Organization cites Mayor’s strong track record of implementing conservation policies
(Boise, Idaho) – Today, Conservation Voters for Idaho, the only conservation organization in Idaho that works to elect candidates to office, announced its endorsement of Boise Mayor Lauren McLean for re-election.
“Four years ago, we endorsed and worked to elect Mayor Lauren McLean because we knew Boise needed new leadership to meet the needs of a growing population,” said Rialin Flores, Executive Director of Conservation Voters for Idaho. “While in office, Mayor McLean has exceeded her campaign promises of protecting clean air and water, healthy communities, and a liveable city for all.”
Each year, Conservation Voters for Idaho provides independent, bipartisan information to the public on which candidates running for municipal and state offices will champion the issues they care about: protecting Idaho’s air, water and open space. Candidates are evaluated along the following criteria: knowledge of conservation issues, potential effectiveness to advance conservation issues if/when elected to office and propensity to be a true champion on our issues.
“Thanks to Mayor McLean, Boise is making meaningful progress toward reducing emissions and cutting pollution, protecting open space and parks, and ensuring residents have access to safe and affordable housing,” said Collin Todd, Chair of the CVI Board. “We are proud to endorse Mayor Lauren McLean for re-election based on her strong conservation track record and ongoing commitment to creating a sustainable future for all Boise residents.”
Under Mayor McLean’s leadership, and in partnership with the Boise City Council, Boise has put Idaho on the map by announcing it will beat its clean electricity goal seven years ahead of schedule, developing the Clean City Index to quantify and prioritize historically underserved areas, electrifying the City’s buildings and fleets, and initiating the innovative Climate Action Roadmap – the city’s plan to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
Other notable conservation achievements under Mayor McLean’s leadership include:
- Created a Climate Action Division at the city to organize climate efforts, promote collaboration across departments and set and implement climate goals
- Established citywide open space conservation goals including doubling Boise’s tree canopy and committing $30 million to open space and clean water protection by 2030
- Lead the process to create a Modern Zoning Code, which allows more housing for families, promotes walkable people-scaled neighborhoods, and protects more open space and natural areas
- Passed a Pathways Plan to make it easier for folks to bike or walk safely through their neighborhoods to others, to work, to school, and to parks.
“Now that we have established our endorsement of Mayor McLean, we will dedicate our time and resources to a successful re-election. It is vital for the future of Idaho that we have conservation champions like McLean in office to protect Idaho’s outdoors,” said Patty Bowen, Campaigns Manager for Conservation Voters for Idaho.
Conservation Voters for Idaho will be announcing more endorsements for the upcoming 2023 municipal election in the coming months.
For more information, visit cvidaho.org/elections/.
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Conservation Voters for Idaho is a statewide bipartisan organization that creates the political environment to protect our natural environment. Conservation Voters for Idaho protects Idaho’s quality of life by electing pro-conservation candidates, advocating for sound environmental policies and holding politicians accountable for their votes on conservation issues. Learn more at cvidaho.org.