Green governance

With the likes of Jeb Bush on their way out, the environment may get a boost from a crop of progressive new governors.

By Amanda Griscom Little

Read more: Environment, Opinion, 2006 Elections

Oct. 16, 2006 | While the Mark Foley mess has everyone's attention riveted on the fast-changing congressional landscape, environmentalists should also keep an eye on gubernatorial races this November.

"The state level is where all the truly positive environmental action has been happening in recent years," says Tony Massaro, senior vice president for political affairs with the D.C.-based League of Conservation Voters. This year, for the first time, LCV is channeling money to state conservation voter leagues to help them campaign for green gubernatorial candidates. "Governors occupy the executive branch, which means they can push for positive environmental change whether they've got a favorable legislature or not," Massaro says.

The Sierra Club is also putting national funds toward governors' races for the first time this year. "We decided that since the best policies are being made at the state level, that's where we should be doing our politics as well," says Sierra Club's national political director, Cathy Duvall. In a few states, including Pennsylvania and Michigan, the group is putting more resources into gubernatorial campaigns than congressional ones.

Examples of ambitious state-level environmental initiatives are legion: Twenty-two states have implemented a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) mandating that a certain percentage of electricity come from clean sources such as solar and wind power. Ten states have followed California's lead in adopting clean-car legislation requiring new automobiles to have lower greenhouse-gas emissions starting in the 2009 model year. Seven states in the Northeast have joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, committing to carbon dioxide reductions of 10 percent by 2019. And California has, of course, outdone all the rest by becoming the first state in the nation to impose mandatory caps on greenhouse-gas emissions.

Companies loath to deal with a patchwork of differing state greenhouse-gas rules are increasingly calling for federal-level solutions that would give them more clarity and certainty. "Essentially, leadership at the state level is, via industry, calling Washington to action," says Duvall. That makes governors with bold green vision all the more important.

Here's a roundup of the most environmentally significant gubernatorial races in two parts: This week we focus on key states along the Eastern seaboard -- New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida -- and next week we'll cover states in the heartland and the West.

New York: Eliot Spitzer (D) vs. John Faso (R)

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer has never been shy about where he stands on environmental protection -- or anything else. "George Bush is, hands down, the worst president on environmental and energy issues that this country has ever seen," the pugnacious Spitzer spouted during the first big environmental speech of his campaign. As New York's attorney general, he has sued the Bush administration numerous times over environmental issues, including greenhouse-gas emissions, mercury pollution from power plants, pesticide use in public housing and efficiency standards for appliances.

Spitzer has taken plenty of polluters to court, too. Among his many victories, he forced six New York power plants to radically cut emissions that cause acid rain and smog, achieving reductions equivalent to removing 2.5 million cars from the road. He was also the first A.G. to sue operators of coal-fired power plants in other states, arguing that their pollution blows into New York and contaminates the air breathed by his constituents.

Enviros are gleeful over Spitzer's 46-point lead in the polls against Republican candidate John Faso, former minority leader of the state Assembly. They see Spitzer as one of the strongest environmental champions politics has produced in decades. One hundred and one leading environmental activists and green-leaning celebs have joined together to endorse Spitzer, from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Bill McKibben to Chevy Chase and Pete Seeger. "Combating global warming, cleaning up the Hudson River, and closing Indian Point [nuclear plant] are all issues that I know he will effectively address," Kennedy said in a statement. "If anyone can solve these issues, it's Eliot Spitzer."

According to a recent New York Times poll, 64 percent of voters back Spitzer, while only 18 percent would vote for Faso.

Massachusetts: Kerry Healey (R) vs. Deval Patrick (D)

Enviros have a good chance of gaining a gubernatorial ally in Massachusetts as well. Outgoing Republican Gov. Mitt Romney -- who yanked his support from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative at the last minute -- decided not to run for a second term, in part to clear the way for a potential presidential run in 2008 and in part because of low approval ratings in his left-leaning state. He handed the GOP ticket to his lieutenant governor, Kerry Healey, whose environmental platform scarcely differs from Romney's.

On the Democratic side -- and substantially ahead in the polls -- is Deval Patrick, a former assistant attorney general for civil rights under President Clinton who later headed up the equality and fairness task force at Texaco, then served as executive vice president and general counsel at Coca-Cola, where he encouraged sustainability efforts.

"Patrick not only has an exciting environmental platform, he has the courage to implement it," says Lora Wondolowski, executive director of the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters. Patrick has promised to embrace RGGI, and was the first gubernatorial candidate to pledge strong support for the Cape Wind project, while many other Massachusetts politicians have tried to steer clear of the controversial issue to avoid angering either conservationists or wealthy liberals on Cape Cod who don't want wind turbines obstructing their ocean views. "This is a guy who understands that sustainability and energy independence are defining terms of the 21st century economy," says Wondolowski. Patrick has also pledged to steer more resources to the state's parks and environmental agencies, which have the 48th-lowest funding of any state in the nation.

Healey, meanwhile, has publicly stated her opposition to both Cape Wind and RGGI, and proposed corporate sponsorship of state parks, according to Wondolowski. "If Healey had her way, you'd be taking a nature walk in rural Massachusetts through the Ben and Jerry's state park," says Wondolowski.

According to the most recent Rasmussen poll, Patrick is ahead 57 percent to 24 percent -- a roomy 33-point lead.

Next page: Enviro prospects in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida