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The Connecticut League Of Conservation Voters ("CTLCV") bills itself as a "non-partisan, statewide, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting Connecticut's environment by making it a priority for our elected leaders."
The truth is the group promotes left-wing views and policies aimed at combatting "climate change" and achieving "environmental justice."
This year's endorsement questionnaire included a dozen questions aimed at uncovering exactly how committed candidates were to the environment, and also if they supported ranked-choice voting.
"Our support for pro-environment candidates includes removing any unnecessary obstacles or impediments to voting at election time. Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) has been shown to increase voter choice and turnout, reduce partisanship, and eliminate voter concern about “wasting” their vote on their preferred candidate," argues CTLCV in its questionnaire.
The survey starts off by asking candidates an open-ended question about what environmental issues they have advocated for in the past, and what their priorities are going forward, before moving onto a set of yes / no questions with space to include comments.
For instance, candidates are asked if they support increasing investments in "clean energy" and the electric grid infrastructure to "reduce reliance on fossil fuel and nuclear energy."
Candidates are asked if they will support "nature-based solutions", the adoption of the latest California emissions standards, food scrap recycling, and an "environmental rights" amendment to the state constitution that would require our state government to "equitably protect the rights of all people to a healthy environment."
They also want candidates to commit to co-sponsoring legislation on CTLCV's top priorities.
Twenty state senate candidates sought the endorsement, including 17 democrats, republicans Tony Hwang and Jeffery Duigou, and green party candidate David Bedell.
CTLCV endorsed 14 of these candidates, including Hwang, a 'republican' who supported everything on the survey, even ranked choice voting.
The other republican, Duigou, trashed offshore wind farms in his response and declined to support other CTLCV priorities, including RCV, so it's no wonder he didn't get endorsed. Ironically, Bedell, the only green party candidate, did not receive the endorsement despite supporting everything CTLCV asked. Democrats Cynthia Mangini, Martin Looney, Rob Blanchard, and Merry Garrett also tried but did not obtain the endorsement.
A total of 75 state rep candidates, including 72 democrats along with republican David Herz, independent Joseph Young and Robert "Kyle" Hoggard of the "We The People" party, sought the endorsement, but only 55 received it, all democrats.
Herz's survey was probably an easy rejection considering his answer to the first question, the open-ended question on supporting climate change was this: "Get rid of non-green "green energy" initiatives. End the environmental disaster that is windmills and mandates for electric cars. Consider nuclear." Then he went on to answer "no" to most of the other questions... unlike Young and Hoggard who answered "yes" to everything and still got rejected.
The other democrats who wanted, but failed to secure the CTLCV endorsement include: Aaron Zimmer, Abdul Osmanu, Alexandra Thomas, Bob Godfrey, David Alexander, David Herz, Ellen Fox, Frank Smith, Geoffrey Luxenberg, Jane Wisialowski, Joseph Vollano, Mike Malloy, Patrick Biggins, Renee LaPalme Waldron, Robert "Kyle" Hoggard, Sheila Quinn, Steve Meskers, Steven King, Jr., Susan Johnson, and Thomas Tesoro.
You can read all of the candidates' completed surveys here.
