BEFORE YOU VOTE -
Check the VCCool Green Questionnaire!

See how the Ventura City Council Candidates answer 8 critical green questions. Read what they want to do about climate change action, a plastic bag ban, bicycle improvement funding, and more, at VCCool's On-Line Green Questionnaire.

VCCool solicited questions from across our community for a broad perspective on the importance of a greener Ventura. From labor unions to high-tech solar, and from surfers to cyclists, people care about green.

Thanks to KDTV and their skilled camera crew - you can watch all or part of our City Council Candidate Green Forum, with Q&A about green topics!

Watch our Green Candidate Forum

Thank you Assemblymember Das Williams our Keynote Speaker

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL 11 CANDIDATES FOR VENTURA CITY COUNCIL

Our Sponsors:

We are honored to list these generous businesses and organizations as our sponsors for this event.

WAV (Working Artists Ventura)

Patagonia

John Zeretzke

The Cottage on Main

DDM Metering Systems

Coastal Solar

The Refill Shoppe

Citizens for Hillside Preservation

Surfrider Foundation Ventura Chapter

C4 Green Building Council

Kids vs. Global Warming

Ventura Bicycle Union

SOAR

Environmental Defense Center

Fausset Printing

Gold Coast Solar

Lantrip Solutions

Trufflehound's Fine Chocolates

Laborers Union Local 585

KDTV

Press Release -  PDF  

Questionnaire Responses

VCCool has put together an environmental questionnaire, with input from eight other locally active environmental groups comprising over 6680 local members. The groups who submitted questions were: VCCool, Surfrider Foundation (local chapter), Green Building Council of Ventura County, Sierra Club (local chapter), SOAR, Trust for Public Land (Ventura River project), Kids vs. Global Warming, CPR, and the Sustainability Council of Ventura County.

The candidates that we choose for our city council will have extensive impact on how "green" and "cool" our community is. We think this is a powerful educational tool. It's organized by both question and by candidate - so you can find the information you need. Check out the questionnaire, share this link with everyone, and we'll see you at the polls Tuesday, November 6th!

Special thanks to all the candidates running, who are putting in an incredible amount of time and energy into this race!

Ventura's 2007 City Council Candidate Environmental Questionnaire

Organized by Question or by Candidate

11 Questions
1. How do you value city beaches, and what do you see as priority issues for them?
2. How will you correct the current lack of safe north/south bicycle routs within the Ventura Avenue community, and the lack of connection to the ocean?
3. The architecture “2030 Challenge” which was unanimously endorsed by the US Conference of Mayors, calls for energy reduction of all new and renovated buildings incrementally over the next 25 years, until in 2030 they use no more energy to construct and operate than they produce. Should Ventura sign up to take the challenge? How could we begin to accomplish the goal of “carbon neutral” buildings by 2030?
4. What changes would you promote for the Victoria Corridor, and how do they tie into our natural environment and quality of life?
5. What actions will you take as a city council member to ensure that the greenbelts and farmland surrounding the City of Ventura are protected in perpetuity, and that any future growth is accommodated within the city's existing footprint utilizing the principles of smart growth and sustainability?
6. Would the protection of the Ventura River benefit the City of Ventura? If so, how?
7. Are you prepared for sea level rise inherent in continued misuse of fossil fuels? (This question was submitted by a youth organization.)
8. The protection and improvement of environmental quality affects people from different economic strata in different ways. How will you bring together your vision of social justice and your commitment to environmental issues?
9. How will you promote green business, so that a thriving economy and a thriving environment become one in the same?
10. Should the city of Ventura take affirmative steps to implement Community Choice so citizens can purchase locally generated renewable power? Why or why not?
11. What is your attitude about the city collaborating with civic groups in substantial and meaningful ways on community initiated projects?

61.3% in California, 58.9% in Ventura County

Read our "Celebrate Local Heroes" November 3 Newsletter!

What did VCCool Do About Prop 23?

VCCool is helped make Ventura County's Voice strong and clear - "NO ON PROPOSTION 23!"

• VCCool printed 9,000 bilingual flyers, and teamed up with CAUSE, ASERT, and others to get the word out to important swing voters across Ventura County.
• On the international 10/10/10 Climate Change Work Day, VCCool wheeled an "Oil Baron in a Wheel Barrow" around the streets of Ventura to shoo the carpetbagger out of town! In a humorous street-theater piece we illustrated the absurdity of Prop 23 funded by Texas oil.
• VCCool put together a campaign to help people send in articles, letters, facebook shares, and more for a web of outreach in Ventura County.
• Took part in phone banking, canvassing, yard-signs, and more.