Anti-immigrant candidates fail to win board seats

A record number of Sierra Club members participated in the election.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Anti-immigration advocates failed in their effort to gain control of the Sierra Club, but the debate has not been put to rest at the nation's largest environmental group.
"It's the most pressing environmental issue of the 21st century," said board member Paul Watson, who supported the anti-immigration challengers. "I find it cowardly for any environmental organization to avoid talking about the issue of human overpopulation."
The candidates picked by the club's nominating committee won all five open seats on the 15-member board in the bitterly contested election, which was conducted by mail and online since March 1. The results were announced Wednesday.
The election was widely seen as a referendum on the San Francisco-based club's policy on immigration. In recent years, a growing faction has urged a tougher stance on immigration, calling the growing U.S. population and its consumption of natural resources the greatest threat to the environment.
Warned of takeover bid
Before the election, Sierra Club leaders warned that anti-immigration forces were trying to take over the organization and its $100 million annual budget. With the board's consent, the club sent out a ballot notice warning members that nonenvironmental groups were trying to influence the vote.
Board members have agreed to ask voters in next year's election whether the club should take a position on the politically charged question.
Some club leaders organized a movement called Groundswell Sierra to defeat what they called an attempted takeover by outside groups. Groundswell volunteers reached out to club members by phone, e-mail and postcards and encouraged them to vote for the nominated candidates.
"It's a stunning rejection of the anti-immigration forces who tried to take over the Sierra Club," said Adam Werbach, the club's president from 1996 to 1998. "I think people realized that there's no role for racism or anti-immigrant feelings in the environmental movement."
Who was elected
The five board members elected from a pool of 17 candidates were Nick Aumen, Dave Karpf, Jan O'Connell, Sanjay Ranchod and Lisa Renstrom, said club spokeswoman Kerri Glover. Aumen, O'Connell and Renstrom were elected to their second terms, while Ranchod and Karpf will serve their first terms. Renstrom received the most votes with 141,407.
"It's an extremely talented, diverse group of committed, longtime activists from around the country that will make excellent directors," club president Larry Fahn said. "I think the members have shown wisdom and levelheadedness in soundly rejecting some candidates who would have liked to alter the Sierra Club's agenda."
A record number of members -- 171,616 out of 757,058, or nearly 23 percent -- participated in the vote, the most in the club's 112-year history. Less than 10 percent took part in recent elections, which allowed board members to be elected with relatively few votes.
Three of the challenger candidates -- former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, Frank Morris and David Pimentel -- filed a lawsuit in February, saying that club leaders were interfering with the election. They later dropped the lawsuit under threat of a countersuit seeking reimbursement for legal fees.
Lamm and Pimentel didn't respond to calls seeking comment.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.