Sierra Club Endorsed Candidates Enjoy Victory, Celebrate Light Rail Win in Charlotte

Sierra Club endorsees enjoyed victories in every corner of the state last Tuesday. Strong environmental candidates were returned in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Carrboro, Charlotte, Wilmington and Asheville. Yvonne Johnson’s election as mayor of Greensboro and newcomer Lydia Lavelle’s victory as highest vote getter in the Carrboro election were exciting.

But perhaps the most solid proof that investing in our families and our future was important to voters this election came with the defeat of the transit tax repeal on the ballot in Charlotte.

Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, congratulates Charlotte Sierra Club volunteers and organizer Chatham Olive for their fine efforts in his column in the Huffington Post:

And in Charlotte, North Carolina, voters overwhelmingly rejected an attempt by
far right-wing elements and the John Locke Foundation to derail the city's newly
built light rail system, the first leg of which is scheduled to open before Christmas. Organizer Chatham Olive led the local Sierra Group in opposing repeal of the half-cent sales tax which supports public transit in Charlotte. The opposition sought to repeal the tax in order to cripple the system and encourage more auto-based sprawl. Of the 24 percent of citizens who turned out, 70 percent voted to maintain the tax, which brings in 70 million dollars a year.