We accomplished an incredible amount of work this year, thanks to the support and involvement of our members across the county. Following on months of hard labor protecting waterways after last year’s Firestorm and helping to coordinate rapid response funding for fire-impacted neighbors, here are some of our major accomplishments over the last 6 months:
Measure M – Parks for All – Victory!
In the November election, Sonoma County voters overwhelmingly supported providing money for the maintenance, repair and opening of parks in our cities and the county. SCCA played a big role in making this happen – we knocked on 10,000 doors and spoke with voters at their homes about the benefits of this funding measure. 72.6% of voters countywide supported the measure, giving a strong mandate to our elected officials to continue support for parks. The success of the measure will translate into a projected $12 million+ annually in dedicated parks funding to county and city parks. These funds will be used to beautify and maintain our precious parklands and provide the funding to keep them pristine for future generations.
Election 2018
When our members vote, we win! In this November’s election, 75% of the candidates endorsed by SCCA were elected into local office. This was even higher than our historic average of 71% over the last 28 years. By getting environmental champions elected to office, we help to ensure that the environment has a seat at the table, and that the community is heard in local decision making. These candidates enter into office knowing that we will support them, AND that we will also hold them accountable to their promises to our community.
SCCA does not stop once the election is won. We will be here with you over the years to hold their proverbial feet to the fire, ensuring that our City Councils and Board of Supervisors continue to protect our natural resources and protect the needs of our community.
Toxic Free Future Campaign
We have succeeded in passing bans on glyphosate products (RoundUp, RangerPro, etc.) and other synthetic pesticides in several cities in the county so far, and we are are continuing forward to others to ensure that public spaces are safe for our children and residents to play, picnic, walk, and breathe. So far, Santa Rosa, Windsor and Sebastopol have adopted bans. Petaluma and Healdsburg are close to eliminated, with glyphosate in median strips currently. Next up, we will focus on Rohnert Park, Cotati, the County unincorporated areas, and neighborhoods in Cloverdale. As scientific concerns grow, the urgency of this campaign grows.
Smart Growth
Over the years, SCCA has worked to pass Urban Growth Boundaries around 9 out of 9 cities in the county. We will continue to protect these lines as they come up for re-election, and defend the lands outside the line from development. Meanwhile in the wake of the Firestorm, we are actively engaging with cities to ensure that the Rebuild process is resilient and the construction of new housing focuses this development in downtown areas near to transit. This will create vibrant urban cores in our cities, while reducing cars on the road and the Greenhouse Gases that fuel climate change.
