Eco groups weighed in on the city’s elected leaders this month with an “environmental report card,” handing them letter grades based on their votes on land-use, water, energy and political appointments, among other categories. The document is an expanded version of a yearly water-quality report card aimed at influencing City Council members’ future decisions, said Colin Parent, a board member with the League of Conservation Voters, San Diego. “[The report card] is not to reward our friends or punish people who haven’t been with us on issues, the purpose is to encourage everyone to do better,” Parent said. The report includes an analysis of weighted grades over about a year’s worth of City Council votes. Here is how the city officials fared in the group’s environmental report card: • District 1 Councilwoman Sherri Lightner: C • District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer: D • District 3 Councilman Todd Gloria : A- • District 4 Councilman Tony Young: D • District 5 Councilman Carl DeMaio: F • District 6 Councilwoman Donna Frye: A • District 7 Councilwoman Marti Emerald: C- • District 8 Councilman Ben Hueso: C- • San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders: D- The report card evaluated several City Council votes and legislative decisions, including votes on the establishment of an indirect potable reuse plan — commonly referred to as the toilet-to-tap program. The assessment also highlighted a City Council vote to change land-use rules allowing for construction of townhomes in the Peninsula community instead of leaving it as solely for traditional use by the marine and fishing industry. The report also pointed out council votes on La Jolla’s Children’s Pool. The city has been given the final say on the human/marine mammal interaction issue — a decision that has not yet been finalized. Lightner’s office released a statement via e-mail in response to the report card, saying, “Although I don’t agree with the report card’s authors on every issue, I do strongly support their efforts to encourage elected officials to be environmentally conscious and to increase transparency.” The report card also came down hard on Faulconer. Faulconer helped bring about the beach alcohol ban and he supported the cigarette-butt ban policy, which helped rid the beach of trash left by holiday weekend crowds, said Tony Manolatos, a spokesman for Faulconer. Manolatos added that the report card is a politically-motivated document that ignores Faulconer’s efforts to revitalize and clean up Mission Bay Park. The report card paints Faulconer as somewhat unfriendly toward environmental issues, but “for them to say that is not fair and not accurate,” said Manolatos. Campaigning on environmental issues from the beginning, Frye said she still cares deeply about the environment. Asked whether the report card would influence any future decisions about the environment: “It’s certainly something I pay attention to, but I’ve never got a bad report card,” Frye said. The report card also judged council members on a political appointment of a candidate to the San Diego Board of Port Commissioners. Environmental group representatives said the City Council should appoint someone with a strong background of environmental advocacy. The City Council appointed land-use attorney Lee Burdick to the Port Commissioners in 2009, passing over several nominees, including Diane Takvorian, executive director of the Environmental Health Coalition (EHC). The EHC also supported Takvorian and is named as one of the groups behind the report card. Other groups listed on the report card include the San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, San Diego Coastkeeper, the League of Conservation Voters, The Sierra Club and various other environmental organizations. Strategic Community Consulting from the University of California, San Diego compiled and released the report card. “We were really disappointed with the results of the report card and we’re looking for leadership and vision in 2010 and a change in direction,” said Nicole Capretz, Environmental Health Coalition’s campaign director. “The votes we listed are an opportunity for the council to redeem itself.”