 he League of Conservation Voters San Diego
has endorsed Michael Zucchet for San Diego City Council. Zucchet is running
for the second district seat in the June primary.
 "Michael Zucchet is the clear
conservation choice for this seat on the San Diego City Council," said
Kevin Johnson, president of the League of Conservation Voters San Diego
(LCVSD), a county-wide organization that works to elect environmentally
responsible candidates and hold them accountable for their environmental
votes. "Zucchet understands the connection between San Diego's economy
and the environment, and knows that with responsible planning we ran have
both."
With a background in both economics
and environmental policy, Zucchet plans to bridge second district and city-wide
fiscal issues with environmental concerns. "We are responsible for
one of the most beautiful, valuable and fragile coastlines anywhere,"
remarked Zucchet. "If we choose to continue to ignore problems such
as beach pollution and habitat protection, our continued economic growth
will be jeopardized by a lack of environmental protections."
Zucchet has a strong commitment to
coastal preservation. He aims to protect public access to the coastline,
preserve San Diego's world famous ocean "viewshed," and to prevent
urban runoff pollution from reaching beaches.
In addition, Zucchet has criticized
the city's $2.5 million urban runoff diversion system as "completely
dysfunctional." At a news conference at the Tourmaline Surfing Park
diversion site this month, he outlined how the system is fatally flawed
from an engineering standpoint. He urged that a new system be developed
before more money is spent on a system which "simply will not work
as promised."
Zucchet, a San Diego native, recently
served as chief policy aide to City Councilwoman Valerie Stallings. He has
worked in Washington, DC, for both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Zucchet faces incumbent Byron Wear
in the June 2nd open primary. In his brief tenure as a member of the State
Coastal Commission, Wear voted to allow development on the bluffs above
San Mateo Point. This action was voted by Coast and Ocean magazine as one
of the worst Coastal Commission decisions on the coastline in 25 years.
The League of Conservation Voters
San Diego is a local chapter of the California League of Conservation Voters.
For more information about both organizations and their environmental endorsements,
visit their website at http://www.ecovote.org. LCVSD, 550 West C Street,
Suite 1150, San Diego, CA 92101; (619) 696-6211. | 
