Green Party Watch

Municipal Elections were held in Chicago Tuesday, in a low turnout primary election where if no candidate gets 50% of the vote there is a run off election. Two Greens were on the ballot, both losing in the primary.

In the 12th Ward, Alberto Bocanegra, Jr. came in 4th of 5 candidates, finishing with 321 votes (6.63%).

In the 47th Ward, Matt Reichel finished 3rd of 4 candidates with 605 votes (3.21%).

In a statement on Facebook, Bocanegra said: “Unfortunately we didn’t get the outcome we expected. People are so disgusted with politicians that they refused to come out and vote.”

WCT: What does it mean/matter that you are endorsed by the Green Party?

Matt Reichel: This is significant because the 47th Ward has been one of the top performing wards for the Green Party going back to [Ralph] Nader’s presidential run in 2000. There has always been a strong progressive and independent streak to this community, and so this would be a fitting place to elect the city’s first Green alderman. If elected, our ward organization will be converted into a coalition of community groups, oriented on civic service. We will not exist purely as a means of electing machine Democrats to higher office, as is currently the case. As such, a victory for me will be more than a victory for the Green Party; it will be a victory for all working people of the 47th Ward.

Matt Reichel is running for Alderman in Chicago’s 47th Ward. Read the entire interview here.

There was a candidate forum for the open 47th Ward seat in Chicago last night but no press about it today. Matt Reichel, one of 4 candidates seeking the open seat, claimed victory:

Reichel emerged from the debate as upbeat as ever: “This debate marked a clear victory for the Reichel camp. I was the most energetic, determined and progressive of the candidates, and provided the most well-founded and realistic solutions to the problems facing this city.”

While the debate remained civil throughout, the candidates did find room to inject friendly jabs at one another. In response to Reichel’s pleas to the community to join him in cleaning out the ward organization and removing the machine influence that exists there now, Tom O’Donnell disparaged Reichel and claimed “This isn’t about “machine” this or “machine” that. This is about getting things done.” Reichel retorted: “With all due respect, Mr. O’Donnell, the Democratic machine is very real, and poses a real road block to getting anything done for the 99% of us that are not integral members of it.”

Mr. O’Donnell is a long-time member of Ald. Schulter’s ward organization.

Reichel continued: “Our progressive and populist message resonated most with voters in attendance, who were also impressed by the enthusiasm of our campaign. Today, we have made a big step forward to victory on February 22nd.”

Emailed to contact.ipr@gmail.com:

After the announcement of incumbent alderman Gene Schulter’s departure from the 47th ward aldermanic election, Green Party candidate Matt Reichel has pronounced himself the favorite:

“I am the only remaining candidate who has been actively campaigning and organizing in this ward for nearly two years, as part of my congressional campaign. “

(Reichel was previously the Green party candidate for Congress in the 5th District.)

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Two time Congressional Candidate Matt Reichel has announced that he will be running for Alderman in Chicago’s 47th Ward:

Matt Reichel, two-time Green Party nominee for Congress in Illinois’s 5th District, has announced to supporters that he will try to unseat 9-term alderman Gene Schulter in the upcoming municipal elections.

Reichel won about 1,000 votes in the 47th ward part of the 5th district in last week’s election, and believes he can make up the difference needed to beat Schulter. He told supporters:

Despite our vast disadvantage in resources and organization, we pulled nearly 1,000 votes in the ward for the Green Party vision. 1,000 votes for grassroots democracy. 1,000 votes for sustainable economics. 1,000 votes for peace. 1,000 votes for real monetary reform.

There are thousands of other progressives out there, who either voted Democrat out of fear of a Republican take over, or did not vote out of frustration with American electoral politics. There are thousands more, who are ready to join our movement, and make history in 2011.

Illinois Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney will be hosting a joint fundraiser with 5th district congressional candidate Matt Reichel on Wednesday 28 July at the Celtic Crown in West Chicago. Check out the details here.

Today, the single-payer health care community learned of its bitter defeat in the fight for the only just and workable solution to this nation’s health care crisis: expanded and improved medicare for all Americans.

We had been advocating two amendments to the health care bill (HB 3200), both of which were removed from consideration by the Democratic leadership today. One, the Weiner Amendment, would have resulted in an up-down vote on single-payer on the house floor. The other, the Kucinich amendment, would have allowed individual states to institute their own single-payer health care systems. read more »

Matt Reichel’s speech at his 2010 Campaign Launch party September 30th, 2009 at the Globe Pub.

From Rob Sherman blog:

Over one hundred confident and enthusiastic supporters jammed into the party room of the Globe Pub in the 1900 block of West Irving Park Road, last night, to see and hear Illinois Green Party candidate for Governor Richard Whitney and candidate for 5th Congressional District Matt Reichel.

Whitney presented a credible, populist campaign platform, which he called “the ideas of the majority.” Reichel was polished and competent in his presentation, in which he said that we need to change Barack’s message of “Yes we can” to Matt’s message of “Yes we will.”

Whitney spoke about the need to have a government that we can believe in. Whitney said that corporations have a stranglehold on the Democratic and Republican Parties, and that’s why they want to privatize everything. Whitney countered that a healthy public sector is necessary in order for the private sector to flourish.

Since Green Party candidates don’t take corporate contributions, Whitney said that he would operate a government that was focused on what people need, rather than government focused on what corporations wanted at the expense of the people. Whitney would put people back in charge of the political agenda, rather than corporations.
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Tomorrow is the last day of the 3rd Quarter FEC Reporting Period and the date set for the Matt Reichel for Congress Money Bomb. From the Facebook page:

On the last day of the 3rd quarter FEC reporting period, the Matt Reichel for Congress campaign is asking supporters to pledge a gift of $50. Our primary goal is to “exist” in the eyes of the FEC, which requires a minimum of $5,000 in the bank. If 100 people pledge a $50 gift, we will reach that goal of $5,000. Our secondary goal is to substantially beat that total, and to enter uncharted territory. If we can get 400 people to pledge a gift of $50 on 9/30/09, we will raise $20,000, and in ONE DAY become the most lucrative Green Party congressional campaign in Illinois history. Let’s make history!!

Contributions can be made through our website, www.mattreichel.us. Signing up to this event counts as making the pledge. Please invite friends, spread the word, and let’s reach the goal of 400 by the end of September!

So if you have fifty bucks in the bank tomorrow (or any amount really) please consider helping the Reichel campaign make a big splash in fund raising!

The Green Party national office issued the following statement today, Labor Day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, September 7, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

The Green Party appeals to Labor: Democrats have failed working people — help elect Greens to Congress

WASHINGTON, DC — Calling organized labor’s support for Democrats an “investment that hasn’t paid off,” Green Party leaders appealed to unions and all working Americans, calling for support for the election of Green candidates to Congress in the 2010 election.

On Labor Day 2009, Greens expressed their solidarity with working people with a call to “come home to the Green Party.”

Quotes from Greens:

• Howie Hawkins, Teamster (Local 317), Green candidate for Syracuse City Council in 2009 (http://www.howiehawkins.com), and 2008 candidate for Congress in New York, District 25: “The Democrats’ attitude towards unions has been ‘you have to support us, you have nowhere else
to turn.’ That’s no longer true. Unions and working people have a home in the Green Party.” read more »

In an online column at My Suburban Life, writer Jerry Moore slams Illinois Greens Matt Reichel and Rich Whitney for referring to opponents of President Obama’s health care plan as “tea baggers”. Moore posits that “tea baggers” is a derogatory term.

Both men dismissed some opponents of the Obama administration’s plan to reform health care as “tea-baggers” who represent a minority of the population. This term has been used derisively to describe critics of President Obama who’ve held “tea parties” in opposing additional tax hikes.

It’s disturbing that two political candidates would use derogatory language in talking about potential constituents.

Moore does not go into the fact that Reichel and Whitney also oppose the Obama plan, preferring a “Medicare for all” approach read more »

n the U.S., 22,000 people die every year due to lack of health care. Congressman Dennis Kucinich supports HR 676, the United States National Health Insurance Bill because it will control costs, create jobs and boost the economy, and provide more choice for every American. Joining Kucinich will be several health care experts and advocates. Recently added to the lineup are two Green Party candidates outspoken on the health care issue: candidate for governor Rich Whitney (www.whitneyforgov.org) and 5th congressional district candidate Matt Reichel (www.mattreichel.us). The DuPage County Green Party is one of the co-sponsors of the event.
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Matt Reichel, who ran on the Green Party line in the Special Election to fill Rahm’s seat in Congress earlier this Spring, is one of the first declared Green Party candidates for US House in 2010 and has hit the ground running.

As reported here two weeks ago, Matt Reichel declared his intention to run for the Chicago area 5th Congressional District seat just before the Illinois Green Party State meeting.

“We were promised change we could believe in, and instead have gotten short changed. All the hope in the world isn’t going to bring Americans the peace and justice they so deserve and have so stridently demanded, not while we are stuck with the same two parties of Empire and Wall Street.”

On Sunday August 2, Matt Reichel and Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate Rich Whitney will share the stage with US Congressman Dennis Kucinich at a Single Payer Health Care Speak-out in Aurora, Illinois:

Green Gubernatorial Candidate Rich Whitney and I will warm up the stage for one of the few principled advocates for single-payer health care in the United States Congress. This will be an excellent opportunity to gain exposure and build momentum for Green candidates across the state. If the majority of Democrats are going to insist on leaving single-payer “off the table,” then the Greens will gladly take the votes of the strong majority of Americans who favor a public health care system.

The following Monday August 3 will be the first meeting of the Reichel for Congress Campaign Committee:

Primary orders of business will be organizing the petition drive and raising money.

Speaking of which, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the campaign thus far. We are off to a running start, though we need to keep this momentum going.

My goal is to have $10,000 in the bank by New Years’ Day. In order to accomplish this, we are going to have to raise a little from everybody.

Please help us keep the heat on Quigley and the Democrats by visiting www.mattreichel.us and clicking “Donate,” or by sending a check to:

Elect Matt Reichel to Congress
1726 W. Carmen
Chicago, IL 60640

This race has a lot of potential. This is a progressive district controlled by Democrats with virtually no Republican organization at all. The Democrat, Quigley, is not standing up to support the values of the voters: Single payer health care, ending the war, and re-investing in our neighborhoods and communities. Reichel is fresh from campaigning for this seat on short notice with little campaign support this last spring, and with a full 15 months he could have a much bigger impact. If you are in the Chicago area please consider volunteering with the Reichel for Congress campaign. If you are anywhere else, please consider contributing $10, $20, $50 or more to the campaign. This will certainly be one of the key races to watch in 2010.

Matt Reichel, who won a contested primary last February for the right to run in the special election to fill Rahm Emanuel’s fifth CD House Seat in Chicago, has announced that he is going to campaign for the seat in the 2010 general election.

“We were promised change we could believe in, and instead have gotten short changed. All the hope in the world isn’t going to bring Americans the peace and justice they so deserve and have so stridently demanded, not while we are stuck with the same two parties of Empire and Wall Street.”

Reichel, 28, beat out Deb Gordils, Mark Fredrickson, Alan Auguston and Simon Ribiero in the Green Party’s Feb. 5 primary to run in the general election. Barely 7 weeks later, Matt Reichel faced off with eventual winner Democrat Mike Quigley and Republican Rosanna Pulido. Reichel pulled an impressive 6.6% of the vote in the heavily Democratic district in an election with very low turnout.

Following the election, Reichel, a former Democrat and activist with the Dennis Kucinich campaign, had some harsh words towards the Green Party:

“Upon securing the Green Party nomination on March 3rd and declaring that voters were now faced with a decision to “Go Green or Go Machine,” the party offered me absolutely zilch to run an effective campaign. While the rank and file helped the best they could, the party gave me not one dime and were reluctant to provide organizational support…”

However Reichel added this statement as well:

Now, if one ranting and raving peace activist with a campaign manager asleep on an inflatable air mattress alongside piles of campaign literature can register over 7% of the vote in just 5 weeks, imagine what could happen if the party had a little organization to it. Imagine if instead of hating the media, we learned to mingle a little with the corporate news hotshots and convinced them that Green is the future! Imagine if instead of always being negative, we were occasionally positive: if we smiled and said, “history is on our side!”

As the economic crisis continues to deepen, jobs continue to vanish, people’s health continues to diminish, the people are desperately looking for a populist movement to rise to the fore.

This was in April, weeks after his loss. Today, three months later, Matt Reichel is apparently refreshed and ready to hit the campaign trail in Chicago again, with the Green Party, and with a strong platform and message. And I’ll give credit to Reichel – he’s got the message down.

Below is the text of his announcement in its entirety.
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