Green group targets Texas Gov. Perry, other govs and state lawmakers

The list is a compendium of lawmakers whom state chapters of the group are targeting. The national group is not spending money on the races, but the effort to highlight the state-level targets of its affiliates shows the increasing profile of state initiatives now that climate legislation has stalled.

The targets include Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R). His administration is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to scuttle the agency’s “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases threaten humans, a conclusion that’s the legal underpinning for EPA climate rules.

He has also backed construction of coal-fired power plants in the state, and is at odds with EPA over the stringency of Clean Air Act permitting for refineries and other facilities. Perry is battling former Houston Mayor Bill White (D), and the incumbent leads in recent polls.

Another target is New York state Sen. William Stachowski (D), who is in activists’ crosshairs for stances including his opposition to legislation that would give citizens wider authority to legally challenge environmental reviews of projects under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

Here’s the whole list:

· Arizona – Al Melvin, state Senate District 26
· Florida – Dean Cannon, state House District 35
· Massachusetts – Timothy Cahill, governor
· Michigan – John Pappageorge, state Senate District 13
· Minnesota – Tom Emmer, governor
· Montana – Roy Brown, state Senate District 25
· Nevada – Don Gustavson, Washoe state Senate District 2
· New York – William Stachowski, state Senate District 58
· North Carolina – Mark Crawford, state House District 115
· Oregon – Frank Morse, state Senate District 8
· Pennsylvania – John Perzel, state House District 172
· Texas – Rick Perry, governor

At the national level, the group’s “Dirty Dozen” includes Rep. Roy Blunt (R), who is running for Senate in Missouri, and former Rep. Pat Toomey (R), who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania. LCV also worked against Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) in her primary, which she narrowly won.