Washington, D.C. – In the latest sign of strong momentum for Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva to be the next ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, the national League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) passed a resolution over the weekend declaring its unqualified support for Grijalva and calling on House Democrats to vote for him in the upcoming contest to replace Rep. Ed Markey, who is widely expected to be elected to the Senate on June 25. The support follows last week’s endorsement by the California branch of LULAC and by the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, an umbrella group of 36 Latino policy and professional groups around the country.
Separately, a letter signed by 187 environmental, conservation and outdoor groups and individuals – including the Alliance for Ethical Business, Center for Biological Diversity, CREDO Action, Gulf Restoration Network and the Western Lands Project – was sent this morning to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi endorsing Grijalva. That letter is available at http://1.usa.gov/10NEeD6.
The environmental letter reads in part, “The Natural Resources Committee needs unwavering leadership that represents the diversity and strength of the Democratic party – someone who has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to work with all stakeholders while standing up to industry special interests. We believe Rep. Grijalva will bring to the position of Ranking Member the positive and collaborative approach needed to find solutions to these critical environmental issues.”
Prior coverage of the Latino groups’ support for Grijalva is available at http://bit.ly/11W73Y3. In its June 20 letter, NHLA praised Grijalva’s “understanding of the many policy, political, social, economic, environmental, and demographic factors” important to conservation, immigration and other national issues.
“It’s greatly humbling to know that so many groups and individuals share my vision of conservation and environmental protection for this country,” Grijalva said. “I believe in the importance of this committee’s jurisdiction with all my heart, and I’m proud to be in the running for this post. As other groups have said so often before, this is about more one person. It’s about the conservation community embracing new constituencies and expanding its reach. This is the right time to do it.”
For more information about LULAC’s endorsement, call Paloma Zuleta at (202) 812-4477.