Jordan Levine

A Busy Two days of Candidate Forums for the Education Fund and our Partners

October 13, 2017

In the past week, NYLCVEF hosted two environmental Candidate Forums in Westchester and East Hampton. As was made clear by the insightful questions both audiences asked the candidates, Environmental issues are extremely important to both Westchester and East Hampton residents alike.

Beginning with Wednesday’s 2017 Westchester County Executive Environmental Candidate Forum at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, candidates Rob Astorino and George Latimer answered a series of questions from the board of panelists as well as some questions asked by audience members. The panelists, Victoria Alzapiedi, Tracy Brown, and Karl R. Rábago asked the two candidates questions relating to climate change, the Westchester County Airport, the closing of Indian Point and replacements for it, and renewable energy to get a sense of their opinions on environmental issues.

Both candidates support the expansion of solar energy as a replacement to Indian Point and see natural gas as as an interim fuel for the meantime. Latimer spoke on how he believes cost oriented spending in Westchester has been detrimental to the environment and believes the Climate Change taskforce in Westchester should be reinstated. Astorino spoke on his successes as County Executive and how he will continue to reduce energy costs and give residents incentives for buying solar panels.

A full video of the forum can be watched here.

The next evening, three Republican candidates and three Democrats in East Hampton spoke with panelists to a similarly engaged audience. Beginning with Republican Candidates Manny Vilar, Paul Giardina, and Jerry Larsen, questions related to beach erosion and protection, renewable energy, ground and surface water, and plastic pollution were asked. The candidates spoke about how they will be proactive to protect the environment, rather than waiting to act after negative events. On coastal issues, Vilar emphasized the importance of adhering to the New York State Coastal Plan to improve and protect the coastline and Giardina spoke strongly against offshore windmills and instead supported the expansion of solar panels in East Hampton.

The Democrats, Peter Van Scoyoc, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, and Jeffrey Bragman, responded as passionately as the Republicans did, once again emphasizing the importance of water to East Hampton. Van Scoyoc remarked on how the economy of the town is based on water and how there needs to be a town-wide water management plan put in place. Burke-Gonzalez, the incumbent, spoke about the importance of having clean and renewable energy in the town as well as ground and surface water. Bragman said that the landscape is an active, living thing and we need to treat it as one. A major difference from the republicans, all three Democratic candidates were in opposition of hard shore restoration and believe that the rebuilding of the coasts should be natural.

A full video of the forum can be watched here. The event was covered by the East Hampton Star and 27east.com.

As a nonprofit, nonpartisan and educational organization, the NYLCV Education Fund does not make endorsements in political races. Our goal with these forum was to educate Westchester and East Hampton residents about environmental issues and elevate the public dialogue around sustainability.

Many thanks to the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University for hosting our Westchester forum, and to Federated Conservationists of Westchester, Greenburgh Nature Center, the Pace Energy and Climate Center, and Save the Sound for partnering with us for our Westchester forum.

Many thanks to Concerned Citizens of Montauk for co-sponsoring our East Hampton Environmental Candidate forum

< Back to Nonpartisan Electoral Activities

Related Articles

On September 14, the New York League of Conservation Voters hosted an environmental candidate forum in Troy, NY, featuring Mayoral candidates Nina Nichols (D) and Carmella Mantello (R). Spectrum News reporter Kate Lisa moderated the program, which was held at the Arts Center of the Capital Region and co-sponsored by Clean + Healthy New York…

Each year, NYLCVEF works with local partners to hold nonpartisan candidate forums in and outside of our chapter areas. These forums connect voters to elected officials and candidates for office in federal, state and local races and give voters the chance to hear candidates speak directly about their position on environmental issues, a topic that…

On October 20th, 2021, the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF) held a candidate forum with the candidates for Huntington Town Supervisor about their stance on a range of environmental and sustainability issues, hosted by the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. Featuring Ed Smyth, Rebecca Sanin, and Eugene Cook.

On October 5th, 2021, the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF) held a candidate forum for New York Council District 32, which is a coastal district and climate frontline community. It centers around Jamaica Bay, Ozone Park, and the western half of the Rockaways and is currently occupied by Council Member Eric Ulrich. This forum was held on zoom in preparation for the November 2nd general election. The forum featured Democratic nominee Felicia Singh and Republican nominee Joann Ariola, and was moderated by NYLCV NYC Chapter Board Member Karen Mintzer. 

Primary Election Day is tomorrow! This year, voters in NYC will have the opportunity to participate in ranked-choice voting. We recently held a webinar on the system, which will be used for the first time in a major citywide election this Primary Day. The event discussed how to fill in your ballot, how your responses are used to elect the winners, how candidates are using the systems while campaigning, and why the system was enacted.

We convened New York City Mayoral candidates to share their views on a variety of sustainability issues in a series of taped interviews. We asked questions on issues including air quality, water quality, parks and open space, public transportation, climate adaptation, composting, and green infrastructure. Watch the full video. Event Recap NYLCV President Julie Tight…

Throughout the month of February, we held a series of environmental candidate schools for those running for elected office in New York City.

On October 15th, 2020, the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF), Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and Students for Climate Action (S4CA) held a candidate forum for New York Congressional Districts 1 and 2, which cover a large part of Suffolk County and the southeastern portion of Nassau County. The forum took…

On September 29th, 2020, the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF) held a candidate forum for New York Senate District 55, which covers parts of Monroe and Ontario Counties, to replace State Senator Rich Funke. The forum took place on Zoom ahead of the general election on November 3rd. NYLCVEF regularly holds…

Get Involved

THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS