Politics Tuesday: Greening the Garden State

Posted by Dave Wilmot, dave@oceanchampions.org

No, we won't be electing a new president today (unfortunately) and the House and Senate candidates have 12 more months of campaigning, yet there are a number of state and local elections today. New Jersey, for example, is holding elections for every single seat in the state legislature. Ocean Champions Voter Fund has teamed up with local New Jersey ocean conservation leaders to bring a bold new strategic political approach to protecting New Jersey's coastal and ocean environment.

Ocean Champions isn't alone on the ocean political front lines. You may be unfamiliar with Ocean Champions Voter Fund, yet along with Ocean Champions it is the first political organization focused on the oceans. On the state level think of the Voter Fund as a political action committee - it can endorse and financially support candidates, as well as run independent media and grassroots campaigns to mobilize voters.

Ocean Champions has successfully positioned the oceans as a political issue on the national stage and is gaining more access and influence in Washington, DC every day. Our goal now is to initiate efforts to create the same dynamic on a state level.

Why New Jersey? NJ is an excellent place to start because of the timing of the election, the importance of ocean issues in the state, and the good work of local groups - ocean are already on the radar screen of some politicians in the state because of their hard work.

We expect the majority of our candidates to win today and we look forward to working with them. The bottom line is that we will do whatever it takes to make oceans a priority political issue - in New Jersey and around the country.