Green Party Watch

Green Party candidates for US Senate Colia Clark and Cecile Lawrence both oppose hydrofracking, unlike their opponents. This video says it all.

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party candidates for US Senate across the country have broken new ground in their races, gaining greater public attention and more campaign contributions than ever before.

For a complete list of 2010 Green senatorial candidates, visit http://www.greenscc.org/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=7

Green candidates for the US Senate: top stories and videos

• The Green Senatorial Campaign Committee (http://www.greenscc.org), which is recognized by the Federal Election Commission, is distributing its first round of funds to candidates.  Despite the recession, the committee has already surpassed the funds raised in the last election cycle.

• In Maryland, Kenniss Henry has replaced her daughter Natasha Pettigrew, who was killed when an SUV struck her bicycle in September, as the Green Party’s US Senate candidate.  Ms. Henry will carry Ms. Pettigrew’s issues forward and work hard to change Maryland law to win greater protection for bicyclists.
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-state.php?ID=355
http://www.gazette.net/stories/09282010/prinnew180534_32576.php

• LeAlan Jones, running for the US Senate in Illinois, is drawing equal support from McCain and Obama voters, challenging the common belief that Greens draw votes solely from the left and potentially spoil for Democrats.

“Illinois voters have figured out that the Green Party, not the Tea Party, represents the real alternative to business-as-usual two-party politics,” said Matt Lavery, chair of the Green Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Video clips of LeAlan Jones interviewed: http://lealanforsenate.org and http://www.greenscc.org
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/fox-news-poll-kirk-edges-giannoulias-by-two-points-in-il-sen.php

• Green candidates have received increasing endorsements and support from Democrats.  In West Virginia, Democratic leader and defeated US Senate candidate Ken Hechler endorsed Jesse Johnson of the Mountain Party (affiliated with the national Green Party).  Mr. Johnson and Mr. Hechler are leaders in the movement to ban mountaintop removal mining.
http://jesse4ussenate.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25:hechler-endorses-mountain-partys-johnson&catid=1:media-news-reports&Itemid=2
http://www.jesse4ussenate.org

• Tom Clements has emerged as the choice of South Carolina voters who support neither incumbent rightwing Republican ideologue Jim DeMint or Democrat Alvin Greene, whose campaign is collapsing after troubling revelations about his past.

“If enough voters in South Carolina learn about Tom Clements by Election Day, we will make history by placing the first Green in the US Senate,” said David McCorquodale, Treasurer of the Green Senatorial Campaign Committee.

http://www.thenation.com/article/154601/greene-green-sc
http://www.wfae.org/wfae/1_87_316.cfm?action=display&id=6499

• While Green candidates for the Senate are attracting more media coverage than in past elections, they’re still struggling to get included in televised debates.  In Illinois, LeAlan Jones is currently petitioning for the right to participate in the Meet The Press candidates’ debate.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-illinoissenate-jo,0,6014610.story

Green candidates who get into the debates raise issues and ideas that the Democratic and Republican contenders won’t touch.  In Arizona, Green Senate candidate Jerry Joslyn confronted incumbent Sen. John McCain on war funding during a September 26 debate.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Arizona-US-Senate-candidates-debate-103835038.html
http://www.joslynforsenate.com

• Duane Roberts, Green candidate for the US Senate in California, has taken the lead on immigrants’ rights, demanding “immediate amnesty.”  In September, Mr. Roberts accused Democrats of being “anti-immigrant.”
http://newsblaze.com/story/20100928144003zzzz.nb/topstory.html
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/immigration/duane-roberts-beware-of-democr/
http://voteforduane.wordpress.com

• More videos:

West Virginia Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson speaks at the Sept. 27 Appalachia Rising protest in Washington, DC, against mountaintop removal mining: http://vimeo.com/15421038
Audio clip of interview about the rally: http://westvirginia.watchdog.org/2084/audio-senate-candidate-johnson-joins-hundreds-to-protest-mtr-in-dc/

“Colia’s Song,” about New York Green candidate Colia Clark: http://www.coliaclark.org

LeAlan Jones and other US Senate candidates from Illinois meet with the Chicago Tribune editorial board (audio): http://www.chicagotribune.com/wgnam-senate-candidates,0,2709990.mp3file

MORE INFORMATION read more »

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party candidates and activists from across the US will gather in Washington, DC for the One Nation Working Together march and rally in Washington, DC on Saturday, October 2 for “Jobs, Justice and Education” (http://www.onenationworkingtogether.org/content/main).

Greens will meet 10:30 am on Saturday at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW on the Mall, at the Peace Table. The Green Party will be part of the Peace Contingent (http://www.onenationforpeace.org), which calls the rally “an opportunity to help millions of people understand how the struggle to end the wars and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq is directly tied to the urgent need to re-direct this nation’s economic and social priorities.” read more »

The Green Party is running 14 13 candidates for U.S. Senate across the nation, from Arkansas to West Virginia. Midge Potts in Missouri has dropped out after failing to get the 10,000 signatures necessary to get on the ballot. Mel Packer in Pennsylvania collected over 20,000 signatures necessary to get on the ballot, which were challenged, forcing him off the ballot. This number matchesis one shy of the 2006 election when 14 candidates for US Senate were on the ballot. There are 37 US Senate elections this November (3 are special elections).

The Green Senatorial Campaign Committee, a political action committee of the Green Party of the United States, has a new website that is worth checking out. The GSCC raises money for Green Party candidates for Congress.

2010 Candidates for US Senate on the Green Party ticket

Colia Clark – New York Ms. Clark is a veteran of the civil rights movement. Her work has included activism in the fields of women’s rights and workers’ rights, as well as activism and advocacy for homeless people and youth. Most recently, she has worked with the Cynthia McKinney for President campaign with “Power to the People”. Clark is a chair of Grandmothers for the Release of Mumia Abu Jamal. During the Civil Rights era, Colia Clark was a Special Assistant to Medgar W. Evers, field Secretary for the NAACP. Clark later joined the Mississippi Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) doing voter registration work.

Cecile Lawrence – New York Ms. Lawrence is originally from Jamaica, and has been living in upstate New York for over 18 years. She has worked in college administration, non-profit administration and in college teaching. Dr. Lawrence has been active in the fight for universal health care and opposing the method of drilling for natural gas called High Volume Horizontal Hydrofracturing that threatens the health and welfare as well as the water of all of the residents of New York State. She has a PhD in Philosophy, Interpretation & Culture from Binghamton University (S.U.N.Y.) and is a graduate of the University at Buffalo (S.U.N.Y.) Law School. A resident of Tioga County, shes been a board member of local civic organizations such as the YWCA and the Southern Tier Independence Center, and is currently a member of Tioga Peace and Justice.

Natasha Pettigrew – Maryland Natasha Pettigrew was tragically killed on in September when an SUV hit her while she rode her bike in the early morning hours. The Maryland Green Party may replace her name on the ballot but otherwise she will appear on the November ballot. Pettigrew was 30 years old at the time of her death. She had taken a leave from Law School to run for US Senate, was a former Americorps volunteer, and a deeply compassionate person.

Tom Clements – South Carolina Tom Clements got a huge boost in his campaign for US Senate in South Carolina when a virtual unknown with a questionable legal history won the Democratic primary. Liberals in South Carolina are taking a second look now at Tom Clements, who is coming across as a very appealing choice. Clements worked for 13 years for Greenpeace International, and was the Executive Director of the Nuclear Control Institute in Washington DC.

Jesse Johnson – West Virginia Jesse Johnson is an outspoken activist against mountain top removal and opponent of the mining interests that run West Virginia. He was the West Virginia Mountain Party’s candidate for Governor in 2004 and US Senate in 2006, before the Mountain Party became a state affiliate of the Green Party. Johnson sought the Presidential nomination of the Green Party in 2008.

LeAlan Jones – Illinois LeAlan Jones has been speaking truth to power for 17 years about poverty, inequality and justice. In 1993 LeAlan made headlines with his NPR documentary “Ghetto Life 101“ which he made with 14 year-old Lloyd Newman and producer David Isay. He continued writing and producing work about poverty and inner city violence, was the youngest recipient of the prestigious Peabody award. LeAlan Jones has been polling between 4% and 9% and has demonstrated that he is a serious and viable candidate for Barack Obama’s Senate Seat.

John Gray – Arkansas Gray is a retired engineer and the Mayor of Greenland, Arkansas. He is a strong environmentalist and corporate critic. Last cycle Arkansas did very well in congressional races, largely due to the Republicans and Democrats opting not to run against each other. In the US Senate race in 2008 Rebekah Kennedy got over 200,000 votes for 20.56% of the vote in a head to head match up with Democrat Mark Prior. This year is far more competitive with Democrat Blanche Lincoln being challenged by Republican John Boozman and Independent Trevor Drown.

Bob Kinsey – Colorado Kinsey ran for US Senate in Colorado two years ago, getting 46,000 votes for 2.13% in a four way race. He is a Marine Corps veteran, a retired history teacher, and retired United Church of Christ clergyman with forty years of advocacy for the Just Peace theology.

Jerry Joslyn – Arizona Jerry Joslyn’s history is as a small businessman in computers and publishing. He served with both the California Air National Guard and Arizona National Guard. This is an interesting race with John McCain being challenged by a Democrat and by a strong Libertarian candidate David Nolan, former Chair of the Libertarian Party and inventor of the “Nolan Chart”. Josslyn is a great candidate as well, Iracm currently watching his live streamed debate here.

Duane Roberts – California As a community activist, Roberts has been a defender of immigrant rights, a critic of police misconduct and abuse, and has even exposed political corruption. In 2003, he helped organize what then was one of the biggest anti-war demonstrations in Orange County since the Vietnam War at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. Roberts has been involved in many demonstrations and marches and has used his extensive knowledge of police behavior to protect the civil rights and liberties of protesters.

Candy Neville – Oregon I have not been able to verify that she is running but according to this she was nominated by the Pacific Green Party. If anyone has more information on this race please let me know. (Candy Neville is NOT a Green Party candidate for US Senate ~RKH)

Jim Brewer – Hawaii I don’t have much information about this race. If you have any, please let me know.

Jeff Russell (Write in) – Connecticut Russell is a new candidate, running as a write-in option in Connecticut. Last year Ralph Ferrucci ran for US Senate in Connecticut and won 6,387 votes for less than 1 percent.

Richard Weir (Write in) – North Carolina I’ll confess I am out of time, so I am referring you to this interview on Z Blogs with Mr. Weir. I would vote for him if I could.

Election History for US Senate

The first candidates to run for US Senate on the Green Party ticket were Linda Martin of Hawaii and Mary Jordan in Alaska, both in 1992. Martin got over 13% of the vote in a four way race, Jordan got over 8%. The following cycle Barbara Blong ran for US Senate in California and took in 140,000 votes. Four candidates run for US Senate in 1996, three more in 1998, and then ten candidates joined Ralph Nader on the ballot in 2000 as the Green Party began to really grow across the nation. Nine ran in 2002, eight in 2004, 14 in 2006, and seven in 2008.

In New York, the ongoing petition drive to put a Green slate of candidates for Governor, Lt. Gov., Comptroller, and US Senate on the ballot is about to ratchet up for the “Weekend of 5000 signatures”:

With about three weeks left before filing our 2010 ballot petition, we need your help to get the signatures needed to deter a challenge from those who would deprive New York voters of real choices. So we’re calling for a statewide push to collect 5000 signatures this weekend. If 50 Greens gather 100 signatures each then we can make that goal — will you be one of those Greens?

The New York Greens’ petition drive is crucial because the NYGP can regain ballot status for the next four years only by getting at least 50,000 votes for Howie Hawkins for Governor in November. Regaining ballot access in the third most-populous state would be a big victory for Greens, in New York and nationwide. The New York Green Party is running a rock-solid slate of candidates this year, including Howie Hawkins and Gloria Mattera for Governor and Lt. Gov., Colia Clark and Cecile Lawrence for US Senate, and Julia Willebrand for Comptroller.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Greens also need some extra hands on deck:

We need two hours of your time! Rae Johnson is very close on the petition drive but we need more signatures as a buffer. It is critical that we get one hundred more signatures by next tuesday! call Rae at 860-613-0501 if you can spare just a little time this weekend!

Dave Olszta also needs your help in Milford. In the middle of his petitioning as a Green for a state rep seat in the Devon section of Milford (Jim Amann’s old district), his mother died. He would appreciate any help anyone can give him in the next few days. His email address is: daveolszta [at] earthlink [dot] net; and his phone number is: 203-407-9124.

If you know of other places where Greens need help gathering signatures to get on the ballot (or raising money to get on the ballot, as with Jesse Johnson in WV last week) please let us know in the comments.

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders and candidates are urging Congress to pass House Resolution 301 to remove US forces from Pakistan.  The privileged resolution was introduced by Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Oh.) and Ron Paul (R-Tex.), who said that President Obama’s plans for an increase of US troops in Pakistan violate the 1973 War Powers Authorization (http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/07/23-7).

The Green Party supports an end to the US war on Afghanistan, which the Obama Administration has escalated by deploying more troops and ordering air attacks across the border in Pakistan.  The party opposes the current war escalation supplemental bill and all proposals to increase war funding. read more »

From the Green Party of New York State:

Petitioning for our statewide slate starts on Tuesday, July 6 and goes until Friday, August 13. We need to get 30,000 signatures over the course of six weeks in order to succeed in placing the slate, including our gubernatorial candidate, Howie Hawkins, on the ballot – the first step towards getting the 50,000 votes we need in order to get our permanent ballot line back.

We need your help to do this. The load is always lighter when many help carry it – and your 25, 50, 100, 500 signatures collected from friends and community members will help us move that much closer to the ballot line.

You can download the petition from the state web site at or click here. The petitioning guidelines download is here. read more »

From the Green Party of New York State facebook page:

It’s our mission to provide a progressive Green alternative to the corporate agenda of the Democrats and Republicans, and build support for a different world. To that end, we have nominated an exciting slate of candidates for statewide office, including Howie Hawkins for Governor, Gloria Mattera for Lt. Governor, Colia Clark and Cecile Lawrence for US Senate, and Julia Willebrand for Comptroller.

This is the time to regain our ballot status — to do that we need 50,000 votes for Governor. It’s the perfect year, with voters across New York fed up with the corruption in Albany and the pro-corporate bailout, pro-war agenda in DC. They ache to see candidates stand strong for peace, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, single payer-universal health care, and an aggressive program to create living wage jobs.

The first step is to get on the ballot, which means 30,000 signatures from NY State registered voters. Of that 30,000 we need at least 100 signatures from half of the congressional districts across the state. read more »

Colia Clark, the New York Green Party nominee for the US Senate seat presently occupied by Charles Schumer, said today that she was appalled by recent statements by Schumer supporting the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza, which is causing a humanitarian crisis there.

Schumer, speaking last week at an Orthodox Union event in Washington, D.C. said he supported the blockade out of the need “to strangle them economically until they see that’s not the way to go, makes sense.”

“How can it be that a US Senator is calling for economic genocide against the People of Gaza and Palestine when he states that the besieged and endangered people of Gaza should be, “strangled economically”? It’s urgent that the people of New York stand up to Senator Schumer for his violent speech. Senator Schumer must be sent a clear message that New York State is not in favor of any form of violence against those who seek to lift the weight of oppression from their backs. The people of New York abhor genocide through naked violence or economic genocide,” said Clark.

“As US Senator from New York, I propose to wage a campaign for a peaceful settlement of the Gaza crisis that respects the legitimate claims of the Palestinian Peoples and the right of the People of Israel to statehood. A Two State solution is the only way out of the present crisis. This means Israel dismantling all settlements in Palestinian territory and discontinuing the naked violence against Palestine in Gaza and on the open seas. Palestine must halt unprovoked assaults on the State of Israel. In the interest of the Middle East and world peace, Israel and Palestine must resolve this 62 year old dispute by uncovering ways to live in mutual harmony,” added Clark. read more »

New York Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins and US Senate candidates Colia Clark and Cecile Lawrence have released the following statement:

Green Party candidates for statewide office in NYC, including Gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins and Cecile Lawrence and Colia Clark for US Senate, joined today in the growing call for President Obama to seize British Petroleum’s assets and to initiate criminal prosecution of BP and its leaders. The assets seized should at least be in an amount commensurate with the damage caused by their criminal negligence, and the funds should be placed into a trust that could quickly and easily pay for damages and compensation now and into the future as more damages accrue.

The Greens also said that the nation’s largest environmental disaster underscores the need to ban the hydrofracking for natural gas deposits in order to protect the state’s water supplies and public health.

Hawkins, who participated in the Seize BP demonstration in Syracuse last Friday, June 11, said “It is imperative that the US government seize BP’s assets to insure they are used to pay for damages and clean-up from the oil blowout before BP’s executives and owners cash out and leave the taxpayers holding the bag. It is equally imperative that the trustees of the fund to administer the use of BP’s seized assets represent the people affected and include Gulf Coast representatives of the workers, unions, and small businesses of the fishing, shrimping, crabbing, tourism, and recreation industries, local elected officials, and independent scientists and environmentalists.” read more »

James Lane at All New York News reports:

The Green Party of New York State kicked off its 2010 statewide campaign by evoking the legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt by calling for a “Big Green New Deal” that emphasizes human rights, living wage jobs for all, single payer health care, immigration reform, peace, and the right to education.

US Senate candidates Colia Clark and Dr. Cecile Lawrence joined with state comptroller candidate Dr. Julia Willebrand and Lt. Governor candidate Gloria Mattera to officially announce their campaigns in front of the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument in Manhattan. They were accompanied by Green Party gubernatorial nominee Howie Hawkins, who officially launched his campaign in early May.

The candidates talked about the need to speak for the average New Yorker, just as Eleanor Roosevelt did on behalf of her disabled husband by traveling across the country to meet with everyday Americans during the Great Depression. read more »

From Independent Political Report:

-Clark, Lawrence, Willebrand, and Mattera to Hold News Conference on Sun. June 6th at 1 PM AM to Launch Campaign for US Senate, Comptroller and Lt. Governor

-Event at Eleanor Roosevel Monument at W. 72nd St and Riverside Drive (NY) to highlight women candidates, need for a Green New Deal

The Green Party of New York State will hold a news conference at the Eleanor Roosevelt monument on Sunday, June 6th at 1 PM to announce its statewide slate of women candidates: Colia Clark and Cecile Lawrence for US Senate; Julia Willebrand for State Comptroller; and Gloria Mattera for Lt. Governor.

Howie, Hawkins, the Green Party nominee for Governor, will also participate.

The candidates will talk about opposition to war, support for immigrants, and the need for a Green New Deal to respond to the economic depression, the growing attacks on workers, and the climate, energy, and environmental crises.. The Greens will also highlight their opposition to hydrofracking of natural gas deposits. read more »

Channel 34 in Binghamton has a detailed profile of candidates nominated for statewide office at the New York Green Party’s convention, including Colia Clark and Cecile Lawrence for US Senate, Gloria Mattera for Lt. Governor as Howie Hawkins‘ running mate, and Julia Willebrand for Comptroller:

The Green Party state convention in Albany last weekend nominated a full slate of candidates for statewide office in New York this November.

Gloria Mattera, a long time peace activist from Brooklyn was nominated to run for Lt. Governor on a ticket with Syracuse labor activist Howie Hawkins (www.howiehawkins.org). Colia Clark was nominated to run for the US Senate seat presently held by Chuck Schumer, while Cecile Lawrence was picked to fill out the Senate seat previously held by Hillary Clinton. Julia Willebrand, a long time environmental activist from Manhattan who received more than 117,000 votes for Comptroller four years ago, was chosen to run for that seat again.

Video of the nominating speeches of the candidates are at www.gpnys.org.

At the national level, the Green Party has opposed from the start the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and supports the immediate withdrawal of American troops. It advocates for a massive cut in the military budget to free up funds to help local and state governments resolve their budget crisis and to invest in domestic programs such as child nutrition, renewable energy, education, affordable housing and job creation. The Greens opposed the recent Democratic health insurance mandate bill as a huge public subsidy for private health insurance companies and continue to call to make health care a right through a single payer expanded and improved Medicare for All type program. The Greens have long called for an end to the war on drugs and to curtail the prison industrial complex that now imprisons more than 2 million Americas, overwhelmingly low-income individuals and people of color.

Colia Clark is a veteran of the civil rights movement. Her work has included activism in the fields of women’s rights and workers’ rights, as well as activism and advocacy for homeless people and youth. Most recently, she has worked with the Cynthia McKinney for President campaign with “Power to the People”. Clark is a chair of Grandmothers for the Release of Mumia Abu Jamal. read more »

The New York Green Party will hold a virtual phone bank on Sunday 23 May to raise money and support for the GPNY 2010 slate of candidates, including Howie Hawkins for Governor, Gloria Mattera for Lieutenant Governor, Julia Willebrand for Comptroller, and Colia Clark and Cecile Lawrence for US Senate. Details:

Join Greens from around New York State as we make phone calls from wherever we are, to Greens and Green supporters to raise money for our 2010 candidates. Some small groups will gather at peoples’ homes, and all will be joined via live chat and the web.

To get involved, email Karen Young at karenyoung521 [at] yahoo [dot] com.

The Green Party of New York this weekend nominated a slate of state wide candidates, topped by Howie Hawkins for Governor.

“The people of New York need someone in Albany who will stand up for Main Street and Martin Luther King Blvd., rather than someone bought and controlled by Wall Street. A million New Yorkers need a living wage jobs now. My campaign will show how we can fast track their creation,” said Hawkins, a member of the Teamsters Local 317 who unloads trailers at UPS in Syracuse.

Gloria Mattera, a Brooklyn peace activist and universal health care advocate, was nominated for Lt. Governor.

New York has two U.S. Senate races up for election this year, one a special election to fill out the remaining term of Hillary Clinton. Colia Clark, a long time social justice activist from Harlem who is presently working on self-determination for the Haitian people, was nominated to run for the US Senate for the seat presently held by Schumer. Cecile Lawrence, a resident of Apalachin in Tioga County who has been active in the movement against hydrofracking and other health issues, will run for the Senate seat to fill out the term of Hillary Clinton.

Julia Willibrand, a long time environmental leader from Manhattan, was nominated to run for State Comptroller, a position she received 117,908 votes for 4 years ago. The Green Party needs 50,000 votes for Governor to regain its status as an official ballot access qualified party.

Candidate acceptance speeches are below:
read more »