Environment Massachusetts and Environment America endorse U.S. Sen. Ed Markey for re-election

For Immediate Release: Friday, September 13, 2019

Contacts:
Ben Hellerstein, Environment Massachusetts state director, [email protected], 617-747-4368
Mark Morgenstein, senior communications manager, [email protected], (w) 303-573-5556, (c) 678-427-1671

BOSTON — Environment Massachusetts and Environment America officially announced their support today for U.S. Sen. Ed Markey’s re-election campaign.

“We are lucky to have one of the nation’s strongest climate champions, Ed Markey, representing Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate. We’re endorsing Senator Markey for re-election because we know we can count on him to keep leading the fight for clean air, a safe climate, and a healthy future,” said Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts. “For decades, Massachusetts has led the way on expanding clean energy usage and reducing fossil fuel pollution, but we can’t solve the large-scale, climate-change-fueled problems the world faces today at the state level alone.”

Because of Sen. Markey’s leadership, Americans have increasingly greater access to renewable energy, pollution-free wateways, fuel-efficient automobiles,and public lands. He is a spirited, effective member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Senate Democratic Special Committee on the Climate Crisis. During his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, he co-authored the only piece of comprehensive climate legislation to ever pass a chamber of Congress.

“Without a doubt, Ed Markey is the Senate’s foremost environmental champion,” stated Doug Phelps, Chairman of Environment America. “I first met Senator Markey in 1980, when I was the new Executive Director of MASSPIRG and running a national campaign to win a clean energy plank in both the Republican and the Democratic national party platforms. At the Democratic National Convention in New York, Ed Markey, a congressman at the time, was the first to vocally step up and champion those efforts against vigorous opposition from the party establishment. Against all odds, we won that fight, in no small part due to Ed’s courage and leadership. The scope of Senator Markey’s progressive accomplishments since that early battle is singularly impressive. He is the leader we need to tackle the crisis our planet and children will face if we don’t make the dramatic transition to clean, renewable energy for which Ed has fought, for decades. That is why we proudly endorse him for re-election.”

Environment Massachusetts is a citizen-based environmental advocacy project of Environment America. We believe there’s something special about Massachusetts—something worth protecting and preserving for future generations.

Environment America is the national federation of statewide, citizen-based advocacy organizations working for a cleaner, greener, healthier future.

Environment America Action Fund works to protect our environment by supporting candidates for public office who champion clean air, clean water, wilderness preservation, and strong action to address global warming.