PRESS STATEMENT

"IF POMBO RUNS, WE'LL BE THERE"
--Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen

Washington, D.C. - Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen released the following statement today in response to news that Richard Pombo is considering running for Congress in California's 19th district:

"Voters should remember that Richard Pombo was booted out of office by the voters because he was repeatedly rated one of the most corrupt members of Congress. He was the stereotypical 'pay to play' representative, taking large campaign contributions from special interests and then doing their bidding in Washington. He was linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He even leased a Lincoln car and took his family on an RV vacation to national parks, all at taxpayer expense. And that's to say nothing of his atrocious environmental record which included, among other things, an-ill-fated proposal to sell off national parks, and his promotion of oil drilling off California's coast.

"In 2006, the Defenders Action Fund launched an extensive campaign to educate CA-11 voters about the real Richard Pombo. For more than 14 months, we highlighted numerous aspects of his troubling record and the district voters threw him out of office by about a 6-point margin. We're not about to stand by and watch Pombo grab his carpetbag and return to Congress a mere four years after we worked so hard to oust him. If he runs, we'll be there to remind voters about his corrupt record and why he was booted out of Congress in the first place. Surely the voters in California's 19th district deserve better than Richard Pombo."

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The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (www.defendersactionfund.org) provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.