Today, we will be celebrating North Carolina legislators and leaders who have prioritized our natural resources and quality of life in their work. Whether it is crafting statewide policy, educating the public on critical environmental issues, or linking two seemingly disparate movements (labor and conservation) together in a united cause, our 2016 Green Tie honorees are making a difference for us and for future generations.
Meet this year’s award recipients and what they have done to protect the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the land we call home.
There are not enough environmental champions in our legislature currently to create a pro-conservation agenda, but we are working towards that goal. This Green Tie award for Senator and Representative of the Year acknowledges the few legislators who step up to the plate consistently. They sponsor and pass sound environmental legislation, are proactive on environmental issues, and have a notable environmental record. They are a reliable voice for issues impacting our natural resources, work effectively with the environmental community, and make protecting the environment a priority when making hard decisions.
Senator of the Year: Senator Floyd McKissick
Since joining the NC General Assembly in 2007 to fill the seat of the late Senator Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, Senator Floyd McKissick has risen as a leader in the Chamber and as a strong voice on protecting North Carolina’s environment. Senator McKissick has prioritized sound environmental policy, defending policies that protect drinking water and promote clean energy investment. His scores over the years in NCLCV’s annual legislative Scorecard reflect his increased commitment, culminating in a perfect 100 in 2015, a year that was especially fraught with anti-environmental legislation in the NC Senate.
With leaders like Senator McKissick in our Chamber, we feel greater hope that sound clean air, water, and energy policies can remain and even expand in the coming sessions. We applaud Senator McKissick for his tenacity in putting the people of this great state first, no matter what.
Representative of the Year: Rep. Paul Luebke
Representative Paul Luebke has been a stalwart for North Carolina’s air, land, and water since day one of his tenure at the NC General Assembly. His lifetime environment score of 99% is just one indicator of his willingness to champion a cleaner and greener North Carolina for all. Most recently, Rep. Luebke has been an outspoken opponent of the 2015 cap placed on state lightrail projects. He recognizes that the most important constituents aren’t those sitting in the Chambers of the NC General Assembly – it’s the people who he has been elected to represent.
Rep. Luebke has also been out front in holding Duke Energy accountable for covering the cost of cleanup of the utility’s highest-risk sites as well as removing the coal ash from unlined pits near drinking water sources. Year after year, Rep. Luebke demonstrates his willingness to protect the health and safety of North Carolina’s people and natural resources. It is an honor and privilege to award him as “Representative of the Year.”
Defender of the Environment: Senator Josh Stein
Understanding that legislators have many different constituencies, this award recognizes those legislators who not only are a strong and consistent voice for the environment, but who are willing to take a stand against bad environmental legislation and the well-heeled pollution lobby, or defend communities against environmental degradation. Their dedication is remarkable–often in the in the face strong opposition. They are committed to doing what’s right regardless of political ramifications.
Senator Josh Stein has made buffers his business, and none more-so than during the 2015 legislative session. In a sweeping collection of bills designed to undermine our rivers and coastal areas natural defenses, Senator Stein offered amendment after amendment to preserve critical riparian buffers that filter out sedimentation and other dangerous pollutants that put the health of our state waters (and all the creatures who live in them) in jeopardy.
But, his focus has been on more than just the integrity of our state waters. Senator Stein has taken the initiative to protect air quality monitors, demanded the implementation of the Jordan Lake Rules, and worked to find commonsense policies that protect the public’s health and safety from the risks posed by extractive energy practices, including fracking.
We hope Senator Stein is able to continue his service of defending what makes North Carolina such a special place to live, work, and play.
Representative Rick Glazier, “The Joe”
“The Joe” award, named for the environmental legacy of former House Speaker Joe Hackney, is a way to say thank you to legislators who will not be returning to the General Assmebly for this service on behalf of the environment.
The decision of Representative Rick Glazier to resign from the NC General Assembly was both a win and loss for North Carolina. During his tenure as a legislator from Fayetteville, Representative Glazier consistently brought a pragmatic, thoughtful approach to stewarding our state’s natural resources and ensuring policies were put forward that maintained our quality of life. As the political landscape changed in Raleigh, Representative Glazier was able to rise about the partisan divide by providing a voice of reason. That didn’t mean he shied away from demanding environmental safeguards that had been intact for ten, twenty, or even thirty years remained untouched.
This isn’t the first time Glazier has been recognized at NCLCV’s annual Green Tie Awards. In 2011, he received recognition as the year’s “Defender of the Environment.” This honor came in large part due to his efforts on both the popular oil spill responsibility bill, to the less popular position of opposing measures to incentivize development without consideration for environmental destruction. It would have been easy to recognize Rep. Glazier year after year as his willingness to speak out for needed safeguards and long-term outlook never wavered in the face of a changing, more contentious political landscape.
Now, at the helm of the North Carolina Justice Center, Glazier continues to advocate for the best quality of life possible for all North Carolina citizens. His lifetime environmental voting score of 94% is a testament to his priorities, and we have no doubt he will continue to be a champion of our air, land, and water – and for our people – in this role and all others in the future.
Rising Stars
New voices at the General Assembly that North Carolina citizens can count on to ensure the environment is a priority, particularly when there are difficult decisions and conflicting interests. These legislators make the environment one of the issues they champion as they move into leadership positions. Congratulations to:
Rep. Gale Adcock
Rep. John Ager
Rep. Cecil Brockman
Rep. Ralph Johnson (posthumously)
Rep. Brad Salmon
Rep. Brian Turner
Rep. Shelly Willingham
Sen. Paul Lowe
Sen. Jane Smith
Sen. Joyce Waddell
Catalyst Award
The Catalyst Award is presented to someone(s) who has taken exceptional action to create change and/or to bring attention to an important environmental issue. The award recognizes someone(s) with a long history and/or strong commitment to serving the public and protecting environmental quality.
Frank Tursi, Editor, Coastal Review Online
Sometimes, making impact requires us to adapt to the changing landscape of our issue. For Frank Tursi, adaptation is part of his career mantra. After spending more than 30 years as a reporter for newspapers including the Miami Herald and Winston-Salem Journal, he found a new home with the North Carolina Coastal Federation as the Cape Lookout coastkeeper. In this “hands on” position, he kept guard over the water and coastline, serving as a watchdog for pollution or developments that would threaten this critical area.
Continuing in this watch-dog vein, Tursi has returned to his reporter-roots as the editor of NCCF’s “Coastal Review Online”, a publication which is helping to keep coastal environmental issues in the mainstream dialogue for thought-leaders, elected officials, and statewide residents. The CRO is having a real, positive impact on making coastal policy relevant, whether it involves offshore energy, terminal groins, or beach renourishment. Through the CRO, Tursi has shown that effects of decision-making in Raleigh have real impacts and real consequences. Under his direction, the CRO staff have not been shy at holding people accountable for their actions. Additionally, nder Frank’s leadership, Coastal Review Online won two dozen N.C. Press Association awards earlier this year for its coverage of coastal environmental issues in North Carolina.
During his newspaper career he led teams of reporters on complex projects, including an ambitious undertaking at the Winston-Salem Journal, a year-long project that detailed the history of the city’s major corporate benefactor, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and the lead role it played in the tobacco industry’s decades-long conspiracy to hide the health effect of cigarette smoking. The resulting 50-part series ran for two months in the Journal and won two national business reporting awards. It was later republished into his third book. Other reporting projects uncovered malfeasance in state government agencies and massive corporate pollution that poisoned the Pamlico River. Closer to home and nearer in time, as a Coastkeeper for the N.C. Coastal Federation, he worked with Cape Carteret officials on plans that required the then-proposed Lowes Home Improvement store to treat 10 times the stormwater that state rules then required. A year later, he worked with Cedar Point officials on similar stormwater plans for a proposed Walmart.
Running on a campaign of government transparency and responsibility, he was elected in 2015 to the Swansboro town council after holding positions as a member of the town’s planning board and various committees. An avid fisherman and model boat builder, he lives in Swansboro with his wife, Doris.
From Mike Giles: “I can see Frank accepting this award and with his usual wit and sarcasm would offer some bits of wisdom we call Frankdom’s here at the federation. We all wish him well and as soon as he retires we can all throw away the “AP Style Guide” and use all the exclamation points in our writing he never would let us use. Congratulation old man! Here is looking at the finer things in life you enjoy, a nimble fishing rod and a good glass of Scotch. You deserve them.”
Melvin Montford, Executive Director, NC A. Philip Randolph Institute
Melvin Montford is the Executive Director of the NC A. Philip Randolph Institute. Melvin understands that civic engagement is a year round process, and that many of the issues facing economically disadvantaged communities are related to environmental sustainability. From fracking to climate change, Melvin is at the forefront of bringing new advocates to the fight for clean energy. Melvin is an inspiring leader and a true environmental Catalyst.
His tremendous commitment to improving the lives of people in North Carolina is expansive. Through NC APRI, he is improving the quality of life for economically disadvantaged families by providing the necessary resources that improve their standard of living, foster self improvement, self empowerment, and self sufficiency. In recent years, his commitment also includes environmental sustainability and fighting climate change. Melvin has worked to elevate fracking and other environmental issues in recent elections, forged important new relationships between labor and environmental groups, and is at the forefront of bringing new advocates to the fight for clean energy in NC. Melvin is an inspiring leader and a true environmental Catalyst.
Melvin understands that civic engagement is a 365-day a year process. He also understands many of the issues facing the communities he’s working in are directly related to environmental issues. Healthcare costs are too high, especially in communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution. Jobs that support clean energy alternatives—windmill manufacturing jobs would be a boon to NC workers and solar is growing—can lessen the impact of lost dirty power jobs.
Long before most of us had even heard of the Koch Brothers, Melvin was fighting back against their influence in our elections and democracy. He has been pushing for the rights of workers for decades fighting and now is on the forefront of the climate and jobs battle ahead of us.
