Sierra Club Endorses Wozniak, Warden

The Belmont/San Carlos chapter of the Sierra Club has announced its endorsement of .  There are five candidates vying for two seats on city council, and two candidates for one seat as city clerk. Election Day is Nov. 8.

According to a press release issued by the Sierra Club, the endorsements of Wozniak and Warden are the only endorsements the club has given in this year’s race. 

“We have been extremely pleased with Christine Wozniak’s first term on Council,” said the statement issued last week.  “She has championed Sierra Club zero waste, open space, and walk-able city issues for a low greenhouse gas city.  She also helped tier garbage rates in Belmont, the first city to do so, improving all other cities in the regional contract.”

The club endorsed Wozniak in 2007, and they say that the incumbent councilmember has shown consistent support for sustainable land-use planning, with a focus on bringing more jobs to the downtown.

“She is a passionate advocate for recycling, bicycle paths, reduced water use, shuttles, and walking-friendly communities.  She worked through her appointment at City and County Association of Governments and the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance to bring in grant money and regionally supported sustainability projects into Belmont.  She has had a strong emphasis on conservation and distributed services like local power, water, and compost systems,” the club said in its statement.

In the race for city clerk, the Sierra Club has endorsed Dave Warden.

“We are also proud to endorse Councilman Dave Warden for City Clerk.  Dave wants to reduce the Clerk’s office budget by $100,000, money which could be used by council to hire a sustainability or bike/pedestrian coordinator, primarily by making the position voluntary, similar to Belmont's elected treasurer.”

The statement continued, “Warden also wants to reduce waste primarily by going to electronic documents.  Given tight city finances, the city has not been able to sufficiently staff to support necessary green projects.  We endorsed Dave in 2009 - he has two more years on council.  He is vice-mayor.  We are pleased that he has helped pass the Green Advisory Committee’s recommendations through council.  While we are sorry to see him leave the council, we thought Dave Warden was presenting the Sierra Club with an opportunity to advocate for a green position if he follows through and reduces the office of clerk."

The Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental group.  The chapter has over 600 local members.  For more information, contact Gladwyn D'Souza, 650-804-8225, godsouza@mac.com or Mike Swire, 415-706-1653, mswire@yahoo.com.