Youngkin Disappoints on the Environment in First Grading of this Administration
For Immediate Release:
Monday, July 11, 2022
Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(434) 989-3197 | lfrancis@valcv.org
RICHMOND – Today, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters released its 2022 Conservation Scorecard, which ranks all 140 members of the legislature based on their votes on key environmental legislation, and for the first time, includes comprehensive rankings for the Governor based on his actions on the environment so far in his term.
The full 2022 Scorecard can be viewed and downloaded here.
“Our Scorecard is the go-to resource for Virginians to learn where their lawmakers at the General Assembly stand on the environment, and now it shines a much-needed light on the Executive branch as well,” said Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters. “Our goal as an organization is to have a Conservation Majority across government, and this Scorecard is vital to our mission. We expect elected officials of both parties to prioritize our environment, and we will thank them when they do, and hold them accountable when they don’t. We are thankful for our friends in the Senate who held the line on a barrage of attacks on climate action, and urge Governor Youngkin to change course by giving Virginians the clean air and water they deserve.”
In our first rankings of Governor Youngkin, we unfortunately had to give him a grade of “F” for his deprioritization of environmental protection, his attacks on important environmental protections, a host of appointments with deep ties to the fossil fuel industry, and for a petty and vindictive style of governing. A number of gubernatorial actions were taken into consideration in developing this grade, including executive actions, appointments, his overall environmental agenda, his vetoes of and amendments to legislation, the state budget, and his overall style of leadership and approach to governing. Gubernatorial rankings will continue to be a dedicated fixture of Virginia LCV’s scorecard every year going forward.
On this legislative side, this year’s Scorecard very much reflects our current political lay of the land that saw the environmental community working to protect the progress we’ve made in recent years, especially our policies to cut carbon emissions, address the climate crisis, and secure a clean energy future. We were largely successful in defeating the worst attacks on our environment, while also advancing commonsense environmental protections that received broad, bipartisan support in a divided legislature.
This year’s legislator scores take into account 22 votes in the House of Delegates and 25 votes in the Senate of Virginia.
Fifty-eight lawmakers, 12 Senators and 48 Delegates, scored a perfect 100-percent score in 2020, earning the designation of “Legislative Hero” for voting alongside Virginia LCV’s position on top conservation priorities every time this year.
2022 Legislative Heroes
Sen. Jennifer Boysko
Sen. Adam Ebbin
Sen. Barbara Favola
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi
Sen. Janet Howell
Sen. Mamie Locke
Sen. Louise Lucas
Sen. Dave Marsden
Sen. Jennifer McClellan
Sen. Jeremy McPike
Sen. Dick Saslaw
Sen. Lionell Spruill
Del. Dawn Adams
Del. Lamont Bagby
Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
Del. Jeffrey Bourne
Del. David Bulova
Del. Betsy Carr
Del. Nadarius Clark
Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler
Del. Karrie Delaney
Del. Eileen Filler-Corn
Del. Jackie Glass
Del. Wendy Gooditis
Del. Elizabeth Guzman
Del. Cliff Hayes
Del. Dan Helmer
Del. Charniele Herring
Del. Patrick Hope
Del. Sally Hudson
Del. Clint Jenkins
Del. Mark Keam
Del. Paul Krizek
Del. Alfonso Lopez
Del. Michelle Maldonado
Del. Delores McQuinn
Del. Michael Mullin
Del. Candi Mundon King
Del. Kathleen Murphy
Del. Ken Plum
Del. Cia Price
Del. Sam Rasoul
Del. David Reid
Del. Danica Roem
Del. Don Scott
Del. Briana Sewell
Del. Irene Shin
Del. Mark Sickles
Del. Mark Simon
Del. Shelly Simonds
Del. Suhas Subramanyam
Del. Rip Sullivan
Del. Kathy Tran
Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg
Del. Jeion Ward
Del. Vivian Watts
Del. Rodney Willett
Del. Angelia Williams Graves
Another 12 lawmakers, 10 Senators and two Delegates, earned scores between 75 and 99 percent in 2020, earning the designation of “Legislative Leader” for their prioritization of key conservation issues.
2022 Legislative Leaders
Sen. George Barker
Sen. John Bell
Sen. Creigh Deeds
Sen. John Edwards
Sen. Lynwood Lewis
Sen. Monty Mason
Sen. Joe Morrissey
Sen. Chap Petersen
Sen. Scott Surovell
Sen. Jill Vogel
Del. Kaye Kory
Del. Luke Torian
Virginia LCV also recognized three lawmakers for their individual leadership this year on different environmental issues. These went to Senators Dave Marsden (D-Fairfax) and Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), and Delegate Delores McQuinn (D-Richmond City).
About us:
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters serves as the political voice of the state’s conservation community, working to make sure Virginia’s elected officials recognize that our natural heritage is an environmental and economic treasure for all. Virginia LCV works with conservation leaders across Virginia and strives for a conservation majority in state government. We secure good public policies on the state level and hold public officials accountable for their positions on environmental issues. For more information, visit www.valcv.org.
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