Environmental adviser to Schwarzenegger steps down
Terry Tamminen, influential environmental adviser to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is leaving his post, taking with him some of the green — ethos, that is. Tamminen, a Democrat, was part of the Governator’s inner circle and an outspoken voice for environmental protection. Republicans in the California legislature won’t miss him — “The general perception was he was not pro-California business,” says Republican Assemblymember Ray Haynes — but greens will. “There now is nobody [in the administration] with experience in the environmental movement, and you have to think that’s going to make a difference when they have their internal tug of war between the business interests and the environmental promises that the governor has made,” says the Sierra Club’s Bill Magavern. Tamminen will volunteer for the governor’s reelection campaign before leaving; he said he wants to help convince voters of the governor’s strong green record. But without Tamminen, would a second Schwarzenegger term be as green?
