Nevada Elected – and would-be elected – officials gather in support of conservation

A lot of good people think Nevada’s natural places are worth protecting. And a lot of those people – including quite a few sitting and future elected officials – showed up recently for a twinned pair of Nevada Conservation League events, one in Las Vegas and one in Reno.

Of course, thousands of people have contributed to the NCL’s effort to elect and support candidates who will stand up for clean air, clean water, hunting and fishing and other recreational opportunities, and healthy families and communities. But it’s also good to see people in person, put faces to the names, especially when they are new to the state’s public policy scene.

“What really strikes me at these events is the incredibly diversity of supporters,” says Scot Rutledge, the NCL executive director. “There are friends who love to hike and want to preserve public lands, friends who cycle every weekend in Red Rock Canyon or spend their winters skiing Lake Tahoe, sportsmen who care profoundly about protecting the habitat and the health of our wildlife populations. We have friends who fight for environmental justice and friends who develop, sell and promote clean energy and who are champions of clean air and clean water.”

NCL  “focuses on electing candidates who will advocate for wild life and wild lands,  clean air and water, for a booming clean energy industry – because you and I both know that our environment needs a voice at the Legislature, “ Rutledge notes. You can find the full list of NCL endorsements here.

Here’s a list of those candidates and elected officials who met in Las Vegas at the Historic Fifth Street School and in Reno at Cathexes:

Assemblyman Peggy Pierce

Heidi Swank

Councilwoman Debra March

Assemblyman Jason Frierson

Benny Yerushalmi

James Healey

Assemblyman Paul Aizley

Assemblyman Joe Hogan

Administrator John Cahill

Assemblyman Marilyn Dondero Loop

Assemblyman Lynn Stewart

Commissioner Tom Collins

Aaron Ford

Justin Jones

James Oscarson

Pat Spearman

Assemblyman David Bobzien

Senator Sheila Leslie

Mike Sprinkle

David Ward