For Immediate Release, April 29, 2022
Contact: Karuna Jaggar, (510) 220-2410, karunajaggar@centeractionfund.org
Center Action Fund Endorses Phil Arballo for California’s 13th Congressional District
CENTRAL VALLEY, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, the 501(c)(4) political arm of the Center for Biological Diversity, announced today that it is endorsing Phil Arballo in the Democratic primary in California’s 13th Congressional District.
“Phil Arballo understands the urgency of the climate crisis and will fight for clean energy,” said Karuna Jaggar, California political director at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund. “Arballo is challenging a corporate Democrat who has long been in the pockets of Big Oil and Gas donors. With so much at stake, the Central Valley deserves a climate champion who will address poor air quality, lower emissions and tackle the climate emergency with the bold solutions we need.”
“I’m humbled to have the support of the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund,” said Arballo. “They have been champions of protecting our wildlife and public lands and I look forward to working with them in Congress to help fight the climate crisis. The Central Valley deserves a leader who will fight for it, not someone who will sell it out to corporate polluters.”
Arballo is challenging Adam Gray, who currently represents District 21 in the California State Assembly and is running to represent California’s 13th Congressional District, which was created as a result of redistricting. Gray is a corporate Democrat whose anti-environmental voting record includes opposing California’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2045, opposing larger penalties for oil spills, and voting against ending certain single-use plastics that pollute our environment.
Gray’s close ties with the oil and gas industry include using language directly from the lead lobbyist for the Western States Petroleum Association to push for an audit of California’s primary climate change program in 2016. The Sierra Club reports that in 2019 and 2020, Gray received more than $58,500 in “dirty donor contributions” from polluting industries.
The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for legislation and legislators that will advance a progressive environmental agenda. The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund is the 501(c)(4) affiliate of the Center for Biological Diversity, but these organizations’ names are not interchangeable. This news release is from the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, not the Center for Biological Diversity.