Open Letter 

To:
Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass
Chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation, Michael K. Wirth

From:
The undersigned concerned environmental leaders

Subject: Why is Chevron supporting Karen Bass for LA Mayor? Don't pollute our politics, people, planet and pocket books

We, over 100 concerned climate, environmental, and environmental justice leaders, are writing to condemn the $50,000 donation from the Chevron Corporation into an independent expenditure committee supporting Karen Bass’s mayoral campaign. We condemn both Big Oil’s attempt to influence this election and politicians who are bankrolled by companies like Chevron profiting at the expense of our health, our climate and our household budgets.

Angelenos deserve to know: why is Chevron supporting Karen Bass for Mayor and what do they expect in return for their donation?

Our message is unequivocal: Don't pollute our politics, people, planet and pocket books.  

For decades, Angelenos have been fighting to end neighborhood oil drilling, which is causing toxic pollution that harms the health of our children, family, friends, and neighbors. The health impacts can rival that of secondhand smoke according to USC researchers. These drill sites are disproportionately sited in Black and Latino environmental justice communities across Los Angeles. 

Since the 1970s, we've known that burning fossil fuels is warming and destabilizing our climate, leading to fires, floods, extreme heat, and sea level rise, the impacts of which we are feeling today and which are costing us our lives and billions of dollars in damage.

In 2023, the State of California sued Chevron and other Big Oil companies, charging that oil industry executives knew about the dangers of their products, intentionally suppressed information from the public that would have harmed their businesses, and spent billions of dollars to prevent the transition to clean energy.

And on top of all that, Angelenos are suffering through record high gas prices that are taking hard earned dollars out of already stretched household budgets. And who benefits? The oil companies who are earning record profits thanks to the destabilizing war in Iran started by President Trump.

For these reasons, we resoundingly reject the involvement of Chevron and any oil company in Los Angeles's politics. We've seen how the presence of oil industry money in our state and federal politics has slowed progress on addressing our climate crisis, phasing out neighborhood oil drilling, and getting relief from pain at the pump.

In a moment where Angelenos are desperate for solutions to many of our affordability challenges, we are deeply concerned that a fossil fuel company would seek to influence the outcome of our election. We don’t need more expensive gasoline, pollution and climate change. We need clean and affordable transportation, healthy neighborhoods and a climate that our kids and grandkids can safely enjoy.

For these reasons we condemn this attempt by Big Oil to influence our elections and politicians who accept corporate money from Big Oil. 

Sincerely,

Annie Abram, Vice Chair, Sierra Club BCG Executive Committee; Chair, Political Committee
James Adomian, Cartoon Actor and Comedian
Sylvia Arredondo, Civic Engagement Director
Miriam Bar-Zemer, Strategy & Growth Lead, Agency Artifact
Samara Bay, CEO, Permission Inc.
Belén Bernal, Executive Director
Emily Berry, Co-Chair, Climate Justice Committee, DSA-LA
Elena Besbris, Social Worker
Jenny Binstock, Deputy Regional Field Director, Sierra Club
Glen Michael Blair, Elementary Educator
Rae Breaux, Programs Director
Gissela C., Environmental Justice
Suzanne Caflisch, Environmental Policy Leader
Andre Charles, Board Member, Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters
Donna Choi, Nonprofit Executive
Jon Christensen, Adjunct Assistant Professor, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Bill Corcoran, Former Director, Beyond Coal Campaign
Jessica Craven, Climate Activist
Renee Dake Wilson, Architect
Jonah d’Alessio, National Development Director, High School Democrats of America
Dr. Matthew d’Alessio, Professor, Geological Sciences
Colby Devitt, Marketing Executive
Marian Dodge, Friends of Griffith Park
Julia Dowell, California Deputy Director, Industrious Labs
Lauren Elachi, Environmentalist
Bruce Embrey, Green Building Consultant
Monica Mariko Embrey, Vice Chair, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Political Committee; Former National Campaign Director, Sierra Club
Marlene Esquivel, Sierra Club Volunteer Leader
Walker Foley, Organizer and Grassroots Strategist
Michael Fujimori, Executive Committee Member, Sierra Club BCG Chapter
Jamil Fuller, Los Angeles Region Leader, Progressive Victory
Shona Ganguly, Board Member, Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters
Evan George, Communications Director, UCLA Emmett Institute
Gary Gero, Former Chief Sustainability Officer, Los Angeles County
Evan Gillespie, Partner, Industrious Labs
GN, Climate Activist
Kelly Gonez, LAUSD School Board Member
Silvano Gonzalez, Public Health Advocate
Morgan Goodwin, Former Director, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter
Laura Gowen, Attorney and Consultant
David Haake, MD, Member, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Executive Committee
Gerry Hans, President, Friends of Griffith Park
Christine Harris, President, Topper Packaging, LLC
Lisa Hart, Executive Director, Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance
Ursula K. Heise, Distinguished Professor, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Jonah Henry, Volunteer Coordinator, Schools Team, Sunrise Movement Los Angeles
Barbara Hensleigh, Sierra Club Volunteer Leader
Cyndi Hubach, President, Silver Lake Reservoirs Conservancy
Stephanie Hubbard, Nature Lover
Maya Iñigo-Anderson, Climate Organizing Director
Fatima Iqbal-Zubair, Environmental Justice Advocate
Christine Jerian, California Armenian American Democrats
Jessica Jewell, Digital Director
Hans Johnson, President, East Area Progressive Democrats
Maro Kakoussian, President, Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters
Christine Kantner, Restaurateur
Nicole Levin, Organizer and Artist
K. Ben Loescher, Architect
Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza, Attorney
Yvette Lopez-Ledesma, Founder, Tías on Trails
Dr. Loraine Lundquist, Co-Lead, LA Forward Climate Justice Working Group
Amy Lyford, PhD
Mercedes Macias, Senior Policy Strategist
Lionel Mares, Community Advocate
Awoenam Mauna-Woanya, Building Decarbonization Engineer
Julia Meltzer, Founding Director, Clockshop
Catlin Miller, Account Manager
Char Miller, Professor, Environmental Analysis
Taiji Miyagawa, Musician
Jen Motwani, Director, Strategic Partnerships
Deborah Murphy, Active Transportation Planner and Grant Writer
Alexandra Nagy, Organizing Director
Staci Nesbitt, Architect
Rebecca Ninburg, Activist
Aaron Ordower, Environmental Deputy
Kayla Owens, Attorney
Charlie Palmer, Environmental Studies Major, Pomona College
Patricia Pérez, Retired; Former Chair, LA River State Park Partners
Eric A. Pierce, Therapist; Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW); Owner, Trees Counseling
Stephanie Pincetl, Professor
Leonora Pitts, LA Parent
Julia Jaye Posin, Director of Operations and Special Projects, Climate Defiance
Tawsif Rahman, MPH
Rani Ranade, Architect
Bart Reed, Executive Director, The Transit Coalition
Casey Revkin, Parent
Cheryl Revkin, DC
Chris Rhie, Climate Action Leader
Dr. Rocio Rivas, School Board Member, District 2
Roxan Rivas, Director of Strategic Development
Julio Rodriguez, Housing Authority Intern
Carter Rubin, Urban Planner
Shev Rush, Business Owner
Meghan Sahli-Wells, Board Director, National Sierra Club; Former Mayor, Culver City
Magali Sanchez-Hall, Environmental Justice Activist
Janelle Sangalang, Environmental Advocate
Josh Sautter, Community Activist
Marta Segura, Climate Justice Committee, LA Forward
Tianna Shaw-Wakeman, Environmental Justice Director
Andy Shrader, Former Executive Director of Environmental Affairs, Office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz
Emma Silber, Environmental Justice Advocate
Amanda Stemen, Ecotherapist
Tracy A. Stone, Architect
Bailey Swain, President, Black LA Young Democrats
Shawn Sweeney, Los Angeles Resident
Diego Tamayo, UCLA Urban Planning Student
The Rev. Daniel Tamm, Co-Chair, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles Commission on Climate Change
Clifford J. Tasner, President, Americans for Democratic Action, Southern California Chapter
Josh Torres, Board Member, Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters
Betty Toto, Community Organizer and Policy Advocate
Mia Trachinger, Title Not Provided
Trina Turk, Creative Director
Aura Vasquez, Environmental Justice Advocate
Caty Wagner, Campaign Manager, Sierra Club California
Joseph “Joey” Williams, Tribal Leader
Brian Wilson, Architect
Bz Zhang, AIA, NOMA, Project Manager, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust

*Titles and affiliations are for identifying purposes only.