Washington State’s Leading Environmental Organization Endorses Attorney General Bob Ferguson for Governor

Bold environmental progress depends on electing a strong state executive in 2024

WASHINGTON STATE (October 10, 2023)–Today, Washington Conservation Action (the unified brand of Washington Environmental Council and Washington Conservation Voters) announces its endorsement of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson for Washington State Governor in the 2024 election. WCA believes Ferguson is the candidate most likely to seek out and continue collaboration with Washington Conservation Action (WCA) and the environmental community. He has been a fierce advocate for holding polluters accountable and for seeking racial justice that is a precondition of environmental justice.

“I’m honored to receive the endorsement from Washington Conservation Action, the leading legislative and political voice in Washington state’s environmental community,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson, candidate for governor. “WCA has a long history of fighting fiercely for people and the planet, and I look forward to collaborating to solve the existential problems that we face: rising energy costs, unchecked pollution, the impacts of climate change on frontline communities, and increasingly severe wildfires and drought. I know the work we must do for Washington will be difficult and I am confident that we will rise to the challenge together.”

In 2024, Washingtonians will elect a new governor to lead our state. The Governor’s office has unparalleled power to guide our environmental priorities, and decisions made at state and local level have a profound impact on the planet. It is up to environmental organizations like Washington Conservation Action to help voters understand which candidate will be a better fit when it comes to our environment – for protecting people and nature as one. 

Attorney General Ferguson has a long track record of holding polluters accountable for the harm they cause. As Attorney General, he created the Environmental Protection Division, which pursues civil and criminal litigation to protect Washington’s diverse and beautiful ecosystems. In the last 13 years, the division has won 50 criminal convictions. The office prosecuted Monsanto for pollution from PCBs, which are banned and dangerous. 

The Attorney General has also prioritized racial justice and Tribal sovereignty. He formed the Wing Luke Civil Rights Division and rolled out an environmental justice initiative – even before passage of the Healthy Environment For All (HEAL) Act in 2021. He is also endorsed by four Tribal Nations (Kalispell, Puyallup, Tulalip, and Snoqualmie) and two preeminent Tribal leaders, NCAI President and Vice Chair of the Quinault Tribe Fawn Sharp and Samish Indian Nation Chair Tom Wooten. 

“There can be no environmental progress without environmental justice. That means listening to and working with those who have been most harmed by pollution: frontline communities and Tribal Nations, the original stewards of this land. More than anything right now, we need a leader who will respond to our communities and create the systemic changes that we need in our politics, our environment, our economy, ” said Alyssa Macy, CEO Washington Conservation Action. “Attorney General Bob Ferguson is the right person to stand up to powerful corporate interests and protect the people and the environment in our state.”

Washington Conservation Action represents tens of thousands of members and activists across the state. Ahead of this election, WCA will educate and mobilize its members and supporters around Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s conservation and environmental justice record.

“In this polarized era, we need collaboration more than ever. At Washington Conservation Action, our history has proved that it’s the only approach that results in the progress we need,” said Ken Lederman, Chair of the Washington Conservation Action Board. “Based on our interviews and our analysis of his record, Attorney General Ferguson is the most qualified leader to unite us, to stand up to existential threats facing people and the planet, and to help create a Washington that we can be proud to leave to future generations.”

Washington Conservation Action is a powerful statewide organization that has elected environmental champions and that has fought for environmental progress for nearly 60 years. WCA helped to create most of the institutions and laws that protect people and nature in this state: the Department of Ecology, Environmental Policy Act, Forest Practices Act, Shoreline Management Act, Oil Spill Pollution Act, Model Toxics Control Act, Growth Management Act, E-Waste Recycling Law, the Clean Cars Bill, Clean Energy Transformation Act, the HEAL Act, Clean Fuels Standard, and the Climate Commitment Act.

WCA was the first to endorse Governor Jay Inslee, whose leadership and collaboration helped us pass groundbreaking climate change and environmental laws, including the Climate Commitment Act, a 100% Clean Energy standard, modernized state greenhouse gas limits, and the Clean Fuels Standard. We believe that Bob is the candidate who can bring us together to continue the work that Governor Inslee supported.

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To read all of Washington Conservation Action’s endorsements click here

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Zachary Pullin, 206-639-3760, zachary@waconservationaction.org