Green Party Watch

Mansfield Today reports on Connecticut Green Party candidate for State Assembly 54th District Jason Ortiz:

Ortiz, a UConn student, announced his intent to run for state representative on June 28. His place on the ballot was officially confirmed at the end of August.

During a recent meeting of members of the Green Party, Ortiz discussed his ideas about education and empowering young people in Connecticut.

A long time supporter of the Green Party’s ideals of environmentalism and consumer advocacy, Ortiz expressed his excitement.

“The Green Party has been fighting for quality education for all of Connecticut and I am proud to have their support as I mobilize students to make education a priority again for the state of Connecticut,” said Ortiz. “I got my start in politics through the Cliff Thornton for governor race, so this endorsement has a personal significance as well.”

In addition to education, Ortiz’s campaign focuses on creating a sustainable economy, providing quality healthcare to everyone in Connecticut, and protecting the environment.

Read the full article at Mansfield Today.

Thomas MacMillan at the New Haven Independent has written a detailed profile of  Charlie Pillsbury’s Green Party run for US House of Representatives in Connecticut’s 3rd district. Pillsbury has made the call for a Green New Deal the central theme of his campaign:

This year, the Green Party message is still anti-war. Cutting military spending by 70 percent is number one on the “Green New Deal.” That’s the 10-point policy platform that Greens are adopting nationwide. Such deep military spending cuts would save $500 billion, Pillsbury said.

Check out the full article at the New Haven Independent.

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.

The Green Party of Connecticut announced today that Don Alexander is running for State Representative, House District 64 (Torrington, Sharon, Cornwall, Goshen, and Salisbury) this fall.
A resident of Torrington, Alexander is a quality assurance engineer at a state company. He is married, with three children. He is veteran of the Navy. This is his first time to ever run for office.
Alexander said he is running a positive, issue based campaign with no mudslinging. His campaign will address many issues but focus on:
1. Creating new “Green” jobs with tax incentives for new employees and start up costs for local companies
2. Building a world class state single payer care health care system to model for the nation
3. Restoring education funding and education jobs with free college tuition for all state students at local community colleges. read more »

The Danbury News-Times reports on Nicholas Payne, the Connecticut Green Party candidate for State Representative in the 67th District:

Nicholas Payne does not dispute he is a political neophyte.

Still the 60-year-old, self-employed electrical engineer, who grew up in England, is unabashed about his decision to mount a campaign as the Green Party candidate against a five-term Republican incumbent to become New Milford’s state representative.

Payne is the sole challenger to 67th District Rep. Clark Chapin, a 49-year-old self-employed carpenter with two adult sons.

Payne’s passion for this unlikely quest stems from a yearning to push for changes in state law related to drug crime and the ensuing violence that robs families of their children — be it to addiction, prison or death.

“I’m doing this so other families don’t have to bury their kids; that’s the real reason,” said Payne, whose 22-year-old daughter, Rebecca, a Northeastern University student in Boston, was shot to death in her off-campus apartment two years ago.

Read the full article at the Danbury News-Times.

Nicholas Payne knows the heartache of losing a child. His daughter, Rebecca, was murdered in Boston, found shot to death in her apartment. Police say she was not the target of the crime, and that drugs were involved. Instead of turning to violence himself, or going into a shell, Payne decided to address the horror of his daughter’s murder head on and run for the state legislature to change the drug laws that may have contributed to Rebecca’s murder.

In an article at News Times, Payne is quoted saying

“I’m doing this so other families don’t have to bury their kids; that’s the real reason,”

read more »

Green Party candidate for Connecticut Secretary of State Mike DeRosa, speaking at the 2010 Green Party Annual National Meeting in Detroit

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Monica Polanco of the Hartford Courant recently profiled the Connecticut Green Party’s slate of candidates for state legislature, Colin Bennett, Rae Johnson, Ben Wojan and Nicholas Payne:

The Connecticut Green Party is running four candidates for statewide seats and seats in the General Assembly. They include a youth counselor, a retired guidance counselor and a dual contender for state comptroller and the state Senate’s 33^rd District

“I think the overarching theme is they’re average citizens,” said Tim McKee, party spokesman and member of its national committee. “I think they’re going to try to talk about important issues: the economy, certainly social justice issues and clean government.”

Read the full article at the Hartford Courant.

Hannah Vahl of the Middletown Press also wrote an article about Rae Johnson, Green candidate for State Senate District 9.

“There isn’t any common sense being used right now in decision making,” Johnson said about her motivation for running. “It doesn’t seem like it’s a government by the people, for the people. It’s time for a change.”

Read the full article at the Middletown Press.

From the Connecticut Green Party:

We are seeking to raise a quick $300 for a database of all Green Party registered voters to help our candidates in this year’s upcoming elections.
Can you give $10 ? If you give $25 we will mail you a Green Party bumper sticker! if you give $50 or more we have a free “Green Party- Peace Party” T shirt! read more »

The Connecticut Law Tribune has a piece about Stephen Fournier, the Connecticut Green Party’s candidate for Attorney General:

So how does the Green Party agenda translate to the attorney general’s position?

“It really doesn’t,” Fournier said. “The AG can lobby for a change in laws, and I would do that. But you have to de-emphasize politics when you’re representing the people” in court.

One his main targets would be mortgage lenders.

In the last few years of his practice, Fournier was hired by lenders to serve as local attorney for customers’ mortgage refinances. There were multiple times when closing papers listed costs and interest rates that were higher than customers were told they would be, he said. “I got fired by [lenders] because I told people not to sign the papers,” Fournier said. “I’m sure there’s plenty of this still going on.”

He’d also mix it up with a “rogue” federal government that tramples citizens’ and state’s rights on a variety of issues, he said.

Read the full article at the Connecticut Law Tribune.

The Hartford Courant recently featured the CT Green Party in an article entitled “With Eye on Election Day, Green Party Taking Different Approach”:

“Millionaires and celebrities get all the attention,” said Tim McKee, a spokesman for Connecticut Greens and a member of the party’s national committee. “We want to get more average people running for office, but it’s becoming harder and harder. … It’s a millionaires’ club.”

This year, the Green Party has candidates for attorney general, secretary of the state, treasurer and comptroller. It has no candidate for governor at this point…

McKee and other Green activists are taking a different approach this year, focusing on winning legislative races in addition to the four state constitutional offices.

So far, the party has nominated four candidates for the General Assembly. It also tapped Scott Deshefy, a retired DEP worker from Lebanon, to run for Congress from the 2nd District.

“We’re trying to be realistic,” McKee said. “You spend a lot of money and energy running for high-profile offices, but it’s hard to get press, hard to get into any debates. … There are just tremendous hurdles for a party that’s trying to grow.”

Read the full article at the Hartford Courant.

From Christopher Keating at the Hartford Courant’s Capitol Watch Blog:

Green Party of Connecticut officials announced today that Ruthann “Rae” Johnson has filed for the Connecticut State Senate race in the 9th district as a Green Party candidate. “Rae” Johnson is married with two children and lives in Middletown. She has worked in Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and currently works as a counselor in a group home. She has a degree in theater and dance and has been working on her Masters at Central Connecticut State University. She is active in her community, raising funds for the Amazing Grace Food Pantry and other charities.

Two candidates for office will address the monthly statewide meeting of the Green Party of Connecticut this Tuesday, March 2 at the Portland Senior Center, 7 Waverly Avenue, in Portland, CT. at 7 PM.

Scott Deshefy is a 2nd Congressional District candidate (Eastern CT) running against Joe Courtney and he will speak about the recent Supreme Court ruling giving corporations the right to endorse candidates and corporate power.

Rae Johnson is a candidate for the State Senate District number 9 (Middletown, Cromwell, Rocky Hill). She will address state issues, including education, and job growth. read more »

For several weeks Greens across the nation, and especially in Connecticut, have been encouraging Ralph Nader to enter the Senatorial race seeking the seat currently occupied by Christopher Dodd. A darling of Wall Street Bankers and other financial firms, Dodd received a sweetheart mortgage deal from Country Wide as the committee he heads up was deliberating on new regulation of the nation’s financial firms. Now the disgraced Dodd has admitted defeat and decided to take his chips off the table and retire a rich man.

The Democratic Party is now expected to offer up Dick Blumenthal, the state’s Attorney General. The CT Green Party issued a press release today explaining why they still want Nader to run. The full text of the press release is below the fold.

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