Kerry's Daughter Says Environment Important to Her Dad

By Sunny Lewis

HONOLULU, Hawaii, November 1, 2004 (ENS) - Senator John Kerry's eldest daughter Alexandra was in Honolulu over the weekend to encourage Democrats to get out and vote on Tuesday. She spoke to the Environment News Service on Saturday about why the environment has not been a bigger issue in the 2004 election campaign.

"I think my Dad has been trying to discuss it, he has been talking about it. If the other side won't enter into that conversation, then you're having a one-on-one conversation," she said. "He mentions it in all his campaign speeches. He talks about it when he's on the road. It's very much a part of who he is and what he believes in."

"You know, the President hasn't had it be much of a discussion over the last four years, and if the news stations don't pick up on it being an important subject - we are in a time of war - then other people don't get to hear about it as much."

"But my Dad in every campaign stop that he makes, no matter what state he's in, he talks about the importance of protecting our environment.

Wearing lei in the Hawaiian tradition, Alexandra Kerry campaigns in Honolulu's Palolo neighborhood. (Photo © Jim Crabtree/ENS)

Hawaii has voted Democrat since statehood in 1948, but this year, with Republican Governor Linda Lingle heading the government, the electorate is seen as leaning more towards the Republican side than ever before.

But in Alexandra's view, the Republican administration of President George W. Bush has not been good for America's land, air, and water.

"Under this administration," she told ENS, "we've had 60 percent of the regulations that President [Bill] Clinton put into place rolled back. And that's a huge number, and that's not something that invests in our future, unfortunately."

The Kerry family is conscious that the transportation choices they make affect the environment, and until this campaign they took care not to choose gasaholic SUVs, said Alexandra.

"Well, we did not drive in SUVs until my Dad had to drive with the Secret Service, so you can talk to the Secret Service about that," she smiled.

The family enjoys the outdoors, but that is not the extent of their environmental awareness.

"We go in the mountains, he's on the water. He windsurfs a lot and he likes to be on the boat, and generally has an understanding of the importance of protecting our environment, and not just for recreation," Alexandra said.

John Kerry's eldest daughter is taking acting and directing classes at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. (Photo © Jim Crabtree/ENS)

"The air pollution in a number of our cities has increased under George Bush, that's something that we breathe every day," Alexandra said. "So no matter what our political senses are, what happens to our bodies, we're not even going to be able to make a political decision if we aren't living on the Earth in a way that it's protected."

"I think it's so important to consider that, and that's something that he's always tried to instill in us, and I think that he would like to, under his Presidency, that he would have the nation respect."

A Kerry administration would return to the policy that environmental protection and job creation complement each other, Alexandra said. "You know, George Bush, the President, has created this misconception that if you protect the environment that you are going to be cutting jobs, and that is just not true."

"My Dad and Senator Edwards have an idea that by the year 2020 we can have 20 percent of our energy resources based here in the United States instead of being dependent on foreign outlets," she said. "So we are going to be creating jobs through that process, so that we can protect the environment at the same time as creating jobs."