For Immediate Release - July 25, 2012
Contact: Trey Pollard (202) 495-3058 (DC)
Anthony Aalto (808) 234-9779 (Hawai'i)
Sierra Club Launches Major Mail Campaign to Contrast Records of Gabbard and Hannemann
More than 140,000 Voter Contacts Expected in HI-02 Effort
SEE THE MAIL: http://bit.ly/LLMxlF
Honolulu, HI – Today, the Sierra Club announced it would invest significant resources in a new targeted mail campaign to reach voters in Hawai‘i’s Second Congressional District. Three mail pieces - each reaching 48,000 Hawai‘i homes - will contrast Tulsi Gabbard’s business background, military experience, and strong environmental record with Mufi Hannemann’s history of pay-to-play politics, bullying and environmental mismanagement
“As a businesswoman, a veteran, and an elected official who fought to protect Hawai‘i’s natural legacy, Tulsi Gabbard has proven she’s the kind of leader we can trust to create jobs and stand up to special interests,” said Anthony Aalto, Chair of the Sierra Club, O‘ahu Group. “In sharp contrast, Mufi Hannemann has an abysmal environmental record, a paper trail of bullying personal attacks and a record of siding with wealthy campaign contributors. We need a new leader to protect our environment, our health, and our economy -- and Tulsi Gabbard has the knowledge and the experience to do just that.”
The Sierra Club’s mail highlights several aspects of Gabbard’s background and record of protecting the environment and health of Hawai’i’s families. At age 19, Gabbard co-founded the non-profit Healthy Hawai‘i coalition to preserve Hawai‘i’s watersheds and improve the health of local communities and families. As a city councilwoman and state legislator, Gabbard personally led the volunteer cleanup effort at city beaches after flooding at the Waimanalo Gulch landfill released dangerous medical waste and she wrote and passed a new city law to keep plastic bags from polluting Honolulu’s coastal waters. Gabbard also volunteered to deploy for two tours of duty in the Middle East, serving as Captain and Company Commander in the National Guard.
Meanwhile, Hannemann’s woeful environmental record as mayor includes:
- Stopping the Kahe wind proposal;
- Cancelled curbside recycling programs;
- Three years before the Waimanalo Gulch medical waste spill, Hannemann vetoed efforts to close the landfill despite millions of dollars in fines for safety violations.
- Opposed measure that would have made job-creating financing for solar and efficiency improvements more accessible
- Wasted millions of taxpayer dollars opposing vital upgrades to sewage collection and treatment facilities;
- In the face of strong community opposition, pushed for the massive Turtle Bay expansion and urban sprawl over productive farmlands in central O'ahu.
- Ignored warnings about the sewage mains that burst and discharged more than 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai canal;
At the same time, Hannemann has engaged in campaigns attacking the families and backgrounds of his opponents, while taking large campaign contributions from contractors and developers to whom he has awarded huge public contracts.
SEE THE MAIL: http://bit.ly/LLMxlF
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Paid for by Sierra Club Independent Action, www.sierraclub.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. |