The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund has begun a campaign to oust the man voted the "Most Anti-Conservation Member of Congress" -- Republican Richard Pombo (CA-11). Rep. Pombo is the best kind of friend special interests have ever had. He has tried to gut the Endangered Species Act, restart commercial whaling, open coastlines to offshore drilling, sell off 15 national parks, allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and weaken the Magna Carta of environmental law -- the National Environmental Policy Act.
He is a protégé of Tom DeLay, who personally helped Pombo reach the all-powerful chairmanship of the House Resources Committee.
Defenders has already begun targeting voters in Pombo's district in California with print and television ads, as well as automated phone calls to voters.
On Sunday, the Defenders held a meeting for volunteers in Pombo's district as they begin to increase their attacks. The Defenders had double the expected turnout, and said they were pleased with the interest and enthusiasm. (Read the Say No To Pombo blog for details about the meeting.)
Challengers to Pombo in his district are Republican Pete McCloskey, a 78-year-old former congressman who was an original co-author of the 1973 Endangered Species Act -- the bill Pombo is trying to gut. McCloskey has looked for a younger Republican candidate, but has not been able to find one, so he said he will enter the race if one does not step forward.
On the Democrats side is Jerry McNerney, who is a wind power engineer and who lost to Pombo in the last election. McNerney's competition will be Steve Filson, an airline pilot from Danville with no political experience.
According to an article in the Tracy Press:
"Filson has the unofficial backing of the campaign arm of House Democrats and had raised twice as much money as McNerney as of the end of September, the most recent date for which figures are available.
McNerney's campaign manager, A.J. Carrillo, said the campaign's fundraising totals have gone from around $50,000 on Sept. 30 to more than $100,000 at of the end of 2005. Carillo said McNerney received only one donation from a political action committee, with the rest coming from 700 individuals.
About 25 percent of Filson's money came from PACs, and about 40 percent of Pombo's money was PAC donations.
'All we have are people," McNerney told the crowd Sunday. "It's not all about who has the most money on Election Day.'"
Unfortunately, anyone who hopes to have a chance against Pombo -- with his wealthy special interest contributors -- will need to bring in a lot of money if he hopes to win.
The Defenders of Wildlife said they will wait until after the March filing deadline before deciding on committing to a full campaign to defeat Pombo, which will include opening a campaign office in the district. As a nonpartisan group they said they will consider endorsing McCloskey's bid or backing one of Pombo's Democratic challengers.
Visit the Defenders of Wildlife special Pombo in their Pocket website for full details on their efforts and to see their ad featuring Tom DeLay.
And write to the Defenders to encourage them to take on Pombo with all the resources they have. No congressman is more dangerous to the environment than this man.