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When several local housing advocates abruptly tossed their hats in the ring for leadership positions in the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club, it was not long before other members began to sound the alarm.
But it appears that veteran leadership has prevailed, and none of the pro-housing candidates received enough votes to be elected this year. The 2024-26 Executive Committee will instead gain Sue Chow, Shruti Chandrasekhar, Nicole Lee and Robin Montoya, all of whom won by significant margins over the pro-housing candidates. According to their candidate statements, Chow, Chandrasekhar and Montoya have all served previously on the Executive Committee, which generally governs the activities and policies of the local chapter.
The elections this year were dominated by a tension between the Sierra Club’s historic focus on conservation and environmentalism and a younger generation of activists who see denser housing as critical to achieving those goals.
To get on the ballot, a member must either be selected by the Nominating Committee or gain enough member signatures to petition for their candidacy. All of the candidates who won were selected by the committee; all the housing candidates made it onto the ballot via petition.
Chapter President Michael Ferreira previously told this publication that there had never been petition candidates until this year.
The pro-housing candidates for the chapter’s Executive Committee were transportation activist Mike Swire, battery materials engineer Mike Regula, Mountain View Council member Lucas Ramirez and Palo Alto Forward Vice Chair Natalie Geise. While none of them were explicitly pro-housing in their candidate statements, emails sent on their behalf earlier this year garnered their reputation as insurgents within the Sierra Club.
Some of the emails that were obtained by this publication include one from YIMBY Action, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for more housing as part of the “Yes In My Back Yard” movement. The subject line of an Aug. 13 email reads, “Get in, we’re flipping the Sierra Club,” and urges recipients to join the chapter to vote for the pro-housing slate.
“We can make a BIG difference in the Loma Prieta Chapter because leadership positions are decided by a handful of votes in their fall elections,” the Aug. 13 email continues. “This fall, I will send you a list of some amazing candidates who will turn the local chapter into a force for good.”
Former Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou sent an email blast to Sierra Club members on Sept. 10, alerting them to what she called an “ugly hostile takeover by YIMBY Action and their allies.”
Also on the ballot this year were open seats on the Peninsula Regional Group, which had a similar split between Nominating Committee candidates and pro-housing petition ones — and saw similar results. Sue Chow, Dave Olson, Marianna Raymond and Robin Montoya occupied the top four positions, and the housing advocacy slate made up of Katie Behroozi, Dave Ashton and Michael Regula failed to be elected.
While the housing advocates did not gain any leadership positions this year, their presence, which many members construed as a threat, significantly increased turnout compared to recent years.
“While our slate of petitioned candidates didn’t prevail, we were encouraged by how many more people voted in this year’s election (probably 3-4x a typical turnout). This is good news!,” Behroozi, one of the pro-housing candidates for the regional group, said in an email. “We need all hands on deck to address the existential threat of climate change and the Loma Prieta chapter should be a leader in this fight.”
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Interesting this was how Lucas decided to embarrass himself. This is the same guy who voted to explore paving over Cuesta park.