2015 UPDATE: ORGANIZING BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER Shout out to our American friends in Whatcom County just the other side of the border from BC, some of whom helped us up here with the 2011 victory over Kevin Falcon. They have now started Whatcom Environmental Voters, an advocacy group that recognizes that the aquifers and pipelines and coal do not recognize borders and lines on maps. https://whatcomenviro.tumblr.com/ 2013 UPDATE: GREEN LIBERALS STILL INFLUENCING Green Libs advocate Tara Stafford weighs in on this year's election: https://www.straight.com/news/366141/joyce-murray-earns-backing-bc-green-liberals 2011: BC ENVIRO CLOUT : BC Green Liberal members met on Saturday Feb.19 at our town hall / convention at BCIT Vancouver, live streamed on the web to our members around the province. We were joined by Christy Clark, Mike DeJong, and George Abbott who all took questions from the audience. We had a panel of scientists on hand to clarify and fact check. CBC covered the event. A members-only closed session followed this. Input and votes were received from around the province. BCGL organizers reviewed and included all input, and made a formal recommendation to all environmentally focused voting members of the BC Liberal party : We requested a vote for three ranked positions, not just two (two are required). If only two positions were marked, then our undesired candidate (Falcon) could have won in the final round. Suggested ranking order was : 1. Abbott 2. DeJong 3. Clark We requested our members not list any other candidate. Based on polls and reported joinup numbers, it was our belief that the final round would very likely be Falcon versus Clark. Our insistance on marking a full three positions on the ballot was key to influencing the eventual outcome to favor Clark over Falcon. Final round vote results : Christy Clark28,41152.10% Kevin Falcon26,11947.90% A narrow margin. Abbott had asked his party regular supporters to vote Falcon as their second choice. Without factoring the enviro voters, the Abbott and Falcon support groups were very party insider, and were trending "anyone but Clark". The combined percentage of Abbott (28%) + Falcon (30%) on round 2 added up to 58%. If all of the Abbott votes had actually been party regulars who followed Abbott's instruction, Falcon would be Premier. It would appear that a group of around 10% of the voters, favored Abbott in round two, but broke away and favored Clark as their third choice. Some portion of those trend breakers were the BC Green Liberal influx voters. Thank you for your participation, and thanks to our partner groups at Organizing for Change: Dogwood Initiative Ecojustice Georgia Strait Alliance West Coast Environmental Law Wildsight and Conservation Voters of BC for helping spread the e-alert. CVBC is a separate, volunteer-run organization that works to elect environmental champions in BC. Here is an article in the Georgia Straight, discussing our influence on the election: https://www.straight.com/article-377415/vancouver/green-liberals-foiled-falcon BC Liberal leadership candidate Christy Clark's response to an open letter from business leaders who support an efficient and effective climate change plan. Dear friends: Thank you for taking the time to write about the important issues of building a low carbon economy, creating good jobs and protecting our environment for future generations. I believe this government is a leader in climate action and clean energy, both of which I support. We need to continue to move to aggressively establish British Columbia as a technology leader in the area of clean energy. This will create jobs in rural and urban British Columbia. You point out correctly that the next premier needs to be certain that he or she is not “creating investment uncertainty and undermining confidence in B.C.’s economy.” I share this concern, particularly as it relates to the carbon tax. I disagree with George Abbott’s plan for a referendum on the carbon tax this June — it will create economic uncertainty when we can least afford it. As I noted when he unveiled this scheme last month, putting tax measures to a vote sets a dangerous precedent and will ultimately hurt rural B.C. because voters in the urban areas will be able to set taxation policy for the entire province. There is no uncertainty in my mind when it comes to leading on the green economy. British Columbia has taken a leadership position in North America and I plan to keep B.C. at the forefront. As we continue to move forward on economic development in clean technology and green energy I will be pay particular attention to making sure the job creation benefits of these initiatives reach families across the province. It is impressive to see such a wide array of businesses represented on your letter and I hope we get an opportunity to work together build innovation and economic growth in our province. Sincerely, Christy Clark Who are the BC Green Liberal Caucus : British Columbians are eager to see a government that promotes a healthy economy, but our future is not possible without responsible stewardship of our rivers, forests, air, water, farmland, wildlife, and shorelines. The economy and the environment are part of the same system. We can have it all ! An unprecedented number of concerned citizens have joined the BC Liberal Party and formed the BC Green Liberal Caucus, because they want to see which candidates have the clearest, most sensible environmental positions. Our current goal is to choose a Premier who sees this bigger picture and offers us a future that supports us now, without compromising our children’s future. See this article about organizing, from Dogwood SCHEDULE : February 8 - Green Liberal organizers' coalition meeting February 9 - Official public announcement February 19 - BC Green Liberal Caucus town hall / membership convention February 24 - Public announcement of ranked support for candidates February 26 - BC Liberal party leadership vote THE FEB 19 TOWN HALL FOOTAGE Our BC Green Liberals Town Hall: Three of the four leading candidates for the top position in BC, battle it out with eachother and our panel of scientists. CBC coverage of the event, and our campaign to influence the election: