furse of Oregon has more than earned the respect of environmentalists in her first two terms, particularly
as a protector of public health. But she distinguished herself on the legislative battlefield by leading the
charge against the devastating "logging without laws" salvage rider. Although the effort was ultimately
shot down in the Gingrich-led House, Furse co-authored Sierra Club-backed legislation to repeal the rider,
provoking the ire of the timber industry inside and outside her home state.
Maurice Hinchey
Mario Cuomo called him "the environmental conscience of New York," but it's Maurice Hinchey's
leadership in protecting the Southwest that has endeared him to wilderness lovers. While Utah's
congressional delegation was working to open that state's stunning redrock wilderness to development,
Hinchey--a second-term Democratic congressman from conservative Binghamton--introduced Sierra
Club-backed legislation to preserve it. Having won re-election in 1994 by a scant 1,200 votes, Hinchey is
clearly vulnerable in 1996. He has become a prime target of polluters and development interests, who,
even before he stood up for Utah, abhorred his support for pollution controls, wetlands, endangered
species, the California desert, and Alaska's wilds.
Up to Top
