OVEC Presents Si Galperin the Laura Forman Passion for Justice Award

	In October, OVEC presented former State Sen. Si Galperin with the Laura Forman Passion for Justice Award, for his early work to ban coal strip mining and also for his efforts to bring fair and clean election reform to WV.  Julie Archer, OVEC member, presented this award.

When Janet asked me to present this award this evening I was honored because I have had the privilege to work closely with Si over the past few years as a result of CAG and OVEC’s joint efforts to get Clean Election campaign finance reform passed in West Virginia. But I was also honored because this award is dedicated to the memory of someone near and dear to the OVEC staff and many people who are involved in the fight to stop mountaintop removal. Anyone who knew Laura knew she was dedicated to saving West Virginia’s beautiful mountains and to helping those whose lives were adversely affected by the coal industry’s destructive practices fight back ...

It is for these ongoing efforts and Si's efforts as a state legislator and organizer to abolish strip mining in West Virginia that he is being honored this evening. During the 1960s and 70s, West Virginia saw a dramatic increase in strip mining resulting in the effects we continue to see today as a result of mountaintop removal mining. In 1970, with the support of then Sec. of State and gubernatorial candidate Jay Rockefeller, Si established local chapters of Citizens to Abolish Strip Mining. That year, after finishing his second term in the House of Delegates, Si ran for the State Senate on the strip mine issue and won by a huge margin.

In 1971, with public support in his favor, Si introduced a bill to abolish strip mining in West Virginia. At that time more than 65,000 acres had been stripped and that number was doubling every year. During the legislative session the coal industry resorted to its usual scare tactics – playing the jobs card, even though strip mining accounted for only 5 percent of the state’s workforce. The industry saturated the state with ads. Despite protests, petitions and widespread public opposition to strip mining, the bill never got out of committee.

Instead the legislature overwhelming adopted a "compromise" bill which put a 4-year moratorium on strip mining in 22 of the state’s counties with no active mining and few strippable coal reserves. Si voted against the compromise bill saying, "In every case, the legislature showed more concern for the profits of strip miners than for the preservation of the state."

The next big push to abolish strip mining came in 1975, when the earlier moratorium was up for renewal. Si and then Sen. Darrell McGraw amended the moratorium bill to include nine provisions to strengthen the strip mining and reclamation law. The day before the legislature was to vote on these measures hundreds of citizens rallied at the state capitol to urge passage of the amendments. The legislature extended the moratorium but soundly defeated the amendments.

If anything, these defeats pushed him to devote more time to other efforts he felt were necessary to restore confidence in government such as open meetings, campaign finance reform, disclosure and conflict of interest legislation and freedom of information legislation…

As I was doing a little research in preparation for this presentation, I was constantly reminded that the more things change the more things stay the same. Today’s ongoing battle to stop mountaintop removal and the fight two years ago to stop the coal truck weight increase bear striking resemblance to the battle that Si fought in the 1970s to abolish strip mining and serve as a reminder of the increasing importance and necessity of Si’s current efforts to help advance Clean Elections legislation in the Mountain State.

Si was instrumental in drafting the bill and getting it introduced at the legislature in 2002. For the past two years, he has served as the lobbyist for the Citizens for Clean Elections coalition and he continues to give freely and generously of his time to help us maintain the positive momentum we have in the effort to change the way political campaigns are financed in West Virginia. Si deserves much of the credit for the advances the legislation has made over the past two legislative sessions.