Former Brooklyn Council Member Ken Fisher Leads Effort

Ken Fisher, chairman of NYLCV's New York City ChapterSeizing the momentum generated by Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC and the nationwide demand for action on climate change, the New York League of Conservation Voters is launching an ambitious effort to elect environmentally-minded candidates in 2008 and 2009.

The League is launching its first-ever New York City chapter to develop a green grassroots operation that will target key legislative and municipal races. The chapter's goal is to identify and mobilize 100,000 eco-voters by 2009 - when virtually every New York City elected office will be vacant because of term limits.

The announcement will be made this evening at the League's "Celebrating a Greener Skyline," reception at Christie's in New York City. Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff - one of the architects of the city's PlaNYC sustainability initiative - will be the keynote speaker.

NYLCV has tapped former City Council Member Ken Fisher to lead the New York City Chapter, and has assembled a bipartisan, ethnically and geographically diverse board, including activists, political operatives and practitioners. Fisher is a partner at WolfBlock, a major Northeast law firm.

Prior to his election to the City Council in 1991, Fisher was one of the state's top election lawyers and political strategists, representing politicians such as Gov. Hugh Carey, Borough President Howard Golden, Congressman Floyd H. Flake and the Brooklyn Democratic Party. He served more than 10 years in the Council.

"The time has come for the environmental movement to flex its electoral muscles," Fisher says. "We can all talk about fighting climate change, but it will remain just that - talk - if we don't elect people who will actually make the right decisions."

NYLCV's decision to green-light this initiative comes at a time when the environment is high on the political agenda. In October, former Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shared the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts on global warming. In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made sustainability one of the centerpieces of his administration with PlaNYC.

The organization's new aggressive approach was tested in this month's elections, where NYLCV targeted mayoral races in Yonkers and Schenectady, and the town supervisor race in Brookhaven. In just three months, the League raised over $100,000, and sent nearly 100,000 pieces of mail, made live phone calls and sent e-mails to support Mayor Phil Amicone, Mayor Brian Stratton and Supervisor Brian Foley based on their environmental records and future plans. All three won.

"Voters want action on the environment and they are taking that sentiment to the polling booth," said Marcia Bystryn, executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters. "Now we are building on this year's momentum, to ensure the environment is a top voting priority in New York City and across the state in years to come."

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The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) was founded in 1989 as a nonpartisan, policy making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision makers, and voters by evaluating incumbent performance and endorsing and electing environmental leaders to office in New York State.