I will be supporting Joan Hartmann in the June primary because she has chosen jobs and worked with organizations that contribute to making life healthier and safer for people. While working for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an organization that “protects Americans from significant risks to human health,” Joan worked on Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Act cases. She also prosecuted coal companies who polluted streams with acid, which drained from their abandoned mine sites. With the dangers posed by drinking water in Flynt, the gas leaks at Porter Ranch, and oil transport in Santa Barbara, I intend to vote for someone who has a history of working to protect public health: Hartmann for supervisor.
This article appears in Feb 18-25, 2016.