Green Party Watch

There are 59 candidates running for the United States House of Representatives on November 2.

This is the third of three posts on Green Party House candidates, continuing with the Central portion of the United States.

Eastern US GP House Candidates
Western US GP House Candidates
GP US Senate Candidates
GP Governor Candidates

There are Green Party candidates running for US House in Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee.

Arkansas
Ken Adler (CD 1) - Adler was born and raised in Arkansas and served with the US Navy. He works in academic computing and is an avid bagpipe player. This is his first run for office.
Lewis Kennedy (CD 2) – Kennedy is a retired postal worker and veteran of the national guard, army, and army reserves. This is his first run for office.
Joshua Drake (CD 4) – Drake is an Arkansas lawyer specializing in family and consumer law. He ran for this same seat in 2008, finishing with 32,603 votes (13.8%).

Illinois
Jeff Adams (CD 1) – Adams is the Green Party candidate for Congress in the 1st District. He is a resident of the mid-South Side. This is his first run for office.
Anthony Williams (CD 2) – Williams is a husband, father, minister and activist. This is his first run for office.
Laurel Lambert Schmidt (CD 3) – Schmidt is a former insurance underwriter and free lance writer, co-founded and chair the Near West Citizens for Peace and Justice and was co-Director of the Peace Justice and Environment Project. This is her first run for office.
Robert Burns (CD 4) – Burns is an economist and did his PhD studies in Marxian Economics. He served as President of the South Loop Neighbors Association and was active on the board of Friends of Downtown. This is his first run for office.
Matt Reichel (CD 5) – Reichel is a Chicago native who has spent most of his adult life working on political or issue campaigns. He worked with Illinois Peace Action, organized on campus for divestment from corporations that fund nukes for Israel and organized against the wars in the middle east. He was also active with the 2008 Kucinich campaign. Reichel ran for this seat in 2009 in a special election after Rahm Emmanuel resigned, finishing with 2,911 votes (6.6%).
Bill Scheurer (CD 8) – Scheurer has worked as a lawyer, lay minister, and technology entrepreneur. He started another new business this year, after devoting 8 years as a fulltime volunteer for various nonprofit causes. This is his first run for office.
Simon Ribeiro (CD 9) – Ribeiro is a teacher, swimming instructor, and private tutor. He ran for Congress in 2006 but not as a Green. In 2009 he sought the Green Party nomination in the special election in the 5th District but lost in the primary to Matt Reichel.
Rodger Jennings (CD 12) - Jennings is a professional project manager in the private business sector with over 30 years of experience in Information Technology (IT) and in banking business practices. He was laid off in 2008, and ran for Congress that same year in opposition to NAFTA and other economic policies that cost him and others their jobs. In 2008 he finished with 10,931 votes (3.6%).
Daniel Kairis (CD 14) – Kairis is a teacher and former small business owner. He ran for State legislature in 2008, finishing with 2,108 (4.6%). In 2009 he ran for Elgin Township Supervisor, finishing with 631 votes (8.17%).
Terry Campbell (CD 16) – Campbell is the Illinois Green Party’s candidate for US House in the 16th District. This is his first run for office.
Roger Davis (CD 17) – Davis has been a prison guard, a laborer in the construction industry, a truck driver, a brick layer, and a tuck pointer. He has seven children. This is his first run for office.
Sheldon Schafer (CD 18) – Schafer is an educator and scientist and long time resident of the 18th congressional district. He ran for this same seat in 2008, finishing with 9,857 votes (3.2%).

Michigan
Ellis Boal (CD 1) – Boal is a Michigan lawyer specializing in labor and employment law. He has plenty of campaign experience. In 2004 he ran for County Board of Elections, finishing with 2,054 votes (18.4%). In 2006 he ran for County Commissioner, finishing with 43 votes (6.4%). In 2008 he ran for University of Michigan Board of Regents, finishing 7th with 102,158 votes (1.23%).
Lloyd Clarke (CD 2) – Clarke is a seasoned political activist and candidate, having participated in successful grassroots actions and candidacies since the 1960’s. He ran for County Commissioner in 2006, in 2008 he ran for State Senate, finishing with 2,326 votes (2%).
Charlie Shick (CD 3) – Shick is a single father working a blue-collar job. Michigan’s 3rd CD is an open seat, and Shick is clearly the most progressive and liberal option of the five candidates seeking the office. This is his first run for office.
J. Matthew de Heus (CD 5) – de Heus has a successful history in manufacturing, business, marketing, strategic planning and education. He currently serves on the board of two Michigan non-profits and is a member of groups as varied as the ACLU and the Mid-Michigan Songwriter’s Guild. This is his first run for office.
Pat Foster (CD 6) – Foster is a former Democrat with strong concerns about election integrity and voter rights. This is her first campaign as a Green Party candidate.
Richard Wunsch (CD 7) – Wunch, 70, is the owner of Volume I books in Hillsdale. Wunch last ran in 2003 for State House, finishing with 82 votes (1.27%).
Douglas Campbell (CD 9) - Campbell was a field coordinator for the 2000 Nader Campaign. Following that he ran for Governor of Michigan in 2002, finishing with 25,236 votes (1%). He ran for Governor again in 2006, then ran for the US House in 2008, finishing with 4,737 votes (1.35%).
Candace Caveny (CD 10) – Caveny is a volunteer with Planned Parenthood of Eastern Michigan ,and a member of the Lapeer County Equal Rights Alliance (LCERA) and the American Public Health Association. She ran for this same seat in 2008, finishing with 4,146 votes (1.19%).
Julia Williams (CD 12) – Williams is a “citizen-politician.” A mom, a wife, a nurse, a universal health care advocate, a person of conscience. This is her first run for office.
George Corsetti (CD 13) – Corsetti is a Michigan lawyer specializing in consumer law, free speech/political spying issues and criminal defense. He is also a film maker and local advocate for housing issues in Detroit. He ran for this same office in 2008, finishing with 9,579 votes (4.24%).
Aimee Smith (CD 15) – Smith has a PhD from MIT, member of the Huron Valley Greens and the New England Committee to Defend Palestine. Her first run for office was in 2003 running for City Council in Cambridge, MA, finishing with 465 votes (2.4%). She has run for this congressional seat in Michigan in 2006 (9,447, 4.6%) and 2008 (7,080, 2%).

Missouri
Nicholas Ladendorf (CD 7) – Ladendorf is a cartoonist and political activist. This is his first run for office. Ladendorf, in my opinion, has one of the most original and creative campaign websites I have ever seen.

Ohio
Rich Stevenson (CD 1) – Stevenson worked for the Ross Perot campaign in the 1990s, ran for Congress in 2000 as a Natural Law Party candidate, then ran for Congress in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 as an Independent.

Tennessee
John Miglietta (CD 5) – Miglietta is a Political Science Professor at Tennessee State, a member of Middle East Peace Coalition, Nashville Peace and Justice Center, and the Tennessee Alliance for Progress. He is also on the Tennessee Green Party State Coordinating Committee. He ran for this US House seat in 2008.

KSPR TV in Missouri has an interview with Nicholas Ivan Ladendorf, Progressive Party nominee for US House of Representatives in MO-7.

Q:  As a brand new Congressman, how do you plan to make southwest Missouri’s voice heard in a body of 435 people?

A: What I’m doing is I’m putting my agenda out there, my views.  I’m hoping the voters will see that their values line up with mine.  I’m not going to put my finger to the wind and try to get, you know, figure out what they want to hear.
Q: What’s the most important issue facing the Ozarks and the nation?  How do you intend to address it as a Congressman?

A: The closest thing I could see to a quick fix with all the economic issues we’re having is the legalization of marijuana and hemp.  We just can’t continue to fund this war on drugs and lock up people, breaking up families and all the other issues that come up with it.

Read the full article at KSPR.

Rev. Elston McCowan, a prominent Green Party member in St. Louis, is facing trial in the aftermath of an altercation that occurred outside a St. Louis town hall meeting in 2009. As Green Party Watch previously reported,

Elston McCowan, a Baptist minister and SEIU union official who ran for mayor of St. Louis in 2009 on the Green Party line, was attacked at an 8/6 town hall forum on healthcare reform outside St. Louis in Mehlville, MO. As reported by Patrick M. O’Connell of the St. Louis Dispatch, both tea party protesters and SEIU counter-protesters blame each other for instigating the violence. (full article on Green Party Watch)

McCowan’s supporters have started a facebook group called “Justice for Rev. Elston McCowan”, which gives the following information:

On Aug 6 of 2009 Rev. Elston McCowan was arrested after an altercation that occured outside a townhall meeting in St. Louis County. The video evidence suggests that Rev. McCowan was a victim. He suffered serious injuries as a result of the event. He is pending trial in St. Louis County.

Other African-American community leaders active in the Green Party who have recently been targeted by the justice system on dubious grounds include Chuck Turner and Rev. Edward Pinkney.

Nicholas Ivan Ladendorf, the Missouri Progressive Party candidate for Congress in District MO-7, is a cartoonist who illustrates his opinions on his campaign website.

It’s pretty sweet.

Check out Ladendorf’s cartoon on the subject of hemp, prohibition, and what he would do if elected.

From Richard Winger at Ballot Access News:

The Missouri Green Party, which is not ballot-qualified, is petitioning for party status this year. That petition needs 10,000 signatures and is due in late July. If the petition drive succeeds, the Green Party will be able to nominate by convention for any partisan race. In Missouri, the name of the Green Party is “Progressive Party.”

To date at least 2 candidates are planning to run for office with the Missouri Progressive Party, Midge Potts for US Senate and Nicholas Ivan Lavendorf for US House of Representatives (MO-7).

From the Southeast Missourian:

Green Candidate Says She Will Walk for US Senate

Progressive Party Co-Chair Intends to Walk Throughout Missouri During Campaign

Springfield, MO – Tuesday was the first day for Missouri political hopefuls to register to run for office in the August primary election. While the recognized parties will hold primaries, the Progressive Party of Missouri [a GPUS affiliate] will circulate petitions to gather 10,000 verified signatures in order to gain ballot access. Midge Potts, the Co-Chair of the Progressive Party of Missouri, as well as a delegate to the Green Party of the United States Coordinating Committee, announced in June 2009 that she would seek the the US Senate Seat being vacated by Kit Bond. Tuesday she released a statement proclaiming that she intends to run a non-traditional campaign by walking the state in order to discuss issues of concern to Missourians in their own communities. read more »

The Progressive Party of Missouri, which is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States, is running Midge Potts for U.S. Senate. The PPM met this weekend where they endorsed the “Proposition One Nuclear Disarmament Tour” and held a press conference yesterday at the Honeywell Bomb Plant in Kansas City with the Physicians for Social Responsibility.

The Press Release below was distributed following:

Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Transformation Endorsed by Progressive Party of Missouri

US Senate Candidate Speaks in Support of Proposition One at Honeywell Nuclear Bomb Plant Press Conference in Kansas City

On Saturday, October 3, at their annual state meeting in Columbia, the Progressive Party of Missouri voted unanimously to endorse the efforts of the Proposition One Nuclear Disarmament Tour that is traveling the country to put nuclear disarmament on the ballot in 2010.

US Senate Candidate Midge Potts and members of Kansas City Greens joined Physicians for Social Responsibility-KC and Proposition One in a press conference at the Honeywell Bomb Plant in Kansas City at 3pm Tuesday, October 6. “The Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act needs to be passed into law,” said Midge Potts, Co-Chair of the Progressive Party of Missouri, “HR 1653 would transform the jobs at Honeywell’s Kansas City factory into more sustainable occupations fueling a new economy producing green technologies.”

Progressive Party of Missouri

Elston McCowan, a Baptist minister and SEIU union official who ran for mayor of St. Louis in 2009 on the Green Party line, was attacked at an 8/6 town hall forum on healthcare reform outside St. Louis in Mehlville, MO. As reported by Patrick M. O’Connell of the St. Louis Dispatch, both tea party protesters and SEIU counter-protesters blame each other for instigating the violence.

Among the injured was Kenneth Gladney, 38, of St. Louis. He said he was with the Tea Party, handing out yellow flags with “Don’t tread on me” printed on them, when he was assaulted. He said he sought hospital treatment for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face.

“I was attacked for something I believe in,” he said.

But Elston McCowan, an SEIU staffer, said Gladney was actually an instigator. McCowan accused Gladney of attacking him as he walked to his car. McCowan said he suffered a dislocated shoulder.

“Out of nowhere, the guy just assaults me,” said McCowan, 47, of St. Louis.

This Youtube video of the incident gives a better idea of what happened. read more »

WGN, the Chicago Super Station, covers Matt Reichel’s campaign for US House in Illinois’ 5th District, as does the Baltimore Sun, although the Sun article is very short. The Denver Post also has a very brief report.

The News Gazette covers the Urbana vote twice.

More as it comes in.

Over at Pioneer Local, reporter Patrick Butler quotes all the candidates in the 5th congressional district race in Illinois, including Matt Reichel who is quoted saying that if the newly elected Democrat supports single-payer healthcare he will have all the progressives supporting him. Reichel also points out that Chicago is fast following the examples set in San Francisco and St. Louis, becoming the second biggest party in what is effectively a one-party town.

USA Today has a very brief report on the same race.

The St Louis Post and Dispatch has a fairly detailed report on elections in that city.

Before hitting the sack I thought I would take a quick look at the St. Louis races.

According to the St Louis election website, none of the candidates running with the Gateway Greens is on the ballot. The linked site is a PDF.

I may be missing something, but it appears that either the Gateway Greens are engaging in a write-in only campaign, the St. Louis authorities are not reporting on their campaigns, or I have missed something completely.

As reported at Independent Political Report, Green Party mayoral candidate Rev. Elston K. McCowan was the victim of a firebombing at his home in St. Louis. According to an article at Counter Punch written by Don Fitz, McCowan has gotten a rise out of the political establishment with his assertive approach to campaigning, and had his van firebombed as a result.

McCowan and the Gateway Greens are not a part of the Green Party of the United States, but rather are associated with the Greens USA, a national membership organization not associated with the GPUS. A number of news articles about the incident can be found here.

Stories from other sources today (it is one of those days!)

Connecticut Green Party sues over dirty “clean election” law (Posted “on the Wilderside“)

Minor parties like the Greens, by contrast, can only get the full grant if they raise the benchmark amount of cash, and if they won 20 percent of the vote for a seat the prior election, or submit valid signatures equal to 20 percent of the vote…

Independent Political Report links to a story about a potential Green Party candidate for Mayor of St. Louis:

The Green Party’s Elston K. McCowan, a preacher and union official, was the first mayoral hopeful to declare his intention to challenge incumbent Francis Slay.

And while he has been stumping for weeks, McCowan is yet to officially file.

McKinney and Sheehan: Human Rights Delegates in Cuba – read their dispatch at “On the Wilderside“:

McKinney: On the morning of December 10, 2008, Cindy Sheehan, Nelson Valdes, Saul Landau, and I signed a declaration as the U.S. delegates to an international conference assessing sixty years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sponsored by the Network of Networks in Defense of Humanity. Here is our declaration:
We celebrate sixty years of failure…

The Reverend Elston McCowan, a Green Party candidate for Mayor of St. Louis next year, speaks out about the prevalence of lead paint in the St. Louis school system in this AP piece in the Missourian:

[McCowan] said people have known for decades that exposing children to lead could harm them. Lead paint has been banned for residential use since 1978, but is still present in older buildings.

“We don’t want to be apathetic about a problem just because somebody hasn’t solved it,” he said.

The article paints an ugly picture of the state of lead paint in schools in America.

From the Joplin Independent

The Progressive Party of Missouri announced that they have filed the required paperwork with the Missouri Secretary of State’s office to allow Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney to be a certified write-in candidate in the November 4th general election. McKinney, a former six-term congresswoman from Georgia was nominated to be at the top of the Green Party’s historic all woman presidential ticket at their July nominating convention in Chicago. Rosa Clemente, a hip-hop activist journalist from New York was chosen to be the Green Party’s nominee for vice-president.

Midge Potts, state co-chair of the Progressive Party of Missouri, said, “I am proud to be able to write-in Cynthia McKinney for president on my ballot this year. Missourians are demanding real change in the American political system, and Congresswoman McKinney’s Power to the People movement is appealing to many.” Potts is herself running as a write-in candidate for US representative against House Republican Whip Roy Blunt in Missouri’s 7th Congressional District.

McKinney has earned a reputation for seeking honest answers from Bush administration officials. While serving in the US House of Representatives, she vigorously questioned former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in regard to the $2.3 trillion missing in the Pentagon’s budget. McKinney also filed articles of impeachment against George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Condoleezza Rice.

As president, McKinney claims she would responsibly end the US military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, work to create a Department of Peace, and implement a not-for-profit single-payer health care system.