So far only one member of the WA County Board of Commissioners, Dick Schouten, has pledged to support the Cool Counties Declaration in a vote.  However, I am optamistic about other commissioners soon steping forward to support this measure, and a likely next candidate is Commissioners Desari Strader, the newest member of the Board.  When I met with Keith Quick of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV), he mentioned that OLCV had supported Commissioner Strader's election campaign, and that she might be sympathetic to the idea of Cool Counties.  A vote in favor of curbing county-wide greenhouse emissions would certainly earn her good marks from OLCV; and Washington County's environmental community would be truly grateful to her.

I will be sending an email to Commissioner Strader, alerting her to this post on ENGEL, and asking her to respond to it with a definite "yes" or "no" as to whether or not she would support the Cool Counties Declaration.  Judging from what I know of her record in public office, I see no reason why she would not vote for the Declaration.  There is pubic support for curbing greenhouse emissions in Washington County, and the Cool Counties Declaration will put us firmly on the road to reducing our contributions to global warming.  I believe that Commissioner Strader will do the right thing; let's hope she doesn't disappoint us.  Keep checking this post to look for her response.

Note: the photograph in this post is linked from the Washington County Board of Commissioners web page.