Evironmental report card for local officials
Sonoma City Councilmembers Laurie Galian and Steve Barbose, along with Supervisor Susan Gorin, earned high grades from Sonoma County Conservation Action on its annual Environmental Report Card.
Each received a grade of A- for the period between the summer of 2012 and the fall of 2013.
“Assessment of the responsiveness and voting behavior of our elected officials between elections is a better gauge for the voting public to consider than a campaign flyer,” said Bill Kortum, SCCA board president.
Voting grades for other Sonoma Councilmembers: Ken Brown, B; David Cook, C; and Tom Rouse, C-. Full grades and comments below.
Conservation Action is Sonoma County’s largest environmental organization. It grades in two main categories: 1) On environmental voting on policy matters and projects that come before their Boards/Councils; and 2) On availability to the public and on their willingness to listen to citizen input on environmental issues.
“Assessment of the responsiveness and voting behavior of our elected officials between elections is a better gauge for the voting public to consider than a campaign flyer,” said Bill Kortum, SCCA board president.”
The watchdog function is designed to hold elected officials accountable for their actions regarding their voting and their general attitude towards the local environment, he said.
“Through our field poll to council watchers in each municipality, we have a real sense of how these elected leaders are behaving, both when it comes to voting and when it comes to listening to their constituents,” said Dennis Rosatti, executive director of SCCA.
Started in 1991, Conservation Action is Sonoma County’s largest environmental organization.
SCCA grades and comments:
Sonoma City Council
Tom Rouse
Voting: C-
Listening: D
Follows a pro-business agenda. Disconnected from the community and frequently out-of-town on personal business.
Laurie Gallian
Voting: A-
Listening: B+
A good vote for the environment. Very responsive to constituent concerns. Public understanding of her positions would improve with better articulation.
David Cook
Voting: C
Listening: C+
Gets Ag. issues and sustainability concerns but tends to vote pro-business. Very amiable but doesn’t always listen.
Ken Brown
Voting: B
Listening: B-
Generally good on environmental issues. Opposed Hotel Limitation Measure, favoring big money interests. Conflicting feedback on his willingness to listen.
Steve Barbose
Voting: A-
Listening: B+
A consistent vote for the environment. Responsive, but persistence needed.
First District Supervisor Susan Gorin
Voting: A-
Listening: A-
Newest Board member; already a solid environmental vote. Chair of Sonoma Clean Power (SCP) and leader on water issues. Approachable and extremely responsive to constituents concerns. Needs to lead on event centers.
Ratings are based on citizen input and are the opinion of SCCA, which is responsible for the contents of this report.
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I think the Counsel’s positions on the proposed leaf blower ban should be a notable factor in the assessment of their grades. Ken Brown’s flip flop on that issue (against the ban, siding with business interests) should drop him to at least C minus.