A Bruising Board Fight: Campaign Statements by Sierra Trustee Candidates

To see just how contentious the fight over the future leadership of the 114-year-old Sierra Club

has become, one need only look at the official statements offered by this year’s slate of board candidates that were mailed to club members.

Seventeen candidates are vying for the five vacancies on the Sierra Club’s 15-member governing board. Eight of the candidates were nominated by a Sierra Club committee, while the other nine became candidates by getting at least 360 club members to sign a petition.

Three of the candidates — Phillip Berry, Morris Dees, and Barbara Herz — are using their position statements not to urge members to vote for them but to discourage votes for candidates they oppose.

Following are excerpts from the ballot statements by the candidates who were nominated by petition:

Phillip Berry, environmental and trial lawyer in San Francisco: “In this election, outside groups are targeting the Sierra Club for takeover. Counting on the usual low turnout by regular members, the outsiders for a third consecutive year are actively soliciting nonmembers to join, just to vote. Their prime goal is not to continue the club’s long history of effective volunteerism but to turn our club’s $80-million budget abruptly toward narrower ends including: (1) a counterproductive anti-immigrant twist to the urgent issue of world population; (2) veganism; (3) an extreme version of animal rights (one calls fishermen ‘sadistic bastards’). Such positions should not become the center of gravity for club policy by pushing aside viable and urgent priority projects now our focus. George Bush is our primary target, not McDonald’s.”

Morris Dees, civil-rights lawyer and co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center: “I put my name forward as a candidate for the Sierra Club board not because I have leadership experience in the club — I have none — but because it affords me the opportunity to deliver what I feel is an important message: A hostile takeover of the club by radical anti-immigrant activists is in the making. … I am not asking that you vote for me. Instead, I am running to urge that you vote against the ‘greening of hate.’… Please save the Sierra Club from a takeover by the radical right.”

Barbara Herz, retired economist and former senior adviser for social sectors under Lawrence Summers, one of President Clinton’s treasury secretaries: “I’ve worked 35 years on international population, health, and education. … I’d love to join the board to support SC’s historic work on environmental protection, including global population. It now appears, however, that a struggle for the soul of the Sierra Club must be the focus of this board election.”

Dick Lamm, University of Denver public-policy professor and a former governor of Colorado: “Our future is at stake as America is led by an environmentally disastrous president and Congress. Grass-roots club activists have gained some magnificent local environmental triumphs, but nationally our great country slides downhill. The club’s current approaches are not working. … We need new, innovative leaders who can get things done. … Our country’s population is exploding, 44 million added since 1990 alone, driven by rising fertility and record immigration. The club’s population programs — global and domestic — must be strengthened.”

Kim McCoy, legal secretary at a Chicago law firm: “While teaching in Japan, I traveled extensively in Nepal, Thailand, China, Tibet, Egypt, and Kenya. I’ve experienced firsthand many of the world’s spectacular wild places. Sadly, I’ve also seen the devastation that occurs if we neglect our responsibility to protect them from the crush of humanity. I’ve climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and seen its glaciers rapidly retreating. I’ve witnessed the impact of overpopulation and overcrowding. … McCarthyite smear attacks against petition candidates are beneath the dignity of this great organization.”

Frank Morris, former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and retired foreign-service officer: “I seek a leadership position in our club because I deeply share our core values of protecting the planet. I will effectively represent us in settings not always open to our message — in minority and disadvantaged communities, in Congress, and in leading the defeat of President Bush. It’s vital that America’s premier environmental organization have strong, diverse activist experiences represented on the board.”

David Pimentel, Cornell University professor of ecology: “Our club is losing the national political battle — we need more-effective leaders at the national level. Since [President] Carter’s election, the U.S.A. has grown by 80 million persons, and this growth is accelerating rather than diminishing. Concurrently, our agricultural land, natural areas, biodiversity, and water and energy resources are under increasing pressure. We must courageously address America’s surging environmental problems and thereby equitably manage our resources for all generations.”

Karyn Strickler, former executive director of the National Endangered Species Coalition and founder of Fifty Plus One, a group that provides political-campaign training to women who support legalized abortion: “Let’s move beyond preservation of the status quo, toward stronger enforcement of the Endangered Species, Clean Air, and Clean Water Acts. I’ll lead the way to end logging, mining, grazing, and drilling on public lands; replace fossil fuels with renewable energy; and assure universal access to abortion, family planning, and education. While open, democratic debate remains crucial, I support continued Sierra Club neutrality on immigration.”

Robert Roy van de Hoek, biologist, environmental educator, park supervisor: “Human population is so high that Earth’s biodiversity is crashing. We need to stabilize our population, for the sake of our grandchildren and Earth’s ecosystems. We need an alternative view of a restored, healthy world that preserves biodiversity and quality of life for all the planet’s citizens.”