September 11, 2008
WPBF NEWS 25

BOCA RATON, Fla. — A local politician said he’s going green for this election season.

Adam Hasner said he takes pride in the small impact he’ll make on the environment as he shuttles from one campaign event to another.

“As you can tell, when you turn on the engine, it doesn’t make any noise because it’s not a standard engine,” he said. “You just put it in drive and off you go. It has no emissions, no noise, no gas.”

Hasner showed off the car he’ll be driving throughout his bid for re-election to the state House of Representatives.

“This electric car is a way for me to lead by example,” he said.

The Republican from Boca Raton is campaigning as a “green” reformer, touting past successes on legislation that promoted hybrid cars, renewable energy and alternative fuels.

But, as he campaigns, Hasner said he wants to make an even bolder statement to voters.

“We could break our addiction to foreign oil tomorrow if we could convert every car on the road to an electric vehicle,” he said.

Hasner and his wife already drive hybrids. But the six-year incumbent said even that’s not enough of a change.

“When I drive by a gas station and see people filling up, I want to pull in and show them that the future is not too far away and that they can soon be driving a car that’s not going to require them to fill up at a gas station,” he said.

Hasner’s electric car is a rented 2002 Toyota Rav 4-EV. It has no gas tank, no traditional engine and uses no gas.

“You plug it in at night,” Hasner said. “It charges overnight, and you can drive it around town up to about 120 miles a day without having to plug it back in.”

If re-elected, Hasner said he would like to create incentives for manufacturers to sell more electric cars, for drivers to buy them and for electric companies to increase their capacity to power the cars. And he said he wants to change people’s perceptions of the way the vehicles drive.

“It drives like a regular car,” he said. “When most people think of electric cars, they think of golf carts. This is a standard-body Toyota that drives like an SUV.”

Hasner faces Democrat Rob Ostrov in the November general election. Just this week, House GOP leaders reappointed Hasner as majority leader.