Vol. 1, No. 9
Monday, October 20, 2003
Green news
Upcoming events
Green Action: call Congress; write a letter
Good reads
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GREEN NEWS
CAMPAIGN ALERTS: The Green Party's Coordinated Campaign
Committee has identified two 'flagship' campaigns that deserve special
attention and support from Greens and friends: Matt Gonzalez for Mayor of
San Francisco and Matt Ahearn for New Jersey State Assembly.
Matt Gonzalez, a former public defender, current
President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and possibly the
highest-ranking elected Green west of the Mississippi, is challenging a
field of Democrats for the office of Mayor of San Francisco, California in
the November 4 election. With the endorsements of the Sierra Club, Bicycle
Coalition, Tenants Union, and Green Party, Matt may finish among the top
two candidates for a December run-off election. If he makes the run-off,
polls currently show Matt in a statistical dead-heat with the
front-running downtown business candidate, with each candidate at 42%.
Matt has already raised over $100,000 but will be outspent by millions.
Make checks payable to Matt Gonzalez for Mayor and send them to the San
Francisco Green Party, Attn: Matt Gonzalez Campaign, 1028A Howard St, San
Francisco, CA 94103. More: http://www.mattgonzalez.com
and http://www.sfgreenparty.org.
==> Matt Ahearn for New Jersey State Assemblyman,
the first Green state legislator to run for a second term (Ahearn
converted from Dem to Green during his first term). Matt's opponents are
outspending him 10 to 1, so send a check to Matt Ahearn for Assembly, 6
Beekman Place, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410. (Large donations, especially $250 and
up, are especially needed.) If you can volunteer, call 201-314-9747 or
201-805-0353.More: http://www.mattahearn.com/
Correction: The URL for Heather Urkuski, candidate for
Berks County Commissioner in Reading, Pennsylvania, is http://www.heatherurkuski.org.
Make checks payable to Friends of Heather Urkuski / Urkuski for County
Commissioner, PO Box 12157, Reading, PA 19612. To volunteer, call (610)
374-2897.
The Ballot Access Working Group has announced that 'A
Green's Guide to Getting On the Ballot' is now available. The guide is
useful for organizing state and local ballot drives and growing state
Green Parties. Supplements will come out as the 2004 election season
progresses. The Working Group, part of the Coordinated Campaign Committee,
also invites Greens to join. More: jrobinson@greens.org
MARYLAND: Greens are leading the Campaign for
Verifiable Voting in Maryland, an initiative to ensure the integrity of
elections by verifying electronic votes through an independent paper audit
trail. The Campaign sites numerous examples of flawed and manipulated
voting through the use of electronic voting machines, and demands a paper
verification for audits and recounts. On July 23, Johns Hopkins and Rice
University announced research showing that Diebold voting machines, to be
installed by the state of Maryland, could be tampered with, make errors,
or fail to count votes. More: Kevin Zeese and Linda Schade, 301-270-6150, http://www.TrueVoteMD.org
MISSISSIPPI: Green Party gubernatorial candidate
Sherman Lee Dillon was ushered off the stage when he tried to participate
in an October 14 candidates' debate sponsored by WABG-TV and The Delta
Business Journal that was limited only to the major party contenders. Many
in the audience cheered as Dillon introduced himself and said "I
deserve to be heard!" After Dillon's exit, a member of the audience
stood up shouted, "Let Sherman Lee speak!... The people of
Mississippi deserve to hear all of the candidates!" The debate
moderator answered, "You are only taking time from your
candidate." The Dillon supporter responded, as he was removed and
threatened with arrest, "How can my candidate be heard if he is not
allowed to debate?" Mississippi Greens note that 60% of the state's
electorate is uncommitted to either corporate party candidate; an
unofficial poll indicates that 79% rejects the idea of a two-party debate.
More:
http://www.dillon4gov.com campaign@dillon4gov.com
VERMONT: The Vermont Green Party has completed the last
step in its initiative to become an officially recognized minor political
party in Vermont. "We are now organized in 13 Vermont towns and
cities, and today we have organized the first-ever state committee of the
Vermont Green Party," said George Plumb, VGP Executive Director.
Vermont Greens plan to run candidates for offices against entrenched
Democrats and Republicans throughout the state, at every level of
government. 25 VGP town delegates, party officers and VGP members caucused
in Richmond October 18 to formalize party structure, elect officers, and
plan for the future. More: http://www.vermontgreens.org/news.html
NATIONAL: The new pre-election issue of Greenpages,
the national newspaper of the Green Party of the United States, is now
available. Order a
sample copy for free or bundles of 100 for $25 (includes shipping).
The issue includes reports on local campaigns around the country, the
groundbreaking campaign of Peter Camejo in the California recall election,
and an update on the 2004 presidential race.
NATIONAL: The Coordinated Campaign Committee is hiring
a Political Director to support the CCC in its work for Green Party
campaigns. This position will aid the CCC in the implementation of its
programming, with special focus on direct support for Green election
campaigns and party growth. Details will be posted soon at http://www.gp.org;
meanwhile, send cover letters and resumes to <juscha@greens.org>.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25: Mass march on Washington, DC to
end the occupation of Iraq, and bring the troops home now. 11 am at the
Washington Monument in DC; or gather at 11 am at the Civic Center in San
Francisco for the joint west coast action. Stay tuned for news about Green
contingents. More:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=1957
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/o25/index.html
http://www.bvfp.org
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25 Greens all over Maine will
participate in Bridges for Peace. From 12 noon to 2 pm, people who
oppose Bush's war policies will gather on bridges throughout the state in
protest. More: 207-563-5416, peacebridges@peacebridges.org
OCTOBER 25-26: The very first California Campus Greens
Statewide Conference, at San Francisco State University. Featured guest
speakers include 2004 Green presidential candidate David Cobb and
California Green gubernatorial candidate Peter Camejo, who will
participate in the spotlight panel discussion 'Greens: Yesterday, Today
and Tomorrow!' San Francisco Board of Supervisors President and mayoral
hopeful Matt Gonzalez is also scheduled. Students and members of the
public and press are invited; admission is free. Housing is
available. Contact: Grant Donnelly, SFSU, 415-405-2246, gd@sfsu.edu.
More: http://www.campusgreens.org
and http://www.libergator.org/campusgreens
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15: Visiting Florida for FTAA
Ministerial Meetings in November? John Howes humanbeing@webtv.net,
chair of the Green Party of Florida's Blue/Green Alliance Building
Committee, invites you to a 'Globalize This!' rally in protest of the
FTAA's antidemocratic and destructive 'free trade' policies, to be held in
Williams Park, Saint Petersburg, from noon to 3 pm on November 15. For
more information, click on this e-flyer:
(front page)
http://community-2.webtv.net/humanbeing/flyer0/
(back page)
http://community-2.webtv.net/humanbeing/flyer/
NOVEMBER 22-23 The Santa Fe County Chapter of the New Mexico Green Party
is sponsoring a community forum, "Issues and Elections: Organizing
for a Better New Mexico", at Capshaw Jr. High School in Santa Fe.
Topics: water, living wages (Santa Fe recently passed a living wage
ordinance applicable to any business with 25 or more employees; the
city already has one for its own employees and contractors.), achieving
universal health care for NM, local energy options, etc. Election
workshops will focus on schools for candidates, campaign managers,
treasurers, PR people, etc. More: NMGP national rep Rick Lass
505-920-0540.
NOVEMBER 22-23: Claim Democracy Conference, sponsored
by the Center for Voting and Democracy, featuring a large coalition of
pro-democracy groups, at the Washington, DC. Securing, Enhancing and
Exercising the Vote is the centerpiece of the Center's new Democracy USA
initiative. Register at http://www.democracyusa.org.
More: http://www.fairvote.org/
DECEMBER 5-7: The Green Party of Kenosha/Racine will
host the Great Lakes Campaign School to help progressive candidates and
campaign staff prepare for the 2004 elections. Kenosha/Racine Greens are
planning a weekend of training sessions for folks from Minnesota, Iowa,
Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. The event will be held
at the DeKoven Center in Racine, on the shores of Lake Michigan. A small
fee is required; scholarships are available. The Green Party of the United
States is co-sponsoring the Campaign School, to make it more affordable to
aspiring candidates. Speakers, including elected Greens and those with
Green campaign experience, will be announced soon. Sessions will include
how to develop a campaign plan, raise funds, attract volunteers, develop a
'Green" message, and work with the media. More: 262-633-7133, petekaras@yahoo.com
GREEN ACTION
CALL CONGRESS
* Call, fax, write a letter, or pay a visit
* Contact information: Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
US House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/
US Senate: http://www.senate.gov
* Write a letter to the editor, a guest op-ed column, essay, or article
-
Tell your Senator to vote NO on the Senate's
version of HR 1904, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 and
instead to support efforts that protect communities from forest fires
without weakening environmental protections. This bill is based on
poor science and is basically intended to allow more logging on
federally protected lands. Send a letter online at http://wildforests.com/wildforests.asp?id=181&id3=wildforests&id4=ES&
ALSO (repeated from the last Greensweek):
GOOD READS
Recommended articles, books, web sites.
"Green Thumbs-Up: Don't let the Democrats frighten
you away from voting your conscience." Article by Robert Franklin,
Grist Magazine, October 15, 2003. "It's that time of year again. Fall
is in the air, kids are back in school, and frightened Democrats are
warning the Green Party not to run a candidate for president next
year." Franklin, an attorney and writer in Houston, Texas, served as
treasurer of the Green Party of the United States from 2000 to 2002. http://www.gristmagazine.com/soapbox/franklin101503.asp
'Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train: Errant Economists,
Shameful Spenders and a Plan to Stop Them All.' Book by Brian Czech,
University of California Press, 2000. The author is a member of the
Virginia Green Party and serves on the national party's Platform
Committee. He is also a conservation biologist with the US Fish &
Wildlife Service, adjunct professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University, and co-author of 'The Endangered Species Act: History,
Conservation Biology and Public Policy' (2001).
CounterConvention.org "The Republicans believe
they can exploit our city to further their regressive agenda. Together we
will prove them wrong.... A call for diverse protest against the RNC in
New York City, during the summer of 2004." Meetings for the coalition
against the RNC are at ACORN, which suggests that Democrats are behind it.
Some Greens might want to show up or write to the mailing list http://www.mediajumpstart.org/mailman/listinfo/nornc
and ask if CounterConvention.org
plans any action against the Democrats' regressive agenda, too. http://www.counterconvention.org/
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The Real Difference http://www.therealdifference.org/
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