Vote On Our Values!

Our communities have dealt with crisis after crisis this year. From the COVID-19 pandemic to the global uprising for Black lives and the ongoing climate crisis, we have been asked time and time again to turn and face ourselves, our neighbors and people that we do not know and ask ourselves “how do we move forward”? We have had to make decisions this year, large and small, around what we have to do to keep our communities safe, healthy and strong. This election, we have the same choices and question in front of us–how do we move forward?

We have learned hard lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have learned the value of data, science and medicine. We have been shown the value of everyday workers such as those who work in hospitals, grocery stores, schools and laundromats. We have seen the ways in which we have shown up for one another by delivering groceries and medicine to those in need, to those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. When we banded together, we moved forward. 

We have also seen what happens when our elected officials do not move swiftly to provide the basic needs of all people–death, loss of jobs, continued and worsening illness of those of us living and working in environmental justice areas, and a slow and uncertain path forward. We know that we may never be able to get back to “normal”, and we don’t want to go back to the normal of before COVID-19. Normal never served us. 

When we were overwhelmed with the weight of the world, our members turned to one another and asked the same question; “how do we move forward”? The answer was clear: we need to center the values we hold at Clean Air and use them as our guiding star for all that we do during a time of uncertainty.

At Clean Air, our work is rooted in our values, and our values come from who we are. As a working-class, queer and women-led staff, our passion for and experiences with fighting for environmental justice and liberation colors all that we do. We know what it is to create community, care for one another through hard times and build a more beautiful and clear vision for the world that we all deserve.

So, how do we move forward? We move forward united through our differences and standing in our values. Our members have many differences but what connects us all is our belief in a world where our environment promotes health and equity and where systems place communities at the forefront of decision-making. We do the work that we are passionate about, the work that lifts all of us up and makes us stronger together.

As a nonprofit organization, we are not able to tell you who to vote for, but we urge you to stand in your values and the values of Clean Air and remember what is at stake past November 3rd. Clean air and water. Racial justice and equity. A vision for a new green economy that provides family sustaining wages and healthy workplaces. The joy, dignity and health of our people. And, most importantly, the possibility of a more perfect union and democracy for all. On November 3rd, and every day after that, we will stand strong in what we know to be true for all of us–that is how we move forward. 

We ask you to join us and vote on your values this election, up and down the ballot. Our vote is one way that we show our power and achieve our shared goals. Our voices, our dreams, our votes, matter.

Early voting is now open in New York State until Sunday, November 1st. You can find a list of polling places in Erie County here, and Niagara County here. For additional nonpartisan resources on voting and voting safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the Erie County Board of Elections or New York State Board of Elections sites. You can find our nonpartisan voting resource guide, being added to daily, here.

Ever forward,

Clean Air