Sarah Stevens among most anti-environmental candidates in the nation
Another North Carolina statewide candidate has been named to a conservation list of shame. This time, it’s NC Supreme Court candidate Sarah Stevens who has been named to the “Dirty Dozen in the States”—the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund’s (LCVVF) list of the worst state office candidates in the nation on environmental and democracy issues.
This is an “elite” list, shared by some of the other worst candidates in the most impactful contests for state offices, including pro-polluter candidates for governor in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin—candidates who “have consistently voted to raise energy costs, kill clean energy jobs, and take funding from corporate polluters.”
Sarah Steven’s record
As a member of the NC House of Representatives, Representative Sarah Stevens (R-Wilkes, Surry) has a woeful 16% lifetime score on our scorecard. Among other pro-polluter actions, she supported legislation which eliminated critical deadlines for reducing climate-heating carbon pollution, allowing dirty coal and other fossil fuel plants to keep operating long past the times they could and should be retired in favor of clean, affordable energy sources like wind and solar. She even voted to confirm notoriously pro-polluter judge Donald van der Vaart to the NC Utilities Commission, giving him extra power to pursue his dirty coal energy agenda.
“Stevens has also received thousands of dollars in financial support from utility interests, including contributions from Duke Energy,” notes the LCVVF analysis of Stevens and the significance of her run this year for NC Supreme Court. That contest “carries statewide significance because Stevens is now the Republican nominee for an eight-year seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, after resigning her House seat in June to focus on the campaign. She is challenging incumbent Justice Anita Earls. The state’s next Supreme Court is likely to see critical cases on utility rates, voting rights, education, and redistricting.”
Importance of the race for environment, democracy, and communities
Incumbent Justice Anita Earls has been endorsed in her re-election campaign by the NCLCV Conservation PAC. This contest is critical to the future of voting rights, democracy, and environmental protection in North Carolina.
Check your voter registration and make plans to vote in this year’s election. Early voting starts October 15th and lasts until October 31st. If you have not registered, you can register during this period in-person and vote at the same time. Be an effective voice for our environment by voting in this year’s election!
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