Mayor Buckley Weber And Fran Pavley Give Earth Day Address

AGOURA HILLS, CA — To the backdrop of chirping birds and the Santa Monica Mountains, Agoura Hills Mayor Ilece Buckley Weber and former State Senator, Assemblywoman, and first Mayor of Agoura Hills Fran Pavley wished residents a happy 50^th anniversary Earth Day.

Mayor Buckley Weber began by saying that when she was sworn in last December, she was inspired by international student climate strikes to bring environmental consciousness to Agoura Hills. She was planning to host an environmental fair for the 50^th Earth Day, but that was canceled due to COVID-19. Instead, the city asked residents to share creative projects related to environmentalism and share them in their windows through the Community Connections Initiative.

“I couldn’t just let this milestone pass without doing something special,” said Buckley Weber, before introducing Pavley, whom she called a “true environmentalist” and a “personal mentor.”

Pavley, who served as a State Senator for the 27^th and 23^rd districts from 2008 to 2012, an assemblywoman for the 41^st district from 2000 to 2006, and spent fourteen years in the Agoura Hills City Council, including as its first mayor, has a long history of environmental activism. She helped Agoura Hills attain city status due to concern over the rapid urbanization of the Las Virgenes Valley, and in Sacramento, she authored over 160 bills signed into law on issues like clean energy, climate change, fracking, and emission standards. Pavley was instrumental in the passage of the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, widely known as the “Pavley Law,” which created a cap-and-trade system to lower the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. In 2010, President Obama implemented national clean car standards modeled on her bill. She is currently fighting to protect endangered mountain lions.

In her address, Pavley recalled attending the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and gave suggestions for how residents could reduce their environmental impact. “It all begins with people…you can do this yourself and make a difference,” she said, suggesting residents buy less plastics, and research solar panels and battery storage.