Washington D.C. – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to elect pro-environment candidates, announced its endorsement of Ritchie Torres for election to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York’s 15th Congressional District. 

“As a city council member, Ritchie Torres has fought for fairer elections, safe and equitable housing, and greenhouse gas emissions caps for buildings in New York City,” said LCV Action Fund Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “We know he will bring that same dedication to Congress and continue to be a strong ally for climate action.”

“We are proud to have endorsed Ritchie Torres for Congress,” said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “Not only did he receive a perfect score of 100% on our 2019 City Council Environmental Scorecard, but he also sponsored legislation to clean up our power plants and require them to stop using dirty fuel oil. He is committed to fighting for investments in our public lands and waters, reducing emissions from the transportation sector, and stopping federal environmental rollbacks. We urge voters in Congressional District 15 to join us in voting for the environment by casting their ballot for Ritchie Torres this November.”

“The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and the New York LCV for years have been at the forefront of environmental justice, pushing for laws that protect our environment and tackle climate change to ensure future generations are able to live on this planet. I’m honored to receive their endorsement,” said NY-15 Democratic nominee Ritchie Torres. “In Congress, I look forward to fighting alongside them to address the greatest global environmental challenges including replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, limiting carbon emissions, enacting a Green New Deal and righting the wrongs of environmental racism that have hurt Bronx residents.”

As a New York City Council member, Torres tackled housing issues from a sustainability perspective. He addressed mold infestation and advocated for a carbon-conservative building material requirement in public housing. For the last two years, he’s received a perfect 100 percent score on New York LCV’s NYC Council Scorecard. Some of the highlights of the actions by the NYC Council in 2019 include the Commercial Waste Zones bill to transform the way NYC handles commercial waste; Buildings Emissions Caps to set greenhouse gas emissions limits for buildings, which make up the lion’s share of greenhouse gas emission in NYC, to ensure the city meets its target of a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050; the Single-Use Paper Bag Fee which opts NYC into the fee for retail paper bags authorized by the State Bag Waste Reduction Act; the Diesel School Bus Phase Out which requires all diesel school buses to be retired after they reach 10 years past the manufacturing date and be replaced by cleaner options; and the Transit Master Plan which requests the Department of Transportation to issue and implement a master plan for streets, sidewalks, and pedestrian spaces every five years. 

About LCV Action Fund

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, the connected federal political action committee (PAC) of the League of Conservation Voters, works to elect leaders who stand up for a clean, healthy environment and to defeat anti-environment candidates who oppose climate action. Since the 1990 election cycle, LCVAF has helped elect and re-elect 90 U.S. Senators and 450 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Over the last several years, our efforts have also helped elevate climate change and clean energy as critical issues in key elections.

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Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and authorized by Torres for Congress