Environmental advocates love it when one of our own reaches for public office herself to continue putting environmental justice priorities into action. In an historic local election last week, former NCLCV Foundation organizer Tina Brown earned 64% of the vote, defeating a 30-year incumbent. She will soon be the first woman and first African-American mayor of the Town of Robersonville in rural eastern Martin County.

Those who have known Robersonville for decades will recall that it was dominated economically by a large Perdue Chicken processing plant, which created equally large local environmental problems. At one time, its wastewater discharge surges regularly overloaded town sewage pumping station capacity. That produced backflows of raw chicken processing waste into the yards or even bathrooms of an adjacent low-income neighborhood. Later, Perdue closed the plant rather than deal fairly with local workers seeking union representation to help address severe occupational health and safety concerns.

Congratulations and best wishes to Mayor-elect Brown in leading her town into a brighter, cleaner future! She steps into a challenging role, but her colleagues in the environmental justice movement have confidence in her.

Brown joins longtime NCLCV donor and environmental advocate David Knight, who on October 5th decisively defeated an incumbent city council member in Raleigh’s District E. Knight campaigned heavily on environmental and transportation issues.

This was the first office Knight has sought, but he has been around state and local government for years. His experience includes working for the North Carolina Nature Conservancy, as an Assistant Secretary in the former Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and as Director of the state Outdoor Recreation Industry Office. He also served on Raleigh’s Parks and Greenway Board, as the first chair of Raleigh’s Water Conservation Task Force, and as chair of the Wake County Water Partnership.

Knight said, “Raleigh is ready for a City Council that works together on the issues that matter most: an affordable place to live for all of us, transportation that allows us to get around Raleigh easily and efficiently, and a healthy environment for the next generation.”

Brown and Knight will need help from the state government to see their visions through. Help NCLCV bring them a legislative majority which will protect people from polluters and advance climate action!