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For immediate release: Saturday, November 5, 2022
Contact: press@groundgametexas.org
NEW: El Paso City Clerk Approves Climate Charter for May 2023 Ballot
First-of-its-kind climate charter initiative launched by Ground Game Texas and Sunrise El Paso to be put in front of voters on May 2013 ballot
EL PASO, TX (November 5, 2022) — On Saturday, November 5, 2022, Ground Game Texas announced that the El Paso city clerk has certified the El Paso Climate Charter for qualification on the May 2023 ballot.
The El Paso Climate Charter is a first-of-its-kind initiative launched by Ground Game Texas and Sunrise Movement El Paso to amend the city charter to adopt a citywide climate policy to create green jobs, advance renewable energy, conserve water, and reduce the City's contribution to climate change. The Charter also creates a local Climate Department to implement the new policy.
In July, organizers submitted more than 39,000 signatures from El Paso residents for the ballot initiative. But after resistance from city staff regarding the counting and verification of the signatures, El Paso residents and organizers convinced the City Council to push back the charter election to accommodate the El Paso Climate Charter.
"This is an unprecedented accomplishment by climate organizers, who gathered signatures from a huge portion of the El Paso electorate to qualify the Climate Charter for the ballot," said Mike Siegel, Political Director and Co-Founder of Ground Game Texas. "Ground Game Texas is honored to be part of this fight, and we look forward to winning the election in May and helping El Paso become a national leader on climate action."
"For decades, border communities like El Paso have been on the frontlines of climate injustice and environmental racism, terrorized by the fossil fuel industry" said Ana Fuentes Zueck, Campaign Manager for Climate Campaign, Sunrise El Paso. "The Climate Charter will put power back in the hands of our community, creating green jobs, promoting sustainability and conservation, and tackling existential threats like the Permian Climate bomb. We're proud to give El Pasoans the opportunity to lead on climate action and end the exploitation of our community."
The following local, state, and national organizations have endorsed the El Paso Climate Charter:
Ground Game Texas
Sunrise Movement El Paso
Earthworks
Justicia Fronteriza
El Paso Young Democrats
Northeast Democrats
EcoCreative Community
Texas Drought Project
The El Paso campaign is one of ten ballot campaigns Ground Game Texas has launched across Texas since launching the organization last year. In May, Ground Game Texas passed an initiative in Austin to decriminalize marijuana and ban "No-Knock" warrants by local police. Ground Game Texas also secured November 2022 ballot initiatives in Killeen, San Marcos, Denton, Elgin, and Harker Heights.
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About Ground Game Texas
Ground Game Texas is a voter engagement and mobilization organization founded by Julie Oliver and Mike Siegel in 2021. Based in Austin, Ground Game Texas seeks to organize voters community-by-community, collaborating with partners on the ground to meet voters at their doors and push for popular progressive policies across the state of Texas.
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