Guest Blogger: Bill Kortum of Sonoma County Conservation Action

Democracy for America, evolving from the internet grass roots organizing success of Howard Dean in 2004, is now thinking local and environmental. A good decision, and welcome to the many county groups who recognize that all politics are local. Sonoma County Conservation Action has acted locally for sixteen years with a year round canvass to educate voters about issues and progressive candidates. We would like to think that the voter turnout in 2006, which marked Sonoma County next to Alpine County as having the highest voter turn out in the whole state, was partially the result of our canvassers talking issues to over 70,000 households each year.

Democracy requires civic participation beyond just going to the polls. Call our office at 571.8868 and learn about our Know our Neighbor (KYN) project to bring neighborhoods together and to lay groundwork for civic involvement at election time.

SCCA has educated voters on urban growth boundaries, water issues, wastewater reuse, forest practices, general plans, SMART rail, housing issues, greenhouse gas, GMO, heritage lands, renewal of the Open Space District, and dozens of other environmental issues. When you have an environmental, progressive council and Board of Supervisors, good decisions are made and there is less reason to organize into advocacy groups. Paul Hawken quotes an NGO chairman in Seattle who is so impressed with the initiatives being undertaken by Mayor Greg Nichols that they are questioning their need to exist. Let us all concentrate year round on finding and electing progressive candidates for public office.

Bill Kortum, President
Sonoma County Conservation Action