13 Green Party candidates are on the ballot in 2010 for State Governor, from New England to California and everywhere in between. Rich Whitney had a record setting campaign four years ago when he took 11% of the vote (the highest percent of any Green Party campaign for Governor) on 325,000 votes (second highest vote total ever for a Green Party candidate, Peter Camejo won 393,000 in California in 2002). Jill Stein ran for Governor in 2002 and won 76,000 votes for 3.5%. Howie Hawkins is no stranger to statewide campaigning, he won 55,000 votes in New York running for US Senate in 2006.
2010 Candidates for Governor are an experienced group of campaigners and public speakers who are bringing a Green alternative before the voters in 13 states. Laura Wells, Farheen Hakeem, & Jim Lendall are no strangers to either Greens or the campaign trail. If you can support their campaigns in any way please contact their campaigns or donate on their websites.
Jill Stein, Massachusetts – Dr. Jill Stein is a mother, housewife, physician, longtime teacher of internal medicine, and pioneering environmental-health advocate. She is the co-author of two widely-praised reports, In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development, published in 2000, and Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging, published in 2009. The first of these has been translated into four languages and is used worldwide. The reports promote green local economies, sustainable agriculture, clean power, and freedom from toxic threats.
Howie Hawkins, New York – Howie Hawkins has been an organizer in movements for peace, justice, labor, the environment, and independent politics since the late 1960s. He was a co-founder of the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance in 1976 and the Green Party in the US in 1984. For the last decade Howie has worked unloading trucks at UPS, where he is a member of Teamsters Local 317 and active in Teamsters for a Democratic Union, US Labor Against the War, and the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare.
Maria Allwine, Maryland – Maria Allwine is a long-time community organizer and peace and justice activist. She has participated and been arrested in many nonviolent direct actions against the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, was Co-Chair of the Maryland Green Party and is a member of various Baltimore City activist groups. In 2006 she ran against State Senator Joan Carter Conway and received 11% of the vote and in 2007 ran for Baltimore City Council President against Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, received 17% of the vote.
Morgan Reeves, South Carolina – Reeves played college football at Michigan State, then in the NFL with Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts. In business, Reeves established and managed a land-clearing company. He’s also been involved in various community service projects, and has served as a pastor at six churches.
Howard Switzer, Tennessee – Howard Switzer describes himself best: “I am a hippy, proud because we hippies have been right on every issue for the last 40 years. We were right about Nixon, Racism, Vietnam, consumerism, nuclear power, environmental pollution, organic food, natural birth, green renewable and appropriate technology …and we are right about the corporate control of our national institutions. My goal is not to overthrow the system but to make it irrelevant by reviving democracy, by making sure that every organization, our church, school, or government is run according to its principles.”
Dennis Spisak, Ohio – Dennis Spisak is a two term elected member of the Struthers Board of Education and past candidate for US House of Representatives (2008) when he got 4.82% of the vote. Spisak and the Libertarian candidate have both been banned from the Gubernatorial debates in Ohio.
Harley Mikkelson, Michigan – Mikkelson was a Green Party candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 and 2004 and the Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008. He is a Vietnam Veteran, a retired state employee and union man. He has been in the Peace Movement since becoming active in Vietnam Veterans Against the War in 1968.
Rich Whitney, Illinois – Rich Whitney is a 55-year-old civil rights and employment lawyer from Carbondale. As a lawyer, he has fought for working people who have lost their jobs or had their rights violated. A founder of the Illinois Green Party, he has long been politically active in support of the labor, health-care reform, environmental, civil rights, and peace movements. In 2006, he served as the Green Party’s first candidate for Governor, winning over 360,000 votes and making it possible for Illinois voters to have a third choice on the ballot statewide.
Farheen Hakeem, Minnesota – Farheen was born and raised on the north side of Chicago, with her two brothers from immigrant parents. Her parents were small business owners. She moved to Minneapolis in 1999 and was active in the peace movement and as a community organizer and educator. She has led several high profile campaigns for office. In 2005 she ran for Mayor and earned 14% of the vote. The following year she ran for County Commissioner and won 33% of the vote. In 2008 she ran for an open seat in the State Legislature and finished with 30% of the vote.
Jim Lendall, Arkansas – In his own words: “I served in the Arkansas Legislature for eight years, introducing innovative legislation and speaking out for those with no other voice. I fought against corporate welfare and the corporate assault on working people and the environment. I will bring that same commitment to the office of Governor of Arkansas…”
Deb Shafto, Texas – Deb Shafto is a retired teacher and former union organizer. She is a passionate environmentalist, and is concerned about the expanding wealth divide in America.
David Scott Curtis, Nevada – I am going to refer directly to this fascinating and insightful article from Las Vegas City Life, excerpting just the first paragraph to get you to read the entire thing: “he aspiring governor lounges inside a coffee shop in downtown Las Vegas, drinking juice from a bottle and explaining how his education plan will revive the state’s failing schools. He doesn’t have a bound report, or even an acronym — just a few observations from a product of the system.”
Laura Wells, California – Laura Wells ran for State Controller in 2002 and won 419,873 votes, 5.8% of the total. She ran for the same seat in 2006 and won 260,047 votes, 3.2% of the total. She has lived in California for 30 years and has been active with the California Green Party for at least 8 years. She has been excluded from the California Gubernatorial debates and was reportedly arrested at the most recent one while attempting to enter with a ticket.
Marcy Winograd, a well-known LA progressive who recently joined the California Green Party, on Monday guest-hosted the KPFK radio show Connect the Dots. One of her guests was Laura Wells, the California Green Party’s 2010 gubernatorial candidate. Listen to the January 30th episode of Connect the Dots with Marcy Winograd and Laura Wells at KPFK.
