Seattle: King County "climate hero" Ron Sims has taken 23 out-of-state trips since Sept. 2007

Is Sims Already Gone? - News - Seattle Weeklypage 1

Sims is a guy with big ideas. He was on board early to combat climate change by establishing clean fleet standards for government vehicles, and saw to it that the county operates hybrid buses, which make up about 18 percent of its fleet.
...
Sims adds he wouldn't have a national standing if he were solely an ideas man. In 2006 he was named "Public Official of the Year" by Governing magazine for his efforts to preserve open space and combat global warming. He also won the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Protection Award in 2007, along with activist/actor Robert Redford and Dadi Zhou, the former Director General of China's Energy Research Institute. And this year, American City & County named Sims county leader of the year, commending him for being green "long before it was cool" and recognizing his creation of a public/private partnership to provide health and dental insurance coverage to low-income children.

"The national press can't get enough of him," marvels Sims' spokesperson Carolyn Duncan. "He's asked to come to the EPA all the time. They love him there."

To that, consultant Fatland says, "Last I checked, those people don't vote in King County. Elected officials have a way of getting seduced by applause from other areas, but that's not real useful to folks back home."

Indeed, Sims does like to talk about his travels. He mentions going to San Francisco to discuss an emerging national economic-stimulus package; speaking at the Centers for Disease Control about public health (once in Atlanta and once in D.C.); traveling to Los Angeles to speak to fellows at USC's Annenberg School for Communication; attending multiple EPA conferences; speaking at the World Bank in D.C.; and talking in Minneapolis about how creating space for artists can enliven urban areas. In total, Sims has taken 23 out-of-state trips since Sept. 2007, typically to speak at or attend conferences related to transportation or climate issues. Nine of these trips have been to D.C.