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Achieving The “Impossible”: How ICLEI And Cool Counties Were Removed From Albemarle County , VA. Tuesday Morning Group Coalition Meeting October 11, 2011 Presentation by Charles Battig, MS, MD VA-Scientists and Engineers for Energy and Environment. The Inspiration.
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Achieving The “Impossible”:How ICLEI And Cool Counties Were Removed From Albemarle County , VA Tuesday Morning Group Coalition Meeting October 11, 2011 Presentation by Charles Battig, MS, MD VA-Scientists and Engineers for Energy and Environment
The Inspiration • Donna Holt speaking about ICLEI at the Tea Party Convention Richmond October 2010 • Tom DeWeese and his American Policy Center • The success of County Commissioner Richard Rothschild in removing ICLEI from Carroll County, Maryland in January 2011 • Discovering the history of Albemarle County’s ICLEI membership • Achieving a four conservative member majority on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors
Raising Public Awareness • October 2010, our local Jefferson Area Tea Party (JATP) Chairperson, Carole Thorpe, agreed that ICLEI would be a Tea Party objective for 2011 • The JATP “National Issues Forum” is presented as an open, public education event October 29, 2010 • My presentation on ICLEI is one of the five topics
A Favorable Omen This is the same evening that President Obama comes to Charlottesville campaigning for the incumbent Democratic senatorial candidate who subsequently would lose to now-Senator Robert Hurt
The Follow Up • March 17, 2011: The Jefferson Area Tea Party sponsors a public educational event in the County Office auditorium titled “The Deceptive Agenda of Sustainability in Local Government” • Tom DeWeese responds to our request and volunteers to join me on the program • Over 120 local citizens attend
Making Use Of County Board Of Supervisors’ Protocol • The County Board of Supervisors holds two public meetings each month • A nominal two to three minute talk time is available to the public for “Items not on the Agenda” • I decided to show up twice a month and engage in the “death of a thousand cuts” process
Effective Rules Of Engagement • You must do your homework • You must be factual • You must be polite • You must do focused “sound bite” presentations • You must not become discouraged • A sense of humor helps
The Process • Twice a month presentations • Print out and distribute the presentation to the BOS • Switch to Power Point presentations • Use original source data, including web site pages • E-mail presentations to selected members of the Board of Supervisors the day before the public meeting • Get other supporters to speak at these public BOS meetings
The Start Of The Cool Counties Trail: December 5, 2007 BOS Minutes
Albemarle Staff HadAlreadyEnrolled County As An ICLEI Member, November 2007
Initial Reaction From One BOS Member • What U.N…I don’t see any U.N. in County documents • A Tea Party conspiracy • Tea Party infiltration into County Government • There is a “climate change” consensus • Climate skeptics are climate change deniers • ICLEI membership costs only $1200 per year
What United Nations?I Don’t See Any United Nations • The U.N. establishes the Agenda 21 global plan for implementation of “sustainability” in 1992 • ICLEI becomes a “co-operation partner” to implement the Local Agenda 21 project (Chapter 28 of Agenda 21) in 1997 • President Clinton forms “The President’s Council on Sustainable Development” in 1993 • The U.N. Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declares 2005-2014 the “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development”
ICLEI Is In Virginia At The State Level ICLEI USA : “Initiated in 2007, the Virginia State Climate Protection Network consists of local governments from across the state that are taking critical and innovative steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop in a more sustainable and just manner” Virginia contact: Megan Wu
ICLEI USA Partner Organizations Partner Organizations include: Architecture 2030 Center for American Progress Earth Day Network International City/County Managers Association National Wildlife Federation Natural Resources Defense Council Sierra Club and Sierra Club’s Cool Cities/Cool Counties US EPA
The First Success • June 8, 2011: The Albemarle County BOS votes four to two to defund ICLEI after hours of tumultuous public comment • Why did the BOS vote to defund and withstand a packed auditorium of environmental activists, UVA students, and liberal politicians booing and catcalling Tea Party members speaking to defund ICLEI? • Answer: Quote…We gave logical and factual reasons; the opposition booed and gave catcalls
The Next Success • September7, 2011: The BOS vote four to two to rescind their 2007 “Cool Counties” resolution • Why? • Answer: The majority felt that Albemarle County regulations should originate in Albemarle County, and not be based on outside advocacy organizations
The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC) • Planning District Commissions are a creation of the 1968 Virginia General Assembly , staffed by a mixture of elected and non-elected individuals. Funding includes governmental and private grants. • The mission: “to promote the orderly and efficient development of the physical, social, and economic elements of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District by planning and encouraging and assisting governmental subdivisions to plan for the future” • They function much as an un-elected, shadow government implementing the members own interests; the same small cadre of members appear on several local government agencies and in other, non-elected positions, enabling their advocacy to be law
For Some Planners It Is More Than Just About Parking Places And Park Space
How To Get H.U.D. Funding For “Sustainability” In Twenty-Six Pages
If Not ICLEI, Will It Be UVA Graduate Students Using You For A Term Project?
The Bad News • Success is only one BOS election away from a return to a progressive majority • Although ICLEI is defunded, the County staff mindset is still favors ICLEI related policies • The Thomas Jefferson Planning District has $1 million from H.U.D. and three years to build their case for implementing their “sustainability” reforms in the County and City Comprehensive Plans