AZLCV's Recent News and Press
Congressional District 3 Candidate Forum
Our congressional district 3 candidate forum was a great success! Almost 100 people turned out to hear what the
candidate for CD3 had to say about environmental issues. Congressional hopefuls Bob Branch, Leann Hull, Paulina Morris
and Michael Shoen attended and spent 2 hours answering questions posed by the co-sponsors and members of the audience.
Click on the following topics to watch video responses on YouTube:
Click
here for Jon Hulburd's written answers to our CD3 Forum questions.
Click
here for Ben Quayle's written answers to our CD3 Forum questions.
Our 2010 Scorecard is Coming Soon!
Be expecting our 2010 scorecard to be out by late July, but for now you can take a look at the legislation we have been tracking by visiting our
legislation page. You can take a look at our
scorecards page to see our scorecard archive. If you want a hard copy of the 2010 scorecard please e-mail Melissa Ramsey at mramsey@azlcv.org or call our office at (520) 622-2819.
Earth Night 2010
We want to thank everyone that came out for our Earth Night event! It was a great evening highlighted by beautiful scenery, good company, live jazz music, tasty food and drink, and a silent auction filled with a wide variety of items. This was our first annual Earth Night and, based on its success, our annual Earth Night will be an event that you can’t miss.
The AZLCV and AZLCV Education Fund brought together members, supporters, politicians, and candidates to discuss current environmental issues and the future of our organizations. The Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center was a fantastic setting and despite the rainy weather in other parts of Arizona, we were spared! There are a few pictures below, and more pictures can be found on our AZLCV Facebook pages.
We want to thank our sponsors and contributors. This event wouldn’t have been possible without BBVA Compass, Cox Communications, Earth Friends, The Nature Conservancy, Tucson Audubon Society, Prescott College, Riester, Ziemba Waid, Blue Global Media, Jon Hulburd, Arizona Conservation Partnership, Gabrielle Giffords for Congress, Roselyn O'Connell, P3, Phoenix Parks & Conservation Fund, Rose Law Group, Ruben Gallego & Kate Widland, FICO/Green Valley Pecan, Sierra Club, Sky Island Alliance, and Sonoran Institute. Our catering and drinks were also generously provided by Atlasta Catering, Four Peaks Brewery, Sonoran Brewery, Alcantara Vineyards, Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Granite Creek Vineyards, and Callaghan Vineyards. And again, a special thanks to all who attended and contributed.
Support Our Political Action Committee Today!
The League’s advocacy and educational projects can only push our legislature and other Arizona elected officials so far. We know that many of our elected officials will never accept the fact that environmental issues must be confronted head on and that action must be taken to address climate change, secure open spaces and wilderness, clean up our air and water and protect Arizona’s natural heritage for generations to come.
AZLCV takes it to Washington to support strengthening of US climate change bill.
AZLCV director Steve Arnquist travelled to Washington DC this week to join with 23 other state league directors to push members of congress to strengthen the American Clean Energy and Security Act that passed the House of Representatives this summer. It is imperative that our representatives in Washington take strong action to address climate change in the lead up to the international climate change conference in December in Copenhagen Denmark. Many environmentalists feel that the House version of this bill included too many compromises and LCV worked hard on Tuesday to express the urgency to pass and strengthen climate change legislation in the face of this worsening crisis.
In all, 24 Executive Directors from state conservation voter organizations descended on Capitol Hill Tuesday to lobby their members on comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. The state organizations helped pass the House bill with bipartisan support and have joined the growing coalition, ranging from business leaders to veterans, calling for the Senate to strengthen and pass the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act.
LCV President Gene Karpinski released the following statement about Tuesday’s lobby day:
“Armed with stories from constituent voters, our state league partners echo public polling that Americans support a clean energy economy that creates millions of new jobs, improves our national security, and protects the planet by reducing global warming pollution.”
“The leagues have worked to pass innovative energy policies in their states for years and they know that now is the time for Congress to act as well. Comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation passed with bipartisan support in the House with their help and they are working to ensure the Senate follows suit.”
“Passing comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation is the top priority for the League of Conservation Voters and our state league partners. We look forward to continuing to work with members of Congress beyond today’s meetings to achieve this important goal.”
Arizona League of Conservation Voters and Arizona League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Hire Executive Director for the Future.
The Arizona League of Conservation Voters, which turns environmental values into priorities for Arizona's elected officials, has hired a new Executive Director. Steve Arnquist, a long-time conservationist and dedicated staffer with the League, has been elected to serve the League as its new Executive Director. “The League’s two sister organizations have mapped out aggressive visions for the next five years, and I am thrilled to have been chosen to lead both of those efforts.” said Arnquist.
Steve has been active in politics his whole life. “I come from a very politically active family and developed environmental values early in life,” said Arnquist. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1998, Steve moved to Arizona. Since coming to Arizona, Steve has personally registered thousands of voters and has implemented efforts that have registered more than 60,000 new Arizona voters. Before coming to the League in 2005, Steve was the Southern Arizona Director of the Moving America Forward Foundation, a non-partisan organization that registered Latino and Native American voters. Prior to that Steve designed and worked on electoral campaigns for local and federal candidates and issues.
“I believe that Mr. Arnquist has the vision, the skills and the experience to once again make conservation relevant in Arizona politics,” said Kevin Gaither-Banchoff, President of the Arizona League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. “Steve’s background in grassroots outreach, fundraising, and electoral campaigns is combined with a passion that has not only inspired me, but will enable him to build a proactive movement of NGO’s, voters and decision makers that allows us to further our collective conservation goals and protect Arizona’s natural heritage.”
Click here to read the full press release
AZLCV's Legislative Platform We have posted our 2010 Legislative Platform
HERE
Our Mission
The Arizona League of Conservation Voters (AZLCV) is Arizona’s largest statewide member-supported conservation group with more than 4,500 members.
- We work to protect our land, air, water and quality of life for all Arizonans, present and future
- We do this by electing pro-conservation leaders and advocating for good conservation policy
- We are non-partisan and non-profit and our work includes:
- Endorsing and working to elect pro-conservation candidates, including state legislators and statewide candidates, including corporation commissioners,
- Educating elected officials and their constituents on conservation issues important to the AZLCV’s members,
- Lobbying on behalf of reasonable, common sense conservation measures,
- Holding elected officials accountable for their performance with our annual Legislative Scorecard,
- Maintaining a political action committee (PAC) that supports pro-conservation candidates.
The Arizona League of Conservation Voters is a 501(c)4 organization. Contributions to the Arizona League of Conservation Voters are not tax deductible.
