Chapter Elections

Below are articles about selected candidates. See below for voting instructions.

Ventana Chapter Candidates

D’Anne Albers

We share our bay area with visitors from all over the world, who come for our quiet beauty and natural wonders. The Club has been a leader in the battle to preserve this environment. I greatly respect the efforts that others before me have made.

I am proud to have played a part. As chapter Coastal Chair, I organized Sierra Club and Elkhorn Slough volunteers to remove over 10 tons of trash from the slough. I sit on the Marine Life Protection Act's Central Coast Task Force and participate in Sierra Club's Great Coastal Places campaign and Marine committee. We work to create a southern Monterey Bay coastal armoring plan, to solve the problem of storm water runoff, and to protect areas of special biological significance. Continuing threats to our coastline include development, sewage spills, run-off, sea wall construction, dangers to marine life, and more. If elected I will continue to keep our chapter involved in safeguarding our coast.

I am very committed to protecting our wild and not-so-wild areas and the abundant wildlife both in our wilderness areas and in our own backyards. We must have wild areas both for wildlife survival and our own enrichment.

Denyse Frischmuth

I have been a dedicated environmentalist ever since I was introduced in the late 60s to the then new concept of ecology. Then a mother of two young children, I wanted to ensure that they would inherit a livable planet.

From environmental steps at the personal level, I progressed to activism in Silicon Valley. I led or contributed to actions which induced Sunnyvale to adopt curbside recycling and to require solar panels for commercial buildings. At my workplace I formed a study group that brought about environmentally friendlier practices, and I organized a carpool program. Locally I've worked with Pacific Grove Eco-Corps, the Marine Sanctuary Snapshot Day, Landwatch, the Sierra Club California Coastal Campaign, and on-line activism to educate and mobilize others.

"Think globally and act locally" expresses how I see the impact of our Chapter. Land use issues should be the focus of our energies now, for the quality of our lives and that of future generations depends on how they are resolved. Our air quality, our water resources, the health of our eco-system and of our coastal environment, wildlife habitat preservation, all hang in the balance.

Kimberly Marion

I am running for Excom because I believe in the power of the grassroots and in the power of the Sierra Club to make positive changes to protect our environment through collective action. Before moving to Monterey from Vermont, I worked for the Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club as a wilderness and forest protection organizer. It was incredible to see the passion for wilderness turn into action, and I'd like the opportunity to help with the Ventana Chapter. I am particularly interested in mobilizing our grassroots, enhancing our ability to cultivate and engage more volunteers, and make our presence even greater force.

We are faced with increasingly challenging times as Representative Pombo continues on his path to dismantle the Endangered Species Act and drill for oil, not only in Alaska, but also along U.S. coastlines. We are also facing a number of things in our backyards, with increasing development, water scarcity, and some political battles. We can't mobilize our communities alone, but we can get it started and live up to the reputation of Sierra Club leadership. Please feel free to email if you'd like to find out more, wildforestsforever@gmail.com.

Santa Cruz Group Candidates

Kevin Collins

I have served one term on the Executive Committee and am running for re-election. My personal work centers on water resources, forest conservation, and salmon recovery. I started reviewing logging plans in 1994 and joined the Sierra Club Forestry Committee in 1997. My life-long fascination with nature motivates my involvement.

I am the Board President of the Lompico Watershed Conservancy, an incorporated non-profit. The Conservancy has been very effective and coordinates with the Sierra Club. The reason I wish to continue on the Executive Committee is to strengthen the Sierra Club's many diverse efforts and to solve problems facing our forests, our streams, and the wildlife dependent on them. The fate of the salmon, the owls, and the myriad wildlife and plants native to these mountains determines the future of ecosystem health. We face major difficulties and need new solutions to cope with our ever-increasing demands for the most basic resources like clean water. I bring a statewide perspective from work with conservation activists all over Northern California. My position on the County Fish and Game Advisory Commission and experience with advocacy and review of the State Resources Agencies' decisions also benefits the Sierra Club.

Charles Paulden

From the first time I went camping with my family in Yosemite to the last time I went surfing, I have had an intimate relationship with the Natural World and a commitment to preserving and enhancing it.

In college I promoted preservation of open spaces, farmland, and living easy on the Earth to offset the pressures towards war. I have worked with the Sierra Club Growth Committee, People for the Preservation of Pleasure Point, People for Critical Thinking on Transportation, Live Oak Neighbors, Live Oak Community Alliance, Live Oak History Group, COPA, Save Lighthouse Field, Save Porter Sessnon/No Wingspread, Save Porter Gulch, Nisene to the Sea, No on J, People Power, Stop the Seawall, Save the Windbreak.

In graduate school I studied Community Psychology with an emphasis on Wilderness Studies. I have filed four appeals to the Coastal Commission.

I support the Sierra Club's Growth Guidelines. I advocate small mixed-use Urban Centers over existing malls. Spending money on parks and green spaces saves money on crime prevention.

Some important books: A Pattern Language, Alexander; Oblivion or Utopia, Fuller; Design with Nature, McHarg; and The Santa Cruz General Plan. I am a landscape contractor and Yoga therapist.

Dennis P. Davie

My love of the wild woods and streams began at an early age. My father loved to fish and took our family camping often. In YMCA, Boy Scouts and Camp Unalayee I hiked in the Sierra, Trinity Alps, and the Cascades. As part of the Stanford Alpine Club, I rock climbed in Yosemite Valley and did extensive mountaineering throughout the West. I continue to crosscountry ski and hike with my sons and friends.

My political work began with civil rights, anti-war and disarmament campaigns. In 1976 I walked across the country with Buddhist monks praying and organizing for peace. I demonstrated against the Diablo nuclear plant with the Abalone Alliance. In 1982 I helped start Santa Cruz Earth First! I have participated in the Sierra Club Forestry Task Force for the past 4 years and have presented testimony to CDF and the Regional Water Board on local Timber Harvest Plans.

I have degrees in Geology and Environmental Studies from UCSC. My college internship was at Yosemite where I wrote an environmental impact report on snowmobile use (and abuse).

I present a weekly environmental news show on Free Radio Santa Cruz (101.1 FM and www.freakradio.org) Thursday evenings at 9:00 p.m.

Voting Instructions and Executive Committee Ballot

Mail the entire page including your ballot in the envelope enclosed with your Ventana.

The ballot must be postmarked by January 2.

Monterey County members may vote only for Chapter candidates.

Santa Cruz County members may vote for BOTH Chapter and Group candidates.

For joint memberships, mark a vote in both columns.

After you complete your ballot, TEAR OFF THE ENTIRE PAGE from the paper copy of your Ventana and return it in the envelope provided. Your mailing label on the back of the page ensures that the vote has come from a valid member of the Club. Ballots and mailing labels will be separated by the Chapter Secretary to ensure a secret ballot. If you lose the envelope enclosed with your Ventana, mail your completed ballot to Mary Gale, Chapter Secretary, 25430 Telarana Way, Carmel, CA 93923. Call Mary Gale, 626-3565, if you have any questions.