New Americans Elect Party Pinal County Co-Chairs Erica Núñez and Hoyt Schermerhorn IV Pledge to Fight Global Warming to Protect Arizona's Future

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz., May 8 -

Trey Young, leader of Arizona's fastest growing political party, the Americans Elect Party, which will be on the state's ballots again in 2014 after a successful debut in the 2012 election, traveled to Apache Junction today to introduce the party's new co-chairs in Pinal County, Erica Núñez and Hoyt Schermerhorn IV, both climate change activists, who pledged to build the growing party's base in Pinal County.

Dr. Núñez, who lives with her boyfriend and daughter in Apache Junction, is a graduate of Columbia University, from which she earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering  and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and plasma physics.  She said her decision to become a climate scientist was “a marriage of convenience and deep conviction.”  As a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the United Nations in 1988, Dr. Núñez helped write papers that were influential in framing the climate-change discussion.  She joined the Arizona Americans Elect Party in 2012 to work for its candidate Richard Grayson, also of Apache Junction, who received 1% of the vote in the race for Arizona's Fourth Congressional District seat.

Rev. Schermerhorn, ordained as a pastor in the Metropolitan Community Church, lives in Gold Canyon with his husband and son.  He studied at Duke University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in geology and a Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.) degree, and he also holds the Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary.  Also an active member of the Arizona Americans Elect Party from Grayson's 2012 congressional campaign, Rev. Schermerhorn is on the board of directors of Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, which has urged state legislatures and Congress to enact legislation to combat global warming.

Both of the Pinal County Americans Elect Party leaders vowed to elect candidates in 2014 who will protect the environment.  "As most Arizona voters know, climate change is very real," said Dr. Núñez, "and we have a limited time to produce legislation and regulation to protect our environment from the dangers of global warming."

"Although the Arizona Americans Elect Party is active on many fronts," Rev. Schermerhorn said, "climate change may be the defining issue of our generation, and we need to make public support for environmental protections as widespread as support for gay marriage and immigration reform.  Of course, there are a lot of backward-thinking, ignorant people in Pinal County and the state, and we need to show them the error of their ways -- or destroy them before they destroy the beauty of Arizona."

"We are proud to have these accomplished young leaders representing the Americans Elect Party in Pinal County, a crucial area, as we move into next year's Arizona state and federal elections," said Mr. Young, the party's leader.