Comment on this article |
Email this Article
|
News :: Miscellaneous |
Green Party Candidates in 2001- Part 2 |
Current rating: 0 |
by Starlene Rankin, Illinois GP Media Coord Email: starlene (nospam) greens.org (unverified!) Phone: 773 907 9845 |
02 Nov 2001
|
MAJOR GREEN VICTORIES EXPECTED ON ELECTION DAY 2001
As the party grows, strong Green candidates challenge two-party dominance across the U.S. |
THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release:
Thursday, November 1, 2001
National Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator
207-326-4576, nallen (at) acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator
202-518-5624, scottmclarty (at) yahoo.com
Local Contact:
Starlene Rankin, Illinois GP Media Coordinator
773-907-9845, starlene (at) greens.org
MAJOR GREEN VICTORIES EXPECTED ON ELECTION DAY 2001
As the party grows, strong Green candidates challenge two-party dominance across the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With more Green Party candidates than ever before and a huge rise in the number of voters registered in the party, Greens anticipate some major victories on Election Day, November 6, 2001. Even in races with little chance of victory, strong Green candidates will draw significant numbers of votes and new party registrations.
"In 2001, Greens are reaping the benefits of the hard work that went into the 2000 campaign, enjoying increased publicity, credibility and organizational strength," said Mike Feinstein, a co-founder of the Green Party of California and the Mayor of Santa Monica. "Over 245 Greens will run for office this year, a national high for Greens in an odd-numbered year, and more than 250% higher than the previous high of 95 just two years ago. Already 16 Greens have won elections in spring 2001 races - also a high for an odd-numbered year - and more are expected to win in November."
"Greens are pleased that the backlash predicted by some sore Democrats and other anti-Green skeptics never materialized, and that Green growth has been unparalleled. After the historically close presidential election in 2000, there had been speculation that some voters would withhold their support for local Green candidates in order to 'punish' the party for the Nader candidacy. Apparently this has not happened in a meaningful way. Greens in many states are running strong on the local level against Democratic opponents."
Some candidates report that Democrats have dishonestly and desperately attempted to use 'The Spoiler Factor' to discredit Greens. "The state Democratic Party is working hard to brainwash the African American voters so that they will not vote for me," said Jerry Coleman, Green candidate for Governor of New Jersey, who is African American.
But the ploy doesn't seem to have much effect.
From April, 2000 to September, 2001, national Green Party registration rose 57%, from 136,285 to 213,564. Several states experienced particularly large increases. New York went up 498% between March, 2000 and April, 2001.
Maine went up 406% from May, 2000 to June, 2001. In Oregon, where the national Democratic Party spent significant resources to deny the Nader vote last November, Green registration rose 317% between August, 2000 and June, 2001.
Some campaigns to watch, in Minnesota, Connecticut, Colorado, New York, and Pennsylvania:
==> MINNESOTA
The Minneapolis/5th District Green Party is running four candidates for City Council and four candidates for Park Board this year. "Two of the City Council candidates are looking like possible winners -- but it's going to be very close," said Minnesota Green activist Holle Brian. "Dean 'Zimmerperson' Zimmermann and Cam Gordon are longtime community activists with excellent qualifications for City Council. If elected, they will join San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as Greens in office on the council of a major U.S. city." Gordon's ward includes the University of Minnesota, where he expects to draw a strong student vote, as well as one of the highest concentrations of recent immigrants in the country, from which he enjoys support from most of the ward's newest citizens.
Zimmermann currently sits on the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board and has helped found nearly half of Minnesota's 43 natural food coops. He supports himself by running a home repair business from his own home in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.
Web sites: http://www.camgordon.org
http://www.zimmerperson.org
In Duluth, Nancy Nelson stands an excellent chance of winning her race for City Council, where she would join Green incumbent Russ Stewart. Nelson currently serves on the city's Citizens' Advisory Committee on Comprehensive Planning and the Duluth Tree Commission. As a founding member of the West Skyline Planning and Preservation Alliance, she has helped lead the effort to save the old growth forest at Spirit Mountain.
==> CONNECTICUT
Greens also have high hopes for incumbent John Halle, who is running to hold on to his seat on the New Haven Board of Aldermen. Halle, an associate professor of music at Yale University, was the upset winner over entrenched Democrats this past July in a special election.
"The great thing about Green politics is that they are the people's politics," says Halle. "At some level, almost everyone who is minimally politically aware and is not in some way cut into the scam which is our political system knows that something is wrong and knows that we represent some part of the solution."
Halle is one of two Connecticut incumbent candidates for major city office; the other is Hartford City Council Member Elizabeth Horton Sheff, first elected in 1999.
Web site: http://www.ctgreens.org/newhaven/halle/index.html
http://ctgreens.org/hortonsheff/
http://www.ctgreens.org/candidates/hortonsheff.htm
==> COLORADO
In Boulder, City Council candidate Mark Ruzzin, a Colorado board member of Common Cause, a political watchdog group, worked closely with other activists in developing the city's campaign finance rules, which passed with 64% of the vote in 1999. Ruzzin was the first candidate to qualify for public matching funds under the new system, and has already reached the spending cap, so he is now turning down all contributions. The system rewards candidates who agree to spend no more than 15 cents per registered voter, including no more than 1/5 of that of their own money.
According to an October 7 endorsement in The Daily Camera (Boulder), "Ruzzin simply knows the issues far better and approaches them more methodically than any of the non-incumbents.... [H]e is a dedicated environmentalist who wants to keep making progress on such issues as regional transit.... Ruzzin's list of endorsements is impressive and spans the political spectrum." The Denver Post (editorial, October 19) calls Ruzzin "the best of the newcomers" in the Boulder election.
Web site: http://www.markruzzin.org/
==> NEW YORK
Green Party City Council Candidate Craig Seeman, running in District 33 in Brooklyn, will become the first ever local Green Party candidate to air TV spots in New York State.
"While the reach goes far beyond the district, TV is the best way to draw public attention to the fact that the Green Party is running competitive campaigns in this year's general election. Most people think almost all the local elections are over given the history of the Democratic Party's dominance in almost all the local elections in New York City," said Seeman.
Seeman, Gloria Mattera, and Paul Graziano, the Green Party council candidates in New York City, all qualified for matching funds, giving them between $30,000-$40,000 to spend.
"Many people simply don't understand they now have a second competitive party with politics they may be attracted to. So many people get their information from TV that this spot can break that barrier," Seeman explained.
The Green Party has had a strong electoral history in the Downtown and North Brooklyn area of District 33. In 1997 Seeman ran in a Special Election for New York State Assembly; with 16% overall he had about 28% of the vote in Downtown Brooklyn. Last year, Ralph Nader had over 10% of the vote in much of the district and broke 20% in parts of North Brooklyn despite a media onslaught accusing Nader of splitting the vote, a near mathematical impossibility given New York's heavily Democratic voting history. With nearly $40,000, tens of thousand of dollars more the he had in the '97 Special Election, and the local success of the Green Party, Seeman considers his campaign highly competitive.
Seeman's campaign focuses on his district's plague of power plants, waste transfer stations, high rents, and G train service cuts, and discusses the money influence in Democratic Party politics. Seeman, whose campaign theme is "It's your community, you should run it", demands that the community should have local control over zoning and development and supports a city charter amendment calling for locally elected rather than politically appointed Community Boards, with legal powers over land use rather than the very weak advisory powers they currently have.
Web site: http://www.electcraigseeman.org
Dr. Julia Willebrand, the Green Party candidate for Mayor of New York City, joined other Green Party candidates at a rally on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan on Monday, October 29, during which Willebrand presented a plan for rebuilding the city after the horrendous attacks of September 11. A longtime educator and environmental activist, Willebrand is one of a record 100 candidates in the state of New York this year.
"The two major parties support tens of billions of dollars to bail out airline companies but pay little attention to the plight of the tens of thousands of airline workers who have lost jobs," said Willebrand. "We need a citywide rebuilding effort that supports all the victims of the attacks, particularly those who gave their lives in the call of duty. We need to ensure that the economic recovery assists all those economically harmed by the attacks, from the chambermaids, janitors, secretaries, and taxicab drivers to the Chief Executive Officers of major corporations. We must use the rebuilding as an opportunity to build a city that provides a decent standard of living to all."
Willebrand calls it "disturbing that at the city and national level Democrats and Republicans are using the tragedy of September 11 to push through massive corporate welfare subsidies at a time when many low and moderate income families are struggling to support themselves.... The proposed $1.1 billion corporate subsidy package to build a new trading floor for the NY Stock Exchange remains a bad deal."
Willebrand proposes a peace institute near the site of the World Trade Center, which would "help to guide the redevelopment of New York City, bringing those guilty of terrorist attacks to justice, and guiding governments and peoples worldwide in building a world based on non-violence, justice, and grassroots democracy. The Peace Institute might be the first ten floors of a rebuilt World Trade Center."
Dr. Julia Willebrand, a Brooklyn native, graduated from City College and holds a doctorate from Teachers College at Columbia University. A former teacher and union activist, she is strongly committed to strengthening the city's school system.
Web site: http://www.juliaformayor.org
==> PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Green Party candidate Richard Ash is challenging Lynne Abraham, the incumbent District Attorney with more death-row sentences during her term than any other D.A. working anywhere in the U.S. -- and whom Ash calls "the Queen of Death." According to John Stith, Ash's campaign manager, "Ash ran for District Attorney with the Consumer Party in 1969, and unfortunately, the issues haven't changed much. Police abuse, official corruption, and misplaced priorities still plague Philadelphia. Ash pledges never to call for the death penalty, to send drug addicts to treatment instead of prison, to prosecute police abuse, and to try juveniles as juveniles. He also calls for greater financial compensation of crime victims."
Ash points out a key underlying problem, that many defendants, including those in capital cases, are represented by little more than "a warm body with a law degree." He says "the War on Drugs has as much chance of success as draining the Atlantic with a teacup." Ash has blasted the cozy relationship between Philadelphia's major parties, saying, "The only difference between the Republicans and Democrats of this city is which gang of thieves is going to steal the people's money." The Green Party of Philadelphia gathered over 10,000 signatures to put Richard Ash on the ballot.
Web site: http://www.gpop.org
CORRECTION to the Green Party's October 31 press release: Annie Young, the Green Party candidate seeking re-election to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, is not African-American.
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States http://gpus.org
Green Party election news http://gpus.org/elections.html
http://www.greens.org/elections/
END
|
See also:
http://gpus.org |
|