Vol. 1, No. 12
Monday, November 10, 2003
Green news
Upcoming events
Green Action: call Congress; write a letter
Good reads
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GREEN NEWS
CAMPAIGN ALERT:
Urgent! Matt Gonzalez,
Green candidate for Mayor of San Francisco in the December 9 runoff
election, is facing "spoiler" accusations from multimillionaire
and machine Democratic candidate Gavin Newson -- with help from Tipper
Gore in the form of an ugly letter to voters blaming SF Greens for Al's
loss. You can help Matt by going to his website to donate or volunteer or
mail a check: http://www.mattgonzalez.com;
Gonzalez for Mayor, 168 Seville St, San Francisco, CA 94112.
The more, the better: the donation limit is $250.
NOVEMBER 4 ELECTIONS:
Greens made significant advances in several states and regions, especially
in New England, Pennsylvania, California, Washington, and in a few
Midwestern cities. For a comprehensive listing of Green campaigns and
results on Election Day 2003, visit <http://www.gp.org/patience.html>.
Special thanks are due to Mike Feinstein, Kendra Markle, and the
Coordinated Campaign Committee for all their work organizing and tracking
campaigns nationally. Out of 263 Green candidates in 2003, 58 won their
races.
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Pennsylvania Greens increased their number of local
elected officials from nine to 25, especially in races for city and
town council and auditor. Philadelphia City Council candidate Tom Hutt
lost, but won 51% of the vote in his home; Hutt was outspent 80:1 by
his Democratic and Republican rivals.
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In San Francisco, Matt Gonzalez (current president
of the Board of Supervisors) placed second, qualifying him for the
December 9 runoff, when he'll face Democrat Gavin Newsom. Gonzalez and
Brita Butler-Wall in Seattle were among a half dozen Green candidates
selected by the Coordinated Campaign Committee of the Green Party of
the United States for national support.
More: http://www.mattgonzalez.com
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Also in California: Bill Meyers won his reelection
for school board in Point Arena. Green Fairfax Councilmember and
former Mayor Lew Tremaine finished first in the two seat race for
Fairfax Cirty Council and fellow Green Party Member Larry Bragman
finished second. Tremaine and Bragman beat a pro-development slate
backed by the Fairfax Civic League, a conservative group attempting to
wrest Fairfax City Council away from its progressive majority. In San
Mateo County, Sara Bassler was elected to the Midcoast Community
Council and Matthew Clark was elected to the Granada Sanita y
District.
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Big wins in New England: In Connecticut, New Haven
alderman Joyce Chen and Hartford City Council president Elizabeth
Horton-Sheff were reelected, as was Boston City Council member Chuck
Turner in Massachusetts. Ken Keskinen was elected to the Cornwall,
Connecticut Board of Selectman, placing first among three candidates
for two seats. In Maine, Stephen Spring won for Portland School
Committee, District 2, and Erek Gaines won his campaign for Water
District seat. Gaines, at 21, is the youngest Green winner in 2003; he
served as a student intern for Green Maine state legislator John Eder.
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In the Midwest, David Juarez and Dan Cooney were
elected to the Kalamazoo, Michigan City Commission (Juarez is the
first Latino ever elected to the commission). Also in Michigan,
Ferndale City Councilmember Craig Covey, a recent Green convert, was
the top vote-getter among seven candidates for two four-year terms. In
Iowa, Tim Harthan, running unopposed, was reelected to the Emmetsburg,
City Council with 100% of the vote; and Eric Kinman was elected to the
Windsor Heights Council. Russ Stewart was elected to the Duluth,
Minnesota City Council.
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In Washington, Sally Soriano was elected as School
Board director, Seattle School District, and Brita Butler-Wall was
elected to the Seattle School Board.
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In New Jersey, Matt Ahearn, incumbent candidate for
the State Assembly, lost after an intense last minute negative mail
campaign by both Republicans and Democrats.
ALASKA: The Green Party of Alaska has regained ballot
status. Alaska Greens were granted a preliminary injunction that requires
the Alaska Division of Elections to stop discriminating and to provide the
Green Party the same rights and privileges enjoyed by other Alaska
political parties. The Green Party had challenged the current law that
says only the governor's race qualifies to demonstrate a statewide
'modicum of support' for a party to be recognized. Alaska had
decertified the Green Party because its gubernatorial candidate did not
receive 3% of the vote in 2002. In the same election, Green candidates for
the US House and Senate each received more than 6% of the statewide vote,
more than double the number required to demonstrate a modicum of support.
More: http://www.alaska.greens.org
FLORIDA: The Green Party's International Committee, the
Miami-Dade Green Party, and Campus Greens are helping organize to
"Stop the FTAA!" The FTAA, an antidemocratic international trade
authority, will hold its summit in Miami from November 19 to 21.
Protests, workshops, and a Green press conference are planned: see the
Schedule of Events below. *** Help needed! *** Green organizers ask all
Greens & friends who plan to attend and who support the FTAA protests
to contribute at least $5 -- and more if you can -- to the Miami-Dade
Greens. Make check payable to the 'Green Party of Miami-Dade County,' and
mail it to Miami-Dade Green Party, PO Box 560325, Miami, FL 33256.
More: http://www.gp.org/ftaa2003.html
http://www.miamidadegreenparty.org/Issues/WTO/wto.html
MARYLAND: The Campaign for Verifiable Voting in
Maryland, led by Green activists Linda Schade and Kevin Zeese, has filed a
formal complaint with the State Board of Elections that seeks to have the
Diebold machines decertified and have the purchase of the machines stopped
until the machines can provide a paper audit record verified by voters.
The complaint describes the corporate vote count as being done in secret,
by a partisan corporation with conflicts of interest and a history of
hiding flaws in its machines. The Campaign notes serious complaints and
problems with voting machines recently in Virginia and California. More: http://www.TrueVoteMD.org
OREGON: The Pacific Green Party of Oregon passed a
resolution at its fall convention supporting a boycott of all products
manufactured by the Coca Cola Company after hearing testimony from Juan
Carlos Galvi, a union organizer for Coca Cola workers in Colombia.
Galvi, whose life has been threatened, told about massive human rights
violations including murder, torture, and kidnapping committed against
union leaders and members by paramilitaries encouraged by the company's
managers in Colombia in an effort to crush their union. Also present were
several other international guests, including visitors from Zambia to
observe the democratic process and Jaime Castillo Ulloa from Tehuacan,
Mexico, who testified about the damage to that countrys workers and
farmers as a result of NAFTA. Pacific Greens discussed the possibility of
a self-funded primary for Green candidates in 2004, and heard a
presentation on fair taxation in Oregon. Potential Green national
candidates also spoke.
More: http://www.pacificgreens.org/
NATIONAL: Recent Green Party hires and job openings:
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In the works: a reception in DC for Jason Ravin,
the new Outreach Director for African American Affairs for the Green
Party's Black Caucus, and Emily Citkowski, the new national Operations
Director. Details soon.
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The Coordinated Campaign Committee is hiring a
Political Director to support the CCC in its work for Green Party
campaigns. Accepting resumes and letters of interest until November 20
at juscha@greens.org
More: http://www.gp.org/committees/campaign/poldir03.html
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The Green Party of the United States is seeking a
Fundraising Director.
More: http://www.gp.org/committees/steering/fundraiser.html
UPCOMING EVENTS
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 19-21 Various protests, meetings, workshops,
etc. on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) summit in Miami,
Florida, throughout the week. A Workshop on the Global Greens Charter and
International Politics, will take place WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 at 3 pm in
the Doubletree Key Biscayne Room. At 5:30 pm, the Green Party will hold a
press conference at the Radisson Downtown Miami, across the street from
the Doubletree. National, state, and international Green Party
representatives will appear at the press conference. Also, on
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, Marta Benavides from El Salvador will speak on a
morning panel on water privatization, and Chris Doran of PressurePoint.org
will give a workshop on the origins of corporate power. More information
under 'Florida' above; register to join other Greens in Miami, find the
schedule of events, and read the list of state and local Green parties
that have endorsed the national FTAA Call to Action at http://www.gp.org/ftaa2003.html.
More: http://www.miamidadegreenparty.org/Issues/WTO/wto.html
NOVEMBER 21-23: Vigil at the gates of Fort Benning,
Georgia in protest of the School of the Americas, closed by Congress in
2000 and reopened by Clinton as the Western Hemisphere Institute for
Security Cooperation. The weekend starts with workshops and events on
Friday, November 21. Saturday's rally will feature lots of music including
Pete Seeger; Llajtasuyo; Francisco Herrera; Jon Fromer; Amy Goodman from
Democracy Now!; Sister Helen Prejean; Bob King, the International VP of
the International Auto Workers Union; Kathy Kelly from Voices in the
Wilderness; Carlos Mauricio and Neris Gonzales; Starhawk; activists from
South America; many others. On Sunday, nonviolent CD is expected. Ride
Board information at http://www.soaw.org/new/ride.php.
More: http://www.soaw.org
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, in 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/events/registration.html.
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.
Suggested fee to attend, including tuition and food, is $50. No one will
be turned away for inability to pay. Carpools are being planned. 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 extensive 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,
http://www.GreatLakesGreens.org
GREEN ACTION
CALL CONGRESS
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Call, fax, write a letter, or pay a visit
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Contact information: Congressional switchboard:
(202) 224-3121
US House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/
US Senate: http://www.senate.gov
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Write a letter to the editor, a guest op-ed column,
essay, or article
Repeated from earlier editions of Greensweek:
GOOD READS
"Junk Politics: A voter's guide to the
post-literate election." By Benjamin DeMott, in the current
(November, 2003) issue of Harper's
Magazine. Another recommended article in the same issue is "The
War Business: Squeezing a profit from the wreckage in Iraq" by
Chalmers Johnson.
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