We don't all fit in a van anymore

When I started out as Executive Director of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters in 1997, I was startled to learn that only three other states had staffed organization whose primary focus was electing pro-environment candidates and holding them accountable.  

There were a handful of other all-volunteer State LCVs, and the national league was doing its thing at the Congressional level, but most state environmental communities had no strong electoral effort to promote environmental responsibility.

I attended the first conference of State LCVs that year. We could all fit in one large van to drive from downtown New Orleans to the small retreat center on the edge of a bayou where we met.

What a difference a decade makes.

Today, more than 120 folks from across the country are descending on Portland for the 12th annual conference of the environmental voter league movement. They come from more than 30 states and each has found its own niche using a cycle of political accountability (elections, lobbying, scorecards) to defend their state’s environment.

Last year alone, state leagues together spent more than $18 million on this effort. In the 2008 election, the state leagues endorsed 1,494 candidates for state and local office. 1,263 of them prevailed. In 428 of these races, the respective state LCV invested financial resources into the endorsed candidate, and 320 of those won-- a 73% win rate.

Here’s a great map and graphic charting the growth of the state league movement.

Perhaps most exciting, the national LCV has formed a partnership with the states, taking on the role of building and growing strong state-based and state-focused political organizations who can make a difference locally, while also partnering with LCV on big national issues like global warming.

It didn’t happen by accident. It happened because some generous and far-sighted individuals decided to launch a capacity building effort that used training, mentoring, seed money, matching grants, and direct assistance to grow organizations.

I was pleased to play my role doing a lot of the mentoring and training. It’s been exciting to travel to places like New Mexico, Montana, Alabama, and Wisconsin, among others, to see the challenges they face and help them overcome them.

And it’s been rewarding to watch as you meet somebody at a conference one year who’s at a start-up League and two years later their organization is kicking butt in elections and helping pass environmental legislation.

As much as we like to toast our own success here in Oregon, sometimes hearing success stories from other states – where the voting populace isn’t as friendly to the environment – is both humbling and inspiring.

I know I’ll come out of this weekend’s conference recharged and full of energy to push Oregon’s Legislature to adopt our Priorities for a Healthy Oregon, and to build the groundwork to elect more environmental leaders in the May 2010 primary – which after all, is only about 400 days from now.