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Maryland's champion in a dogfight with Pombo Jr.!

We are proud to announce our endorsement of incumbent Frank Kratovil for Maryland's first district seat in the House of Representatives. In his first term, Congressman Kratovil took decisive action to support ocean and Chesapeake Bay health:

• He was an original co-sponsor and leader on the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act, which just passed the House.
• He co-sponsored several bills focused on Bay health, including the Chesapeake Bay Science, Education and Ecosystem Enhancement Act, and the Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act.
• At a critical point he signed on to a letter supporting the work of the Interagency Task Force on the first ever National Ocean Policy.

In addition, Congressman Kratovil courageously voted in favor of the Waxman-Markey climate bill. This was a tough vote for him, because Maryland's first district is very conservative - in 2008, McCain beat Obama by 18% - but he knew that addressing CO2 was in the best interests of his constituents and his country. It would have been easy for this district's representative to vote the other way, but Frank Kratovil took a political risk to do the right thing. This is exactly the type of action we look for from all our champions.

By contrast, his opponent Andy Harris has compiled one of the worst records on the Chesapeake Bay in the Maryland Senate. His LCV lifetime score of 13% includes recent votes against reducing stormwater pollution and reducing nitrogen runoff. He also voted in favor of a delaying the ban on phosphorus in detergent. Harris voted this way, despite the fact that these are all major contributors to the dead zones and general water quality problems plaguing the Chesapeake Bay. Given his record, if he were to beat Congressman Kratovil in the upcoming election, Andy Harris could become the next Pombo.

Congressman Kratovil rallied to beat Harris in 2008, but only by about 3,000 votes. In 2010, this race will once again come down to the wire, and it will be important for everyone who cares about the ocean to rally behind him. When the going gets tough, we stand by our champions, and we're asking you to stand by Frank Kratovil. The stakes are high, but together we can help pull off another victory for a man who is a proven champion for the ocean!

7 April 2010, 8:00 pm