Rachel Binah became an activist to save the ocean. A resident of Little River in Mendocino County, she was appalled when an offshore oil drilling lease was proposed for the pristine and wild Mendocino coast. She made it her mission to organize the community against it. She figured she’d spend six months on it and then move on to something else.
From the New York Times, October 1988, On California’s North Coast, Oil Is the Only Issue:
The galvanizing event here, residents said, was the publication last winter of a provisional environmental impact report by the Department of the Interior - two 600-page volumes that pinpointed the sites of 22 oil platforms, cited the number of helicopter trips expected each day from Little River Airport and predicted that large oil spills would occur from time to time in waters that can be as turbulent as those of the North Sea. The community, aghast, began preparing for the last of a series of public hearings on the lease sale, which they decided to turn into a filibuster worthy of the Guinness Book of World Records. Citizens of every background and profession signed up to speak - a total of 700, although the Department of the Interior, overwhelmed, called a halt after 212 people had their say. The testimony lasted for 24 1/2 hours straight before an ardent audience of 2,500: a few hundred in Eagles Hall in Fort Bragg and the rest outside, listening on loudspeakers. ''It renewed my commitment to living here,'' said Nice Alterman, one of the organizers of the filibuster, which is remembered as the Seaweed Rebellion.She realized that issues aren’t won on the merits, but on the politics, and so she decided to become active in the Democratic party, working her way into the state party and finally the DNC in 1992. Binah is a superdelegate by virtue of her position on the DNC. She is currently serving her final term. Our local radio station, KZYX, interviewed her July 1, 2016, to ask about the election and the superdelegate process.
In the interview, she talks about how she’s used her DNC status to advocate her issue (‘As an ordinary citizen, I can’t get a meeting with the vice president, but if he’s standing right next to me, I have his undivided attention’) her work as a precinct captain in Little River (“On election day, I call every Democrat in my precinct who hasn’t turned in a ballot, and...”)
To listen for yourself, it’s a little convoluted, but you can find it at jukebox.kzyx.org, then go to “Talking About California” at Friday, July 1, 2016, 9:00 am. Skip to 06:45 to get past the California Report and the Pledge Drive.
These quotes are from around the 29:00 mark:
The reason that I find being part of the Democratic party so helpful to me… and opening up so many possibilities, is because I’m concerned primarily about one particular aspect of environmental protection, and that is the coast and our oceans. … and I thought that if i could get access to some of the movers & shakers within the Democratic party it might be possible to move them a little bit in one way or another and by going to these meetings, these conventions, four or five times a year, all over the country, you may be standing next to a governor, or a senator, or … a member of the House who is on a committee making some of these decisions. Normally I as an individual would find it very difficult to make an appointment to see one of these people, because who am I — just an ordinary citizen. I can always make an appointment to see my own congressman, and that’s wonderful but it’s not enough… In a few seconds I can give a speech to them, that might have some resonance.
She became clearly recognized as an advocate on this issue for the chief of staff, the vice president, and others.
It’s important to me to find a way to communicate in a way that is not insulting. One of the things we do when we’re very angry about something, is that we tend to say things that are very disagreeable. You get a chance to do that once. But then, you’re discredited. It’s very important to be polite and respectful when you meet with people, especially with those with whom you disagree.
It’s a constant upward struggle… I will not outlive the rapacious greed of the oil companies.
More reading:LA Times, January 1988, Coastal Oil Drilling Rig Estimate Raised : U.S. Report Envisions 24 Platforms Along State's Northern Shore
"I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach when I saw the map," said inn keeper Rachel Binah.
She and 25 other inn keepers have mailed letters to former guests and have offered discount rates if the guests will testify at February hearings on the report.