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The Oregon League of Conservation Voters has named Lindsey Scholten as its permanent executive director.
“I am truly honored to be given this opportunity to lead OLCV forward into our next chapter,” said Scholten, who worked on Democratic Party campaigns and in the Legislature before joining the league. “OLCV’s mission—electing pro-environment and pro-climate candidates to office, educating voters on where candidates stand, and holding all our elected officials accountable for how they vote—is unique and incredibly important.”
Scholten, who has worked at OLCV for nine years, has served as interim director since April, following the departure of her predecessor, Doug Moore. Under Moore’s leadership, the league (long known for its scorecard, perhaps the most watched indicator of legislators’ support for the environment) took more aggressive positions and raised much more money for its political action committee, the OLCV Education Fund.
Under Moore’s leadership, for instance, OLCV led the charge to knock out former state Rep. Mike Schaufler (D-Happy Valley) in the 2012 Democratic primary and increased its PAC spending from $147,000 in 2012 to $1.76 million last year. Of that sum, nearly $1 million went to elect Gov. Tina Kotek.
Early indications are that Scholten will continue that aggressive approach. In the final week of the legislative session that ended June 25, OLCV played a major role in defeating House Bill 3414, a top priority for Kotek. That bill would have allowed a one-time expansion of urban growth boundaries across the state, in addition to some less controversial measures to increase housing production. But OLCV and the Oregon Conservation Network labeled the bill a “major threat” and worked Democratic lawmakers hard, resulting in the bill’s failure—by one vote—in the session’s final hours.
“Lindsey has helped lead OLCV’s biggest political successes for almost a decade and brings a wealth of experience to her role leading the organization forward,” league board chair Jules Bailey said. “With increasing threats to Oregon’s environment, the work of OLCV has never been more important, and we are thrilled to have Lindsey leading the organization forward at this critical time.”