Sierra Club members turned out in unprecedented numbers
this year to elect five new members to the 112-year-old environmental
organization's Board of Directors. A record 22.7 percent of the Club's
membership returned 171,616 ballots, compared to the previous high voter
turnout of 15 percent in the 1998 board election.
Incumbent directors elected to a second consecutive term were Jan O'Connell
of Grand Rapids, Michigan and Nick Aumen of Loxahatchee, Florida. Lisa
Renstrom, who served on the board from 2001-2003, was elected to a new
term, while Sanjay Ranchod of San Francisco and David Karpf of Philadelphia
were elected to a first term.
Sierra Club President Larry Fahn said the grassroots organization's
membership sent a clear message through its record voter turnout.
“Nearly a quarter of the Sierra Club's members have indicated they love the
Club the way it is,” Fahn said. “They have elected people who have been
active leaders in the Sierra Club and who support our core agenda to
protect the environment and to educate Americans about the destructive
environmental practices of the Bush administration.”
