Sierra Club Endorses Joe Garcia for Congress

Miami, FL—Today, former Congressman Joe Garcia won the endorsement of the Sierra Club—the nation’s preeminent advocate for clean air, clean water, and conservation. Garcia’s recent endorsement by the Sierra Club is a testament to his dedication to promote clean energy solutions, clean air and water and conservation in South Florida.

“Joe Garcia has proven time and time again that he is a stalwart supporter of environmental issues that impact all South Floridians,” said Mark Walters, Chair of Sierra Club Florida. “From securing millions of dollars for Everglades restoration and water quality projects in the Keys, to fighting so power plants adhere to higher environmental and efficiency standards while with the Florida Public Service Commission, Joe Garcia has listened and produced in big ways. The Sierra Club knows how important environmental issues will be in South Florida in the coming years, and we hope to send Joe back to Congress to fight for all of us!”

As District 26’s former Congressman, Garcia secured $200 million in funding for Everglades restoration projects, millions in water quality projects for the Florida Keys, and earned top ratings from the League of Conservation Voters.

“Clean air and clean water are priorities for me—not just talking points,” said former Congressman Joe Garcia, candidate for Florida’s 26th Congressional District. “Empty gestures won’t preserve the Everglades or clean drinking water. I’ll continue to take action in Congress to preserve our natural resources for future generations.”

Recently, Garcia joined other candidates and elected officials in signing the Now or Neverglades declaration, and has made clean water a major focus of his campaign platform.

“Carlos Curbelo consistently voted against measures that would safeguard our natural resources,” said Javier Hernandez, spokesperson for the Garcia Campaign. “We trust the voters to see through Curbelo’s pandering and recognize the need for a real fighter who will protect our district’s natural resources.”

Curbelo has a history of saying one thing in South Florida and voting the opposite in Washington. He claims to be an environmentalist but his record paints a very different picture. In Congress, Curbelo voted to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, voted to protect subsidies for oil produced on public land and even expressed his strong support for offshore oil drilling while visiting a rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is also not the first time Curbelo voted to pollute our waters. He voted to allow coal polluters to store their waste in aquifers that leak into the groundwater Americans use. A GOP mega-donor and advocate of the coal industry is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to mask Curbelo’s anti-environmental record. The mega-donor is also spending millions more to prop up other anti-environmental members of Congress with scores from the League of Conservation Voters as low as 6 and 9 percent from the

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Joe Garcia served South Florida in Congress from 2013 to 2015.  He is currently running for election against Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo in a Congressional District that has been redrawn and favors Democrats. National and local Democrats have invested heavily in Garcia, with the DCCC placing $5 million in television ads that are currently running in the district.  Joe Garcia is beating Curbelo in the most recent poll.

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