Chapter 4: Sierra Club Michigan's Political Committee

SIERRA CLUB MICHIGAN CHAPTER’S

POLITICAL PROGRAM

In 1982, breaking a 90 year tradition of non-endorsement of political candidates, the Sierra Club began making non-partisan endorsements of federal candidates through its new political action arm, the Sierra Club Committee On Political Education (SCCOPE) [Now the Sierra Club Political Committee].  That year the then Mackinac [now Michigan] Chapter, founded in 1967, in reaction to the environmental attacks coming from the Regan administration, and its Secretary of the Interior James Watt, endorsed for Congress Bob Carr and Howard Wolpe. 

This decision was partially the result of HVG activist Marty Fluharty who was a member of the National Sierra Club board at the time.  Fluharty went on to chair the National Sierra Club Political Committee from 1984 -1988.

Subsequently endorsed and vigorously supported federal environmental defenders have included: Senators Carl Levin, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters.

By 1988 the Michigan Chapter was making political endorsements in Michigan House and Senate races as well as for statewide offices, and occasionally ballot proposals.

The Michigan Chapter has engaged in political battles over many environmental issues including: wilderness protection [Michigan Wilderness Heritage Act], nuclear power safety, forest protection, creation of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, regulation of oil and gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing, air quality, requiring a deposit on beverage bottles and cans, urban trash incineration, Great Lakes protection, regulation of pesticides and herbicides, ground water protection, factory farming and food quality.

Many Sierra Club Michigan volunteers from all over Michigan have subsequently expanded and improved the Chapter involvement in selecting strong environmentally sensitive candidates for both the Federal and Michigan levels.  This has expanded into environmental activism on both the legislative and electoral fronts.  

This volunteer effort was only possible due to the complete dedication of extraordinary Chapter staff such as: Alison Horton, Anne Woiwode, Dan Farough, Gayle Miller and Mike Berkowitz.

Our Political Committee chairs have included:

Ed McArdle 1987-1991

Gwen Nystuen 1991-2001, (also on National SCPC 1990-1998)

Tim Killeen 2001-2004

Sue Kelly 2004-2008

Leigh Fifelski 2008-2009

Richard Morley Barron 2010-Present

Over the years the Chapter has given awards to politicians who have been leaders in environmental protection.  This includes: US Rep. Dale Kildee (1987), MI Sen. Lana Pollack (1987), and US Sen. Carl Levin (1988).

Today, under the tireless leadership of our Legislative and Political Director, Mike Berkowitz, (pictured below with Political Committee Chair Richard Barron), our Chapter maintains a nationally renowned political program which, every two years, interviews, screens and publicly endorses scores of candidates for elective office at the federal, Michigan and local levels.

Our local groups dispatch volunteers to canvass for our endorsed candidates.   The Chapter publishes every other year, both in the Mackinac and on-line at our web site, a complete listing of all our Federal, State and local political candidate endorsements.  2016 Endorsements.

For the last two electoral cycles our Political Director has instituted our much-praised political intern program.  Every election year he recruits, trains, and assigns young volunteer interns to work with the campaigns of many of our endorsed candidates for state and federal office.  This innovative program benefits the candidate, the intern, the Chapter and the public.

The Political Committee has also established a Political Action Committee, Michigan Sierra PAC, to fund our political activities and allow us to financially support strong environmental candidates through out Michigan.  Our PAC fundraisers allow us to raise needed funds as well as letting our members and supporters meet our endorsed candidates.

Mike is also responsible for staffing and advising our Legislative program which tracks all pending Michigan legislation that would impact our Chapter goals.  This includes preparing a Legislative scorecard tracking the votes of all state legislators on our issues and making it available to our supporters and the public.  He also prepares a similar scorecard on our Governor.  Our principal volunteer lobbyist Robert Gordon assists Mike.  Both Jean Gramlich and Lydia Fisher chair our Legislative Committee.

In summary, the Chapter Political Committee, with seventeen members from around the State, has become a well-known, influential, and well-respected player in the world of Michigan politics and it intends to build on its past successes and to keep improving with the help and support of all those Chapter members who understand how vital its work is to the protection of our natural patrimony.  This is the Committee’s 50^th birthday present to the Michigan Chapter.