Nominating comitee candidates have been long standing
Sierra Club members. Petition candidates may or not
been in the Sierra Club for any length of time.

Charlie Winterwood

--- Michael D Wyrick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I don't want to try to speak for all of the group
> showing a "lack of
> interest" in the upcoming elections, but here are my
> thoughts:
>
> I find this whole "takeover"deal really distasteful,
> and I really want to
> keep it from happening.  I suspect pretty much
> everyone agrees with me on
> that.
>
> I don't want to spend a ton of time on the web
> trying to get information
> about it, I just want someone to identify who the
> "good" and "bad"
> candidates are (which has pretty much already been
> done on this
> listserve, although it would be a good idea to
> repeat it), and make sure
> I get a form on which to vote.  If someone can help
> me with that, before
> the election, then I assure you I will be voting to
> keep the club as is,
> and not let it be hijacked out from under us.
>
> If there is something else that I/we need to be
> doing, please let me/us
> know what that is, and I'll try to help with that
> too.
>
> Mike Wyrick
>
> On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 11:59:09 -0600 Bill Witt
> <[log in to unmask]> writes:
> > Dear Sierra Friends,
> >
> > I'm puzzled by what appears to be a considerable
> lack of interest in
> > the
> > upcoming BOD elections.  Only three of the 94
> members on this
> > list-serve
> > have responded to my expressions of concern.
> >
> > Others, however, are taking note.  Here's a list
> of newspapers that
> > today
> > published an AP story on the takeover effort.
> >
> > Bill Witt
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > USA Today
> > Kansas City Star
> > Seattle Times (ran with their own story that had
> local interviews)
> > Sarasota Herald-FL
> > Salt Lake City Tribune
> > Chicago Tribune
> > Boston Globe
> > Miami HeraldContra Costa Times-CA
> > Fort Wayne Journal Gazette-IN
> > Fort Wayne News-Standard-IN
> > Grand Forks Herald-ND
> > Belleville News-Democrat-IN
> > Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> > Providence Journal-RI
> > Corvallis Gazette Times-OR
> > Tri-Valley Herald-CA
> > Wichita Eagle
> > Wilkes Barre Weekender-PA
> > Bradenton Herald-FL
> > Rocky Mount Telegram-NC
> > Columbus Ledger-GA
> > Centre Daily Times-PA
> > News Journal-TX
> > Fort Worth Star-Telegram
> > The Guardian-UK
> > MLive.com
> > KTVU.com-SF
> > Biloxi Sun Herald-MS
> > San Jose Mercury News-CA
> > phillyburbs.com-PA
> > Wilmington Morning Star-NC
> > Dayton Daily News-OH
> > Macon Telegraph-GA
> > Akron Beacon-Journal-OH
> > The Ledger-FL
> > Tuscaloosa News-AL
> >
> > Rival factions compete to control powerful Sierra
> Club
> > SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? A fierce battle is brewing
> over the future of
> > the
> > Sierra Club, and an unlikely issue is at the
> center of the debate:
> > immigration.
> > A growing faction in the nation's most influential
> environmental
> > group has
> > urged a stronger stance against immigration,
> calling the growing
> > U.S.
> > population and its consumption of natural
> resources the biggest
> > threat to
> > the environment.
> >
> > Past and present Sierra Club leaders say the
> anti-immigrant faction
> > has
> > teamed up with animal-rights activists in an
> attempt to hijack the
> > 112-year-old organization and its $100 million
> annual budget.
> >
> > "At stake is really the heart and soul of the
> organization," said
> > Adam
> > Werbach, the club's president from 1996-98. "It's
> a sad attempt by a
> > very
> > small special-interest group to take over the
> entire Sierra Club
> > organization."
> >
> > Some of the old guard has organized a movement
> called Groundswell
> > Sierra
> > to oppose what they say is an attempted takeover
> by outside groups.
> > Their
> > opponents responded by filing a lawsuit claiming
> the leaders are
> > unfairly
> > trying to influence an upcoming board election.
> >
> > Between March 1 and April 15, members will cast
> mail-in ballots to
> > fill
> > five open seats on the club's 15-member governing
> board. The club's
> > anti-immigration faction says it needs only three
> more seats to
> > control
> > policy.
> >
> > "It's a democratic process. To accuse these
> candidates of taking
> > over the
> > Sierra Club is like accusing the Democrats of
> taking over the White
> > House," said board member Paul Watson, who
> co-founded Greenpeace and
> > now
> > heads the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
> >
> > Groundswell Sierra was formed after club leaders
> learned that
> > Watson, who
> > won a seat as a petition candidate last year,
> spoke openly about a
> > takeover attempt during a speech at a conference
> on animal rights.
> > Animal
> > rights activists have agitated for the club to
> denounce hunting,
> > fishing
> > and meat consumption.
> >
> > Club leaders say the anti-immigration debate has
> drawn in outsiders
> > who
> > want to promote their agenda. The Southern Poverty
> Law Center, a
> > Montgomery, Ala.-based civil liberties group, has
> reported that
> > extremist
> > racist and anti-immigration groups are encouraging
> their members to
> > pay
> > $25 to join the Sierra Club and vote in the
> election.
> >
> > In January, center co-founder Morris Dees said he
> would run for a
> > board
> > seat to draw attention to the anti-immigration
> movement.
> >
> > Groundswell Sierra is encouraging members to vote
> because less than
> > 10% of
> > the club's 750,000 members have participated in
> recent elections,
> > making
> > it easy for candidates to win board seats with
> relatively few votes.
>
=== message truncated ===


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