Refusing to Share it With Crist, Meek Turns Down Sierra Club Backing

The Sierra Club, with more than 30,000 members in the Sunshine State, endorsed both Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running without party affiliation, and Democratic candidate U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek on Thursday -- an endorsement which Meek promptly refused.

In their endorsement on Thursday, the Sierra Club praised both Crist and Meek for their records on the environment and attacked Republican candidate Marco Rubios record on green issues. Unlike his two rivals, Rubio did not seek the groups backing.

The Sierra Club rarely makes dual endorsements, but in this case it was particularly appropriate, said Cathy Duvall, the national political director of the Sierra Club. Florida, the public at large, and Sierra Club members who want to see environmental leaders in Washington will all be well-served by either Charlie Crist or Kendrick Meek as their representative in the U.S. Senate.

But Meek quickly responded that he did not want the endorsement and ripped into Crists record on the environment.

"I cannot in good conscience accept an endorsement from an organization that would stand with a governor who has consistently put developers, oil companies and the special interests first, said Meek. I choose to stand with the environmental community and everyday Floridians who want clean-energy jobs, clean water, and clean beaches. It's an insult to Florida's environmental community and Sierra Club members that the organization would endorse a governor who, in the organization's own words, 'sold out to developers' by 'failing to veto even the worst bills.' While I agree that Marco Rubio is an unacceptable choice for Florida's environment, Charlie Crist is also an unacceptable choice.We should all take a stand and, in doing so, I respectfully decline the Sierra Club's co-endorsement."