Green Party Watch

The Racine Journal Times reports from Wisconsin:

Former city Alderman Pete Karas is running for Wisconsin secretary of state as a member of the Wisconsin Green Party…

Karas, the owner of the country western bar Raytown Roadhouse, 522 Sixth St., was the 9th District alderman from 2003 to 2007 and ran for mayor in 2009.

The secretary of the state is responsible for maintaining the official acts of the Legislature and Governor, and filing oaths of office and deeds for state lands and buildings. The term for the secretary of the state is four years.

Karas said he is working with the Wisconsin Green Party and is attempting to get signatures from around state. He is planning to release a statement Tuesday with further information.

Read the full article at the Racine Journal Times.

Contact the Wisconsin Green Party if you can volunteer to help gather signatures to put Pete Karas on the ballot.

Pete Karas, who ran as a Green Party candidate in this spring’s special election for Mayor of Racine, is making headlines (front page headlines) today for filing charges with the District Attorney accusing the current Mayor and Council of violating open meetings laws over a hastily posted closed “executive committee” meeting regarding the new city manager’s contract.

Journal Times: “Karas: City Broke Open Meetings Law”

“I’m sick and tired of the closed doors at City Hall,” Karas said.

The Executive Committee violated open meeting laws on July 7 when they met in closed session to discuss the hiring of City Administrator Tom Friedel, said Karas, who plans to file a complaint today.

Racine Post: “Karas Alleges Council, Mayor Illegally Discussed Friedel’s Contract”

Karas’ claim is the meeting was illegal because the committee had no grounds to call an emergency meeting, which is reserved for extreme circumstances that demand a meeting without the customary 24-hour notice. The Attorney General’s office has ruled that “inconvenience” is not a justifiable reason to call an emergency meeting.

In Racine, WI Pete Karas finished 6th in a field of 11 candidates in a special election primary to replace disgraced former Mayor Becker.

The top two candidates move on to a special election in May. They will be the pro-development John Dickert, who was an associate of the former Mayor, and current State Representative Robert Turner. Dickert and Turner are former opponents for State Assembly in 2002.

While Karas was disappointed in the results, he recognized that he was up against some bigger names with a lot more money.

Final (unofficial) results:

1. John Dickert – 2,307 (23.1%)
2. Robert Turner – 1,671 (16.7%)
3. Kimberly Plache – 1,313
4. Jim Spangenberg – 1,249
5. Greg Helding – 1,150
6. Pete Karas – 851 (8.5%)
7. Jody Harding – 658
8. Q.A. Shakoor II – 414
9. Lesia Hill-Driver – 161
10. Raymond Fay – 148
11. Jamie Charon – 69

Source: City of Racine Election Results

Local Election Coverage: Racine Post Blog

In Wisconsin April 7 is Election Day for local elections. Spring Elections in Wisconsin are non-partisan.

One race deserves special mention – Pete Karas is running for Mayor of Racine in a special election to fill the position vacated when the former mayor resigned amid charges of child enticement and child pornography. There are 11 candidates on the ballot in this special election primary, and the top two vote getters will square off on May 5 in a general election.This race is anyone’s guess, there is no front runner, there is no polling data.

Wisconsin Candidates on the ballot April 7:

• Pete Karas, Mayor of Racine (Special Election Primary)
• Brenda Konkel, Madison Common Council
• Marsha Rummel, Madison Common Council
• Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison Common Council
• Tony Palmeri, Oshkosh Common Council
• Bob Poeschl, Oshkosh Common Council
• Bruce Hinkforth, Oconomowoc Common Council
• JoEllen Gramling, Town Cleck, Schleswig

To keep the front page from clutter, they are under the fold…just hit the “Read more” link or the headline to watch these three videos.

read more »

Pete Karas has radio spots running in Racine in both English and Spanish. Also this commercial has been running on TV in Racine this weekend:

John Nichols in the Capital Times (Madison) writes this about the Pete Karas campaign and the history of third party mayors in Wisconsin:

Could Racine go Green?

Wisconsin’s municipal offices are elected on a nonpartisan basis. But, especially in the state’s larger cities, the officeholders have partisan ties and are often elected with the active support of political parties.

These days, that means that big-city mayors tend to be Democrats, while the heads of smaller communities tend to be Republicans — with some genuine independents mixed in.

It was not always thus, however.

Wisconsin set the standard in the 20th century when it came to electing third-party mayors.

Milwaukee regularly elected active members of the Socialist Party — including Dan Hoan and Frank Zeidler — who led the state’s largest city for decades. (Milwaukee also sent Socialists to Congress and, in large numbers, to the state Assembly and Senate.)
read more »

When Cynthia McKinney was campaigning for President on the Green Party ticket, Pete Karas was one of Wisconsin’s statewide coordinators for her campaign. Karas also set up several great events for McKinney in Racine, Wisconsin including speaking in front of a packed gymnasium at Racine’s unique public charter school Walden III.

Cynthia McKinney knows Pete, has seen Racine, and this is what she has to say:

Dear friends,

Racine, WI is lucky to have Pete Karas as a candidate for Mayor and will be even luckier when he becomes Mayor. Now that’s the kind of change we can believe in.

Secure that kind of future for Racine. Let Racine become the beacon for sustainability and community that we so desperately need in these times.

I know Pete Karas and trust him. Please donate what you can to Pete now.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://tinyurl.com%2Fpetedonate

Sincerely,
Cynthia McKinney

P.S. Pete is winning The Journal Times unofficial online poll as of 9 p.m. Monday. He had 174 votes, while John Dickert came in at a close second with 172 votes. Vote for Pete at http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://tinyurl.com%2Fpetepoll

Below, Pete Karas, Cynthia McKinney, Ruth Weill in Milwaukee, WI Sept 2008

There are several opportunities to come out and support and party with some Green Party candidates in the midwest this weekend:

• Brenda Konkel, Madison Wisconsin Common Council:
  Don’t forget to stop by the Brink Lounge (701 E. Washington Ave) tonight (Friday 3/20) from 5-7pm! Curt Brink is hosting a fundraiser for Brenda so come by to have a drink, pizza and snacks. AND, most fun of all, we’ll be taping short video endorsements by YOU, Brenda’s friends & supporters!
• Matt Reichel, Illinois 5th CD House of Representatives (Chicago): The next opportunity to meet with other progressives and support Matt for Congress is on Sunday, March 22, at 2 P.M.  Conrad Weisert has been kind enough to host a coffee fundraiser at on 4620 N. Austin Avenue, Chicago, 60630.  It is located on the corner of Austin & Eastwood across from St. Robert Bellarmine Church.  Come down to Conrad’s on March 22nd to meet with Matt and his staff, discuss politics with fellow progressives, and lend your support to the only progressive candidate currently running for office on a federal level!
• Pete Karas, running for Mayor of Racine, Wisconsin: Party With Pete! Saturday March 21, 5 – 7:30 p.m. at Park Six in Racine (Corner of Park and 6th). Live music by special guest, Jim Schwall, (guitar and mandolin) co-leader of the Siegel-Schwall Band, “one of the best acts in America”, – Billboard Magazine.  Great food, cash bar, and the Wisconsin Green Party is in town so come hang with the Greens!

Also there is a House Party at Pete Karas’ place tonight, 821 Blaine Ave, Racine.  I’ll be there (a little late), other Wisconsin Greens will be there, Pete will be there, George Martin might be there, and you should be there!  The Friday night house party is a tradition before the Saturday Spring Membership Meeting (Wisconsin Green Party).

If Local Economies is your cup of tea, the afternoon session of the Wisconsin Green Party Spring Gathering on Saturday will include a Local Economies Forum with John Peck (Family Farm Defenders) speaking on “Relocalizing a Community’s Economy-from land trusts and local currencies for farmer markets and worker collectives”, as well as Green Elected Greg David on The Natural Step to Green Economies and Michael Slattery on local level energy planning, and Amy Mondloch of the Grassroots Leadership College will lead a discussion with the public in attendance.

The Wisconsin Green Party Spring Gathering and Membership Meeting will be at Blueberries Restaurant (522 6th St, Racine) beginning at 8:30 a.m., Local Economies Forum begins at 1 p.m., followed the Party with Pete next door.

Two more videos are out for the Pete Karas campaign for Mayor of Racine. Pete is running in a special election on April 7 against 12 other candidates. The top two will face off May 5.

This second video is from an interview with Insider News, Racine’s black owned newspaper:

Pete Karas Website – give now if you can.

Former Alderman Pete Karas has formally entered the special election for Mayor of Racine, WI, an economically challenged community of 80,000 on Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago.

He sent this video out today:

Karas is a life long resident of Racine and has been involved with the Green Party for years. Please check out his website and consider donating a few bucks to his Green Campaign for Mayor of Racine.

John Nichols writing for the Capital Times plugs Pete Karas’ “Capital G” Green campaign for Mayor of Racine, noting that Karas has a very good shot to win:

Former Racine Mayor Gary Becker was an active Democrat, and Racine has a history of electing Democrats (often with labor ties) to the top job in this city of 81,000.

But Racine has been traumatized by Becker’s hasty resignation, after he was charged with an ugly assortment of child enticement and child pornography charges, and the city might just break the political mold when it holds a special election to fill the mayor’s job this spring.

Former Racine Alderman Pete Karas, a Green with a capital “G,” is likely to be a serious contender for the mayor’s job.

Karas, who responded to a “Draft Pete” campaign by officially filing paperwork to run for mayor, is one of Wisconsin’s most energetic and effective Green Party activists. He’s also a smart, engaged local political figure who was repeatedly elected to the City Council in competitive races.

Karas notes, correctly, that “it’s no secret my time on the council was spent clashing with Becker.”

But, he adds, “I want to run not only to bring some integrity back to city government, but because we need to focus on jobs, on the city’s economic health.”

To that end, Karas has been an advocate for setting up a municipally owned electric utility in Racine — as a means of lowering energy costs. “These generally save the consumer between 20 and 40 percent,” says the mayoral candidate, who proposes a number of other smart proposals to renew Racine’s sagging economy while making this historic industrial city an innovator when it comes to embracing renewable energy and related environmental initiatives.

The race to replace Becker is likely to be crowded. But if anyone can turn Racine Green — with a capital “G” — and establish some new models for politics at the municipal level in Wisconsin, it’s Pete Karas.