Grassroots Power Moves Governors to Think Outside the Bottle

As the major initiative of our Think Outside the Bottle Campaign, our regional campaign organizers have been targeting both Governors and Mayors to urge them to cancel bottled water contracts and invest in public water systems.

Recently, organizer John Stewart focused on governors in four states -- Vermont, Ohio, New Mexico and New York. It was in New York where John played a key role in our first victory moving governors to Think Outside the Bottle. He recruited and worked closely with a vibrant team of members and allies to engage and move the governor’s office on the campaign, including organizing successful volunteer-run media actions and outreach and mobilizing supporters across the state to sign on to a letter to the governor. John involved important ally organizations and individuals in the effort, from the Hudson Riverkeepers to the Sierra Club to supportive New York City Councilmembers.

John’s efforts opened the door to a meeting with one of the governor’s top environmental aides, giving us the opportunity to communicate the case for supporting public water systems and ending wasteful taxpayer spending on bottled water. A month later, New York Governor David Paterson responded to the campaign by issuing an executive order phasing out state spending on bottled water. Supporters involved in the grassroots effort claimed the victory as their own, saying “look what we accomplished!”, a testament to John’s strong organizing work and the power that he helped build.

This victory is the most comprehensive action taken by a governor to date, and it sets the standard for the 49 other states to follow suit. We will be building on this momentum as we bring on new organizers to our team to expand our campaign efforts. Join us!