Greens for Greens ™

“Clearly, the MAPC gave more thought to the significance of those whose struggle for peace is based on principle . . . than did the Nobel Peace Committee that rewarded our President for war.”

Former Congresswoman and 2008 Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney announced today that she has been invited to participate in an International Peace Conference scheduled to take place in Munich, Germany on February 6 – 7, 2010 while the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meets in the same city to plan war. McKinney, a long-time proponent of abolishing NATO, is scheduled to speak on February 6 at a rally to protest the NATO “security” conference. After the rally, McKinney will participate in the International Peace Conference whose schedule and call to demonstrate against NATO war policies are included below.

Included in McKinney’s program is a meeting with the Munich American Peace Committee (MAPC) which will present to McKinney its third annual award, “Peace through Conscience,” during the ceremonies of the Munich Peace Conference on the evening of February 6, 2010. The MAPC Peace Prize is normally awarded by the previous year’s winner. In McKinney’s case the honors will be done by André Shepherd, a U.S. Army deserter from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and asylum seeker in Germany. Said McKinney of her selection for the award, “I am humbled to be so recognized. Clearly, the MAPC gave more thought to the significance of those whose struggle for peace is based on principle and an unshakeable commitment, despite the personal sacrificies required, than did the Nobel Peace Committee that rewarded our President for war.” McKinney continued, “In this way of thinking, peace is now war, lies are now truth, and ignorance is strength.”

McKinney calls on Americans across Germany to converge on Munich and protest U.S. and NATO war policies. McKinney will meet with American ex-patriots in multiple meetings while in Munich.

Contact: Roger Snyder, Green Party of Suffolk Chair 631-351-5763

Green Party Supports Council Districts In Huntington, NY

“The Green Party of Suffolk supports the proposition to bring council districts to Huntington town,” said its chair Roger Snyder, a Huntington resident. “A key value of the Green Party is Grassroots Democracy, and it is clear that at-large districts are the farthest from that ideal.”

On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, voters in the Town of Huntington will be able to vote in favor of setting up council districts, or a ward system, to elect their town council members. “A system that offers better representation from all parts of a town, with smaller districts and an opportunity to be closer to one’s elected representative is a win for all a towns residents,” said Snyder. “Experience in other towns in Suffolk and Nassau counties has shown that a system of Council Districts works better for residents and their representatives.”

The current Huntington at-large electoral system diminishes the voting power of some residents, reducing representation of all of a town’s neighborhoods. Council districts make it easier for citizen candidates to participate by providing more reasonable sized districts. Currently the town council district, with over 200,000 residents, is three to four times the size of Suffolk County legislative districts.

“This change would be a good step towards insuring a representative government in Huntington,” Snyder continued, “and we urge a yes vote on Dec. 22, 2009.”

The Green Party is an alternative party to the Democrats and Republicans. The four pillars of the Green Party are: Nonviolence/Peace; Grassroots Democracy; Social and Economic Justice; and Ecological Wisdom. You can enroll in the Green Party by checking the box marked “Other” on the voter registration form and writing in the word “Green” on the line next to it.

Green Party of Suffolk
14 Robin Drive,Huntington, NY 11743-4712
631-351-5763

http://www.gpsuffolk.org

info@gpsuffolk.org

GP-US Elections page

WASHINGTON, DC -- A record number of Green Party candidates are running for public office throughout the US, with many campaigning for reelection along with fresh new Green faces.

146 Green Party candidates have announced runs in local and state races, about a dozen more than at this point in 2005 (like 2009, the first year after a presidential election) and nearly 50 more than at this point in 2007.

Some races to watch:

Cam Gordon is seeking reelection to the Minneapolis City Council, Ward 2, in Minnesota. Mr. Gordon has earned the endorsement of his local Green Party, a local Sierra Club chapter, the Minnesota Nurses Association, and other area unions.

In his first term Mr. Gordon led the effort to enact Ranked Choice Voting in Minneapolis for the first time this fall. He pushed the Council to redefine youth violence as a public health issue and draft a widely acclaimed and successful Youth Violence Prevention Plan. As Vice Chair of the Health Energy and Environment Committee he helped set the City's first environmental purchasing policy, require new city buildings to be LEED compliant, and led the Council on a new Homegrown Minneapolis initiative to get residents eating and producing more local food. Mr. Gordon also worked to repeal the city's racist, classist 'lurking' ordinance; authored several renters' rights ordinances; and created the Equity in Employment Work Group to help eliminate racial disparities in employment and poverty.

Also in Minneapolis: Annie Young is running for re-election to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Ms. Young has served on the board since 1989 and also brings several major endorsements to the race: AFSCME Council 5, Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council, Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus, and Sierra Club - North Star Chapter.

Allan Brison is running for reelection as Alderman of New Haven, Connecticut. New Haven is a one-party town and Mr. Brison is facing a tough challenge from the ruling Democratic Party.

Performance artist and anti-corporate activist Reverend Billy Talen is running for Mayor of New York City as a member of the Green Party. Rev. Talen's volunteers recently turned in over 18,000 signatures to place him on the ballot. With a steady schedule of colorful events, Rev. Talen has campaigned throughout city neighborhoods. He is the founder of The Church of Life After Shopping and performed recently in a duet with Joan Baez.

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State Illegally Barring Green Party Access To Ballot FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 27, 2009 LITTLE ROCK, AR The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arkansas filed a lawsuit today in a federal court in Arkansas challenging Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels' decertification of the Green Party of Arkansas as a political party. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Arkansas voters and the Green Party, charges that the decision violates state law and the free speech rights of third parties.

"The First Amendment protects not only the right of third parties to compete in the political arena but also the right of individual voters to support the candidates who best reflect their political views," said Bryan Sells, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Voting Rights Project. "A lot of voters are dissatisfied with the choices offered by the major parties, and Secretary Daniels' decision means that the voters of Arkansas could have even fewer choices on the ballot when they go to the polls in the next election."

Daniels' decision to decertify the Green Party stems from a state law requiring a political party's candidates to earn at least 3% of the total votes cast in gubernatorial or presidential elections in order to retain access to the ballot in the next election cycle.

In the 2008 election, the Green Party's candidates received hundreds of thousands of votes, far surpassing the 3 percent threshold. Green Party candidate Richard Carroll won a seat in the State House of Representatives, and several other Green Party candidates for the U.S. House and Senate earned over 20 percent of the vote. Daniels nonetheless decertified the Green Party because its candidate for president, Cynthia McKinney, did not earn more than 3 percent of the vote in the presidential race.

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