Candidate recommendation by Sierra Club - North Olympic Group

This a section of the message, dated July 16, sent by the Sierra Club - North Olympic Group, to their members.

Important Jefferson County PUD Commissioner Primary Election Coming Up 

The North Olympic Group is following closely the race for Jefferson County PUD Commissioner, District 2. Recently, the PUD has assumed the role of an electric utility but has fallen far short of what citizens had hoped for when Jefferson County voted to establish its own pubic electric utility and to end its longstanding relationship with Puget Sound Energy (PSE).

For this reason we think it's time for new PUD leadership. We encourage Sierra Club members to support candidates in the primary who understand the importance of environmental and conservation issues and the important role the PUD can play in developing a long-range strategy that emphasizes affordable and environmentally sustainable energy for Jefferson County. After the Sierra Club North Olympic Peninsula Political Committee Chairs interviewed all three candidates, we felt both challengers--Tony DeLeo and Kenneth Collins--are worthy of your support in the primary.

Since taking on the responsibility of a power utility, the PUD has sent hundreds of disconnect notices to lower-income citizens because it failed to continue the financial assistance programs PSE had in place for helping people pay their winter heating bills. Additionally, the PUD is faced with the prospect of turning back hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked for conservation by the Bonneville Power Administration because of a failure to publicize and aggressively market these programs. Finally, despite the fact that Jefferson County has one of the highest solar adoption rates in the state, the PUD has failed to make solar one of its priorities. This is particularly important in light of the fact that, depending on the year, from 10-20% of the PUDs electricity comes from nuclear and coal sources that need to be phased out. It's time for a change.


 My thoughts
"Organizations that consistently take a stand and are willing to work for the good of all can be a valuable resource in making your decisions."

The Sierra Club has released its recommendations for the upcoming primary election.  Having been through their screening process, I can attest to the fact that they do their homework before taking a stand, be it on the election or protecting our environment and quality of life.

Tony