L.A.'s conservation league making endorsements, raising money, gaining clout

The environmentally conscious Los Angeles League of Conversation Voters is gearing up for its annual fundraiser on May 18 and the event is becoming a fruitful "green" stop on the local primary circuit.

Despite Hollywood's love of environmental issues, the league has more of an L.A. County than a City of L.A. feel as the county's local political machinations are one part of its activist mandate. Poorer, off-the-radar cities in southeast L.A. County with serious environmental hazards such as Maywood and Cerritos are more likely to attract the league's attention than very green towns like Malibu and Santa Monica.

"We try to get involved in some of the 88 cities (in L.A. County)," league president Mitchell Schwatz told PolitickerCA.com.

The league successfully hosted an April 24 debate in the L.A. County Board of Supervisors' 2nd District race between L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks and 26th District State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, which will air this Saturday afternoon on KABC-TV. The debate attracted a classic L.A. mix of green-friendly Caucasians, some Hispanics and Asian-Americans plus African-American political faces bracing to see whether Parks or Ridley-Thomas will replace current 2nd District board member Yvonne Brathwaite-Burke, who is not seeking re-election.

After the debate the league went on to endorse Ridley-Thomas for the 2nd District race because, Schwartz said in a statement, "Ridley-Thomas will bring leadership and progressive ideas to the Board of Supervisors and work closely with environmentalists to make the right choices for the 2 million residents of Los Angeles County who live in the 2nd district."

The league's May 18 Smith-Weiss Environmental Champion Awards will be held at a private home in Hancock Park and is expected to draw about 200 people, Schwartz said. Freshly minted Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and former Santa Monica Mayor Denny Zane will be the honorees.

To drive home the league's goals such as light rail and alternatives to oil, the fundraiser's sponsorship levels cover $5,000 "bullet train" donors all the way down to $500 "electric vehicle" donors and "cyclist" at $75.