Dear Iowa Topics and Leopold Listserve Members,
Here is an interesting update on the attempted takeover of
Sierra Club leadership by anti-immigration and other
groups, some of which advocate illegal or racist positions.
I apologize if this article was already posted to the Iowa
Topics listserve but I don't recall hearing about the
lawsuit. I also was suprised to see that the folks suing
the Sierra Club (while candidates for board positions with
no previous Sierra Club experience) are apparently
affilliated with current board members who want to
"redirect" Club priorities and oust Executive Director Carl
Pope. Does anyone know when the elections are?
Jim Fleming
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lawrence Downing"
> <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 7:10 AM
> Subject: Sierra Club sued by outsider candidates: Act
> now!
>
>
> > TAKEOVER SLATE SUES SIERRA CLUB
> > Outsiders seek to prevent information from reaching
> Sierra Club Members
> >
> > San Francisco, CA February 17, 2004
> >
> > The effort to take over the Sierra Club sank to a new
> low last week
> > when the outsider candidate slate of Richard Lamm,
> Frank Morris and
> > David Pimentel filed a lawsuit against the Sierra Club
> in San
> > Francisco Superior Court. These candidates are suing
> to get an
> > injunction against printing the "Urgent Election
> Notice" which the
> > Sierra Club Board of Directors authorized for the 2004
> Board Election
> > Ballot, and to prohibit the inclusion of ballot
> statements from Board
> > candidates Phil Berry, Morris Dees, and Barbara Herz.
> >
> > "Dick Lamm, Frank Morris, and David Pimentel don't want
> Sierra Club
> > members to know that they have no prior experience with
> the Sierra
> > Club," said Larry Downing, a spokesperson for
> Groundswell Sierra
> > ( http://www.groundswellsierra.org ). "If the facts
> about these outside
> > candidates and their supporters are widely communicated
> to the Sierra
> > Club's members, their chances of election will be
> reduced - and these
> > candidates are now suing the Sierra Club to prevent
> this information
> > from reaching our members."
> >
> > Lamm, Morris and Pimentel share interlocking official
> roles in a
> > number of outside anti-immigration organizations and
> are affiliated
> > with current Sierra Club Directors Ben Zuckerman and
> Paul Watson.
> > Watson has publicly stated his goal is to take over the
> Sierra Club
> > and redirect our resources toward other priorities, and
> has also
> > called publicly for the ousting of Executive Director
> Carl Pope.
> >
> > The Sierra Club is vulnerable to outside takeover
> because only a
> > small percentage of its 750,000 members vote in the
> national Board
> > elections. This dynamic, coupled with the democratic
> nature of the
> > Club, means that our Directors are sometimes elected by
> only a tiny
> > fraction of the membership. A number of outside
> organizations,
> > including white-supremacist groups, have encouraged
> their members to
> > join the Sierra Club to facilitate the takeover.
> >
> >
> > WHAT CAN YOU DO?
> >
> > Log on to Groundswell Sierra (
> http://groundswellsierra.org ) to read
> > breaking news and find out how you can help. We're a
> coalition of
> > hundreds of Sierra Club activists united to oppose this
> takeover
> > effort. Numerous Club volunteers are supporting us,
> including 14
> > past Sierra Club Presidents, two past Executive
> Directors, Sierra
> > Student Coalition leaders and dozens of Sierra Club
> group, chapter
> > and national leaders.
> >
> > Groundswell Sierra is spreading the word about the
> takeover threat
> > and encouraging members to vote when Sierra Club
> ballots arrive in
> > March. Our goal is to defend the Sierra Club from
> being marginalized
> > by outside agendas. "The Sierra Club's historic
> mission of
> > protecting the environment and preserving America's
> natural heritage
> > is in jeopardy," says Downing. "We need to prevent
> that from
> > happening."
> >
> >
> > ** PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR SIERRA CLUB MEMBER
> FRIENDS **
> > By circulating this to your personal contacts, you can
> help support
> > the Sierra Club's democratic culture against outsider
> takeover.
> > Please don't spam; spam works against us. If you're not
> interested in
> > hearing from Groundswell Sierra about these challenges,
> please drop
> > us a line and we'll make sure we don't send you any
> further messages.
> >
> >
>
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