Lawyer, supervisor team up
By Riley Yates, Intelligencer, February 15, 2008
A center to assist citizens groups across the state
is being formed by two well-known Buckingham activists and a Pennsylvania environmental group.
Attorney Robert Sugarman and Buckingham Supervisor
Henry Rowan are joining with PennFuture to create the Center for Grassroots Support, which will help mobilize advocates throughout
Pennsylvania.
Sugarman, a litigator for local causes for years,
is shutting his law offices in Philadelphia and Doylestown. He said he plans to continue to act as solicitor for the communities
he has as clients, however.
Sugarman, who is battling cancer, said his decision
means he can remain involved in the issues he cares about despite his health.
“To me it's making the best of the situation,
to be able to continue to do whatever I can do and still make a contribution,” Sugarman said.
Plans call for the Center for Grassroots Support
to be housed in an office Sugarman has in Hatboro. He said he will assist and facilitate other attorneys involved in citizen
causes instead of carrying the cases himself.
PennFuture, the shortened name for Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, is involved in issues that range from clean energy to recycling to watershed protection.
Rowan said the center will offer information and
assistance to ad hoc groups that often struggle to successfully mobilize and get their message out.
“There's a lot of work out in the state. There
are a lot of issues,” said Rowan, who has been running a land preservation nonprofit that focused on southeast Pennsylvania. “The idea here is really to provide the support that's necessary to maximize the effects of grassroots efforts.”
Sugarman said the center is being established at
a time when local involvement appears to be on the rise.
“The whole concept of grassroots has come to
have a recognized role, a crucial role in re-establishing the proper balance between citizens and government,” Sugarman
said. “That's gratifying.”
Article's URL:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-02152008-1488380.html
