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Suit to Ensure Fair Sierra Club Board Elections Withdrawn under Threats of Personal LiabilityAttempt to silence board candidates opens door to post-election challengeNEWS RELEASE, February 18, 2004
More Information: SAN FRANCISCO - The Sierra Club's Board of Directors election will proceed as planned, and club members' dues will be spent to fight an almost inevitable challenge to the flawed process. The Sierra Club's Executive Director, Carl Pope and President, Larry Fahn have used Sierra Club resources to hire two large corporate law firms, including one that touts its challenges to spotted-owl protections, in an attempt to silence three Board candidates. This move comes just days after the candidates -- Richard Lamm, Frank Morris, and David Pimentel -- filed a lawsuit trying to protect the Sierra Club's democratic elections by stopping the Club from using its members' money to campaign for candidates. Pope and Fahn, through their law firms, attacked the wallets of Lamm, Pimentel, and Morris. Although the candidate's lawsuit aimed only to enforce club Bylaws and not seek monetary damages, Pope and Fahn threatened a counter-action seeking to impose personal financial liability on each of the three individuals. The candidates, each living on fixed income, could not afford to match the legal arsenal backed by the overpowering resources of the Sierra Club's $95 million dollar budget. California nonprofit elections law allows for a post-election challenge, and Sierra Club members agitated that club money and resources have been and are being used in the election will likely challenge the validity of the election. "The irony of the situation is that my clients' lawsuit simply asked the court to ensure that the election would be conducted fairly," said James H. Turken of Thelen Reid & Priest LLP, attorney for the Board candidates. "Now a flawed election will go forward, other people will sue to reverse it at a later date, and Sierra Club membership dues will have to be spent to redo the election." "We just want a level playing field," said Mr. Pimentel. "As much as we love the Sierra Club, we don't have the money to fight an escalated lawsuit." - # # # - Further information can be found at www.SierraDemocracy.org.
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