Environmental group gives local reps top scores

September 13, 2011

AUGUSTA—The non-partisan Maine Conservation Voters gave Reps. Chuck Kruger, D-Thomaston, Ed Mazurek, D-Rockland, and Joan Welsh, D-Rockport, perfect marks for their votes to protect the environment and invest in clean energy during the first session of the 125th Legislature.

This was a challenging session but these votes were particularly important,” Rep. Kruger said. “From keeping BPA away from our children to protecting Maine’s new energy efficient building code, these votes were all about protecting Maine people and preserving the natural resources Maine’s economy depends on.”

Legislators were graded on their votes regarding energy efficiency, clean water, children’s health, wildlife and the North Woods. The Maine Conservation Voters 2011 scorecard measured votes on some of the most significant environmental issues of the first session:

• Children’s Health: LD 412 voting to ban the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage containers, like baby bottles and sippy cups;
• Children’s Health: LD 228 voting against the repeal of Maine’s pesticide spraying notification law;
• Energy Efficiency: LD 1416 voting against weakening the statewide uniform building and energy efficiency code;
• North Woods: LD 1534 voting against establishing a biased study committee to eliminate the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC), the state agency charged with conserving Maine’s vast North Woods.

“It was really easy to be on the right side of these votes because it was simply common sense,” Rep. Welsh said. “Going backwards is not the answer.”

In past years, MCV scorecards have been used to showcase votes that furthered protections for Maine’s environment, which is central to the state’s economic brand. This year, the scorecard evaluated votes against an anti-environment agenda advanced by certain Republican lawmakers and Governor Paul LePage.

“This is my seventh year serving at the State House and some of the legislation presented this session was by far the most radical I’ve seen in my time here,” said Rep. Mazurek. “Our economy depends so largely on our natural environment and rolling back practical protections is ridiculous.”

View the full scorecard at Maine Conservation Voters.

Contact:

Jodi Quintero [Kruger, Mazurek, Welsh], 287-1488, c. 841-6279