Legislative Scorecard and Voters' Guide Educates Ohioans on Candidates Running for Office
With news media focusing overwhelmingly on national and world news most of us hear, or read, little about our state legislature. We read more about how much a presidential candidate’s hair cut cost than which candidates are running for the Ohio legislature. So, many people might be wondering which Ohio candidate they should vote for and what these candidates’ positions are on conservation issues.
Fortunately, the Ohio League of Conservation Voters (LCV), an organization that works to make Ohio legislators more aware of conservation issues and hold them responsible for the votes they cast on conservation issues, can help. The Ohio LCV publishes a legislative Scorecard and Voters’ Guide that are available online at www.ohiolcv.org. The Voters’ Guide lists endorsements on a non-partisan basis with some narrative about candidate answers to a written questionnaire and in face-to-face interviews. The Ohio LCV is governed by a bipartisan board and its legislative positions are based on the work of the Mainstream Green Coalition of more than 50 Ohio conservation groups that meet monthly and in an annual legislative summit. When an incumbent legislator has voted in line with Ohio LCV more than 80 percent of the time, they are nearly always endorsed for re-election. Candidates who return our written questionnaire are invited for an interview. In 2008, thirty-one candidates were interviewed, of whom 29 were endorsed. Including those incumbents whose voting record merited it, Ohio LCV has endorsed 64 candidates for state representative or state senator.
All of these endorsed candidates have pledged their support for state Issue Two, the renewal of the Clean Ohio Fund. Their positions on the wide range of issues that are expected to come before the legislature in 2009-10 are not unanimous, yet all these candidates give priority to environmental considerations. Incumbent legislators were rated on votes for mandatory electrical utility alternative energy portfolios, ratifying the Great Lakes Compact and placing the Clean Ohio Fund renewal on the ballot. Candidates were asked about their opinions regarding human impact on climate change, oil and gas drilling in Lake Erie or in state parks and state forests, location of wind turbines in Lake Erie, measures to discourage sprawl, state promotion of passenger rail service, funding for the state parks and nature preserves, and the Ohio EPA, among other issues.
Political endorsements are not an exact science. And, ultimately, each voter makes their own choice. For additional information on candidates, voters can always contact the candidates directly. A respectful inquiry could have strong impact. Why not ask each candidate in your district, “Do you support renewal of the Clean Ohio Fund, State Issue Two? What measures to reduce human effect on global warming would you support? Do you support drilling for oil or natural gas in state nature preserves?” A letter to the editor with specific reference to a candidate’s position on an environmental issue would have the added impact of bringing attention to the candidate.
Certainly, do not stop at the top of the ballot. Our state legislators and local government officials make decisions that have profound impact on our environment. Vote from the bottom of the ballot to the top.
For more information, contact Don Hollister at Ohio LCV at 614-481-0512 or visit www.ohiolcv.org.
For information on candidates outside of Ohio, including the presidential candidates, visit www.lcv.org.