Sierra Club endorsements for Rockland County Legislature

The Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club today announced its endorsement of Alden
Wolfe, Harriet Cornell, Nancy Low-Hogan, and Patricia (Patsy) Wooters for the Rockland County Legislature in the November 3, 2015, election.

“We are very proud to support these fine candidates for election or re-election,” said Ed Berry, Atlantic Chapter Political Co-Chair. “We are confident that they will continue to work to protect New York’s environment for our families and our future.”

Alden Wolfe (D, C, WF, Ind--District 6) is currently Chairman of the Rockland County Legislature, formerly Chairman of the Environmental Committee. He recently announced the formation of a task force which will address the emerging challenge of food waste and recovery, and is working to protect Rockland residents from hazards of “bomb” trains daily carrying Bakken crude oil though Rockland. Wolfe has authored legislation requiring green building standards for Rockland government buildings, eliminating the use of polystyrene foam and banning toxic chemicals in children’s’ products. He has called for Indian Point’s closure and has co-sponsored legislation preventing fracking waste from being used in Rockland. Wolfe is also a leader in the successful fight to protect Rockland’s drinking water from United Water’s desalination proposal.

Harriet Cornell (D, WF, WEP, Ind--District 10) has had a long history of working to protect the environment, from her work in the Rockland County Legislature since 1984 to close Indian Point to her current role as Chair of the Environmental Committee and Chair of the Rockland Task Force on Water Resources Management, which has the task of crafting a sustainable water policy for Rockland’s drinking water. Years ago she opposed an incineration proposal and instead advocated for recycling of solid waste in the County. One of her early actions as Chairwoman of the Legislature was to initiate the development of a County Comprehensive Plan. She worked closely with county planners to ensure public input in its drafting. The Plan was adopted in 2011 and has helped the County become a Climate Smart Community. Cornell has called for major changes in the dangerous transport of Bakken crude oil which travels by rail through Rockland communities and close to our one reservoir. She has encouraged conservation and efficiency within County government, and promoted improvements to mass transit, among many other accomplishments.

Nancy Low-Hogan (D, WF, WEP--District 17), as Vice-Chair of the Environmental Committee, has also been a strong advocate for protecting the environment. Her opposition to a desalination plant for Rockland’s drinking water helped protect residents from drinking Hudson River water drawn downstream from Indian Point and at the same time protected Haverstraw Bay’s irreplaceable habitat. She is an active member of the Rockland Water Task Force’s Conservation subcommittee, and advocated for a comprehensive approach to the shared use path for the new Tappan Zee Bridge. She has called for more stringent regulations regarding CSX rail transport of hazardous liquids, and for health and safety risk assessments before approval of a 42” diameter natural gas pipeline next to Indian Point.

Patsy Wooters (D, WF, Green, WEP--District 12) has a long history of environmental leadership positions in organizations which protect the environment. As an active member of the Rockland Water Coalition, she opposed the costly and environmentally destructive desalination plant for Rockland’s drinking water. She was also part of a successful effort to stop a natural gas fired power plant from being built in Torne Valley, north of Hillburn. A recipient of the Rockland County Executive’s Outstanding Environmental Volunteer Award in 2010, Wooters is Co-Chair of the Conservation Committee of the Rockland Water Task Force as well as founder and Chair for many years of the Ramapo Highlands Coalition to protect the Ramapo watershed, the source of 1/3 of Rockland’s drinking water. She is also Secretary of the NY-NJ Trail Conference Board.

“We are deeply grateful to these candidates for their years of hard work on behalf of the environment,” said Gale Pisha, Rockland Sierra Club Political Coordinator. “They are true environmental champions who lead the fight to protect Rockland’s clean air, clean water and special places.