Help Enviro Groups Take on Pombo

Written by: Matt Lockshin on Mar 8, 2006 7:20 PM EST

Dear Member

I've been speaking with folks from Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund and the Sierra Club about ways the anti-Pombo crowd can help them in the near term to take on Pombo.

THE SIERRA CLUB

The Sierra Club is still officially running an "accountability campaign" which means that they won't talk to voters about voting Pombo out of office. That said, the Sierra Club is running a serious canvassing and phone banking operation in the district for the next month and I imagine that this will lay the groundwork for a serious electoral campaign come the summer. I know that they're collecting signatures and I imagine, although they haven't said so explicitly, that if the Sierra Club decides to target Pombo in November, then those signatories will become targets for their anti-Pombo message. If you want to help in the anti-Pombo effort and you've never canvassed before, I encourage you to try to make it to their Saturday canvasses in Pleasanton. They'll train you how to canvass and you'll have those skills for later even if you decide to work for the Democratic campaign instead of the Sierra Club.

Anyhow, the schedule from now until mid-April is:

Canvassing every Saturday in Pleasanton.
Phone-banking in Berkeley every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-9 PM.

I'm going to be at the phone banks this Thursday. I hope some of you guys join me. Please RSVP to the Sierra Club activities by calling Christina Armor at (510) 848-0800.

DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE ACTION FUND

Right now it looks like Defenders is still in the process of setting up an anti-Pombo campaign operation in the district. They're looking to hire a campaign manager and I've included a job description at the bottom of this post in case anyone an experienced campaigner who'd want to run an anti-Pombo campaign. More interesting (to me at least) is that they're looking for someone with an RV to follow Pombo around when he's in the district and remind people that he took a family vacation on the taxpayers' dime. If you own an RV that they can use or if you'd like to join the RV at Pombo appearances in the district, email Kevin Keefe at kkeefe@urbandare.com.

Now here's the job description from Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund:

Campaign Manager - Northern California Campaign

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is looking for an experienced campaign professional to help us run an independent expenditure issue campaign in the 11th Congressional District in California. The ideal candidate will have field and communications experience and some management experience.

-Run day-to-day activities of the campaign on the ground while working closely with DC based consulting team.

-Help develop voter contact for the campaign.

-Implement earned media plan: organize events, represent DAF with key reporters

-Run sophisticated weekend canvass operation and ID phone banks, including recruiting and training volunteers and continually shaping message and program to compliment paid and earned media.

-Network and coordinate efforts on the ground among environmental groups and other constituencies.

-Recruit and build the activist list for media and internet activities.

-Set up systems and manage accounting and compliance for the operation.

Position available immediately through November 20, 2006. Competitive salary offered along with a chance to work on a great campaign with strong team. Contact Kevin Keefe at kkeefe@urbandare.com for more information.

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Location: CA 94568