Dear Pittsburgh,
I need your help making sure every resident of Pittsburgh is registered to vote in the most fun way possible. Since May, I have been working for NextGen Climate, an organization that is working to elect climate change champions across the country.
Before I tell you about some of the fun stuff, I want to share two reasons why I think this is an important issue for Pittsburgh and Western PA.
- The environment matters – we cannot just keep, keeping on with the way things are going. We can’t keep throwing plastic into landfills and look the other way. I’ve been an occasional bring your own bag person to the the grocery store. A few years ago I helped with a riverfront clean up where we picked up trash from the banks of the Allegheny river. After spending hours picking up shredded plastic bags and styrofoam cups from the bank of the river just below Station Square, I’ve been making an effort to be the shopper who almost-always-brings-her-own-bag. This election is about a lot more than just plastic bag reduction. We have made great strides in cleaning things up and we need to make sure we are doing more, not less to protect the environment.
- The economic opportunity – there is an incredible economic opportunity in clean energy. Western Pa was and in some respects still is an industrial center of the country. Pittsburgh is also a leader in innovation. There is an huge opportunity for job creation and better community creation in the clean energy economy. And we need to make sure we are talking about how to make sure Pittsburgh is front and center in that sector.
You can read more about what NextGen Climate be been doing here in Pennsylvania in this Post-Gazette article from August 14, 2016.
Voter Registration Festivities
I am setting the personal goal of making sure we register 1000 new voters between now and the voter registration deadline on October 11, 2016. I need your help! What community events are happening where we can set up a voter registration table? What events would you like to see happen between now and October 11?
NextGen Climate Pittsburgh Kick-Off on Wednesday, September 7
To get things started, NextGen Climate has rented out the East End Brewing Tap room for a kick-off event on Wednesday, September 7, 2016. If you would like to learn more about NextGen Climate and how you can get involved – please join me for a beer, some food and to sweeten the deal, some Leona’s ice cream sandwiches.
