Legislators and City Council members
who vote against congestion pricing can
expect payback from a new political action
committee being formed by the New
York League of Conservation Voters. Its
Climate Action PAC will campaign against
them at election time and will support
candidates who help reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.

The league dipped its toes into campaign
activism last year, spending
$100,000 on three races—in Brookhaven,
Yonkers and Schenectady—and saw all of
its candidates win. The PAC expects to raise
at least $300,000 in its first year. With environmentalism
surging among New Yorkers,
“this is a great year to be selling this
product, as it were,” a spokesman says.

The PAC’s Web site, located at
www.whatisnewyorkwaitingfor.com, has
quietly gone live. The site offers amusing
but dire forecasts about the impact of climate
change on the state. The organization
will celebrate the launch at a private
party next week; Deputy Mayor Kevin
Sheekey will be the guest speaker.