Green Party Watch

Howie Hawkins, long time Green Party and anti-nuclear activist in New York, spoke recently at the Green Quad at the University of South Carolina. The event, sponsored by Sustainable Carolinas, the program was covered by the Daily Gamecock, the campus newspaper.

The Hawkins Tour is sponsored by the Southern Anti-racism Network and will include an appearance in Charleston, SC, Saturday, noon, 235 Robert Scott Smalls Bldg, College of Charleston. More details are at the Charleston Green Party’s Facebook Page.

Hot Indie News reports:

Green Parties in several states are co-sponsoring and hosting a ‘No Nukes Tour’ of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida from Monday, October 3, to Saturday, October 8.The No Nukes Tour, with the slogan “Organize the South!”, will feature Green activist and candidate Howie Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins has been an organizer in movements for peace, justice, labor, the environment, and independent politics and against nuclear power since the late 1960s.

The tour will kick off with a press conference at 10 am at the Raleigh Old State House in North Carolina.

For more information and a schedule of tour events, read the article at Hot Indie News.

Scott West at South Carolina Green Party (H/T On The Wilder Side):

The Union of Concerned Scientists released a damning report on the nuclear power plant operated in Darlington, SC by Progress Energy, known as HB Robinson. The same company operates the Southport plant near Wilmington, NC.

The entire report is worth reading as it reveals the plethora of problems which exists in operational plants. None of the problems were disastrous. However, they manner in which the plant operators and regulators handled these issues does indicate how well they might respond to a serious event.

Progress Energy’s H.B. Robinson Plant sits in Darlington, SC, north of the fault zone responsible for the 1886 Charleston Earthquake. While the likelihood of such an earthquake is unknown, there is ample geologic evidence of strong quakes occurring along the Charleston fault. The South Carolina Emergency Management Division maintains an earthquake awareness site here, which links to a 609 page report on the Comprehensive Seismic Risk and Vulnerability Study for the State of South Carolina. Given the demonstrated ineffectiveness of NRC oversight of the Robinson plant under ordinary conditions, we have to seriously question whether Progress Energy, the NRC or the SC government is equipped to cope with a earthquake.

read more »

via Ross Levin at IPR:

The full story from the South Carolina Green Party:

Eugene Platt is doing great work in local government alerting people to the serious problems with SC’s electronic voting machines.

Voting machines targeted: James Island PSD official pushes for replacement

BY EDWARD FENNELL

JAMES ISLAND — A day after engineering a “historic” vote by his fellow James Island Public Service District commissioners, Eugene Platt set his sights on a larger goal.

Platt on Tuesday urged James Island Town Council to adopt a resolution calling for South Carolina to replace its electronic touch-screen voting machines. The iVotronic machines, Platt contends, have many problems and voters have little confidence in vote counts they produce. He told council the JIPSD was the first elected body in the state to urge replacement of the machines, and the town could become the first municipality to do so.

“I hope you will do something similar and start and statewide trend and get the attention of the state legislature,” Platt said.

read more »

In a year that has seen the biggest upsurge of activism against marijuana prohibition in American history, Green Party candidates across the country are leading the fight for marijuana legalization while Democrats and Republicans defend the failed, destructive “war on drugs” prohibition regime.

The eyes of Americans who oppose prohibition are on California’s Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. The California Green Party and its leading candidates, including gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells and US Senate candidate Duane Roberts, support Proposition 19, while the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor and US Senate all publicly oppose it.

Meanwhile, Green gubernatorial candidates like Howie Hawkins in New York, Rich Whitney in Illinois, and Jill Stein in Massachusetts have injected marijuana legalization into the public debate and rallied anti-prohibition voters, who number 46% in the latest Gallup poll, around an issue considered taboo by the political establishment.

All of these candidates, plus other Green gubernatorial candidates including Deb Shafto in Texas, Dennis Spisak in Ohio, Maria Allwine in Maryland, Morgan Reeves in South Carolina, and Jim Lendall in Arkansas as well as over 100 Green candidates for federal, state and local office, have signed onto a 10-point program called the “Green New Deal”, which includes legalizing marijuana and ending prohibition as one of 10 major reforms needed to put the country back on the right track. See Green Change for a list of candidates endorsing the Green New Deal by state.

By voting Green, you not only send a strong message that you want a sensible drug policy; in many cases, your vote helps the Green Party maintain its ballot line in your state, enabling Greens to run more and stronger campaigns in the future. If you want to legalize marijuana, vote Green.

The Rock Hill Herald has endorsed Tom Clements for US Senate over Jim DeMint.

Clements is the Green Party candidate, but has drawn growing support from Democrats following the collapse of Democratic candidate Alvin Greene.

From the Herald:

In the race for U.S. Senate, we endorse Green Party candidate Tom Clements.

Third-party candidates are playing a central role in a number of high-profile races this year, and in South Carolina’s Senate race, we think Clements deserves the attention of voters.

His appeal is bolstered by issues with the two other candidates running this year. Alvin Greene, as much of the nation is aware, was the surprise winner of the Democratic senatorial primary. His campaign can be dismissed as sadly inadequate.

Incumbent Sen. Jim DeMint is the prohibitive favorite in this race. But while he is popular with many voters, his extreme views go too far for a large segment of South Carolinians.

There are 60 candidates running for the United States House of Representatives on November 2.

This is the first of three posts on Green Party House candidates, beginning with the Eastern portion of the United States. There are candidates running in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

Connecticut
Ken Krayeske (CD 1) – Krayeske is no stranger to media attention ever since his notorious challenge to UCONN coach Calhoun over his salary. Krayeske, now running for the US House, has been picking up a lot of media, most recently from a high profile endorsement from Ralph Nader. Krayeske has a nice website and a great campaign video. (GPW coverage of Krayeske)
G. Scott Deshefy (CD 2) – G. Scott Deshefy is a retired environmental analyst with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. He ran for this same seat in 2008, finishing with 6,287 votes (1.87%). I highly recommend his campaign blog.
Charlie Pillsbury (CD 3) – Pillsbury works part time for Mediators Without Borders. He is a veteran candidate, having run in 2008 for New Haven Registrar of voters (8.15%), in 2005 for Alderman (30.5%), in 2003 for Alderman (38.9%) and in 2002 for US House of Representatives (9,050 votes, 4.9%).

Florida
Nicholas Ruiz III (CD 24) – Ruiz is running a write-in campaign for US House in Florida’s 24th district. He has put out several campaign videos (find them on his website) and took part in debates as well. He is the author of America in Absentia (2008), Integral Reality (with Robert Hassan, forthcoming, 2010) and The Metaphysics of Capital, (2006). He is also the editor of Kritikos.

New Jersey
Mark Heacock (CD 1) – Mark Heacock is a Master Painter, Lacrosse coach and veteran candidate. He ran for New Jersey General Assembly in 2007 (2.86%) and 2005 (5.15%), and Borough Council in 2004 (24%) and 2003 (33%). Check out the videos on his site here.
Steve Welzer (CD 4) – Welzer has been a Green Activist for 20 years, a founding member of the New Jersey Green Party, and co-editor of Green Horizons Magazine. This is his first run for office. Watch his “Candidates on Demand” interview on Youtube here.
Ed Fanning (CD 5) – Fanning has worked for 29 years in the finance industry, and is the Secretary of the Green Party of New Jersey. He ran for this same seat in 2008, finishing with 4,950 votes (1.68%). See his “Candidates on Demand” interview on YouTube here.
Patricia Alessandrini (CD 9) – Alessandrini is a retired nurse who has run for Bergen Freeholder in 2008 and State Assembly in 2003 (1.48%). Watch her “Candidates on Demand” video on YouTube here.

New York
Anthony Gronowicz (CD 7) – A New York City native, Gronowicz was the Green Party candidate for Mayor of New York City in 2005, finishing third of 8 candidates. He has a PhD in New York City Political History and is the author of “Race and Class Politics in New York City Before the Civil War”. Here’s a clip of Gronowicz by Craig Seeman.
Hank Bardel (CD 13) – Bardel is a retired union worker and long time Green Party activist. He last ran for office in 2002 running for the US House and finishing with 1% of the vote. He has also run for City Council twice and State Assembly once. He did not get the signatures necessary to appear on the ballot so he is running a write in campaign.

Pennsylvania
Ed Bortz (CD 14) – Bortz is a retired engineer / electrician, and life long writer, poet, and Green Party activist in the Pittsburgh area. Here is a video of Bortz speaking at a Medicare rally that I highly recommend (watch the nervous people behind him.)

South Carolina
Faye Walters (CD 4) – This is C. Faye Walters’ fourth run for the US House as a Green Party candidate. She finished with 1.23% in 2004, 1.3% in 2006, and 3% in 2008. Furthermore she ran as a Natural Law Party Candidate for U.S. Congress District 4 Representative in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002. She has a rich and varied background, currently a small business owner in Greenville, SC.
Nammu Muhammad (CD 6) – Nammu Muhammad is a life-long resident of the threatened Waverly community in Columbia. An electrician, Nammu has worked against gentrification and the displacement of longstanding communities by a business driven and unaccountable development program.

Tom Clements, South Carolina Green Party candidate for US Senate, has put out three TV commercials:

“Extremists”

“What has he done”

“Harmful Vision”

Another witty video, this one from Tom Clements who is gaining in the polls running for US Senate in South Carolina.

Green Party candidates across the US win some debates, battle exclusion from others

• In Illinois race for the US Senate, Green candidate LeAlan Jones wins a debate from which he was excluded: SC Green Tom Clements challenges Sen. Jim DeMint’s refusal to debate; Calif. Green Laura Wells arrested for entering the gubernatorial debate site

• Video downloads and campaign news:
Green candidates in debates http://www.gp.org/candidates/debates.php
Greens on the campaign trail http://www.gp.org/elections/campaign-trail/index.php
Labor endorsements for Greens http://www.gp.org/candidates/labor-endorsements.php
More candidate videos: http://www.gp.org/candidates/videos.php

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party candidates across the US are shining in some debates — and protesting their exclusion from other debates. read more »

The Clements for US Senate Campaign will hold a joint press conference with the South Carolina Chapter of The Sierra Club on Thursday October 14th at 2:30pm at Clements’ state campaign headquarters at 1247 Sumter Street in Columbia. The office is located less than a block away from the SC State Supreme Court Building (on Sumter between Gervais and Lady Streets).

The news conference is to formally announce the endorsement of Clements by the national Sierra Club, one of the largest and most influential environmental organization sin the US. Representatives of the organization and Clements will answer media questions about the significance of the endorsement.

Clements has been a member of the Sierra Club for over thirty years and became a life member in 1998 and is very pleased with this endorsement, which helps boost the national significance of the campaign.
read more »

This is from WLTX, an interview with Morgan Reeves, Green Party candidate for Governor of South Carolina:

South Carolina Green Party US Senate candidate Tom Clements is raising money to air radio ads challenging incumbent Senator Jim DeMint:

Columbia, SC – This Saturday, as the Gamecocks challenge the top-ranked Alabama team on the football field, the Clements for Senate campaign will release a series of radio ads challenging incumbent Senator Jim DeMint and reminding voters that they do have a choice in the upcoming midterm elections.

The game will be broadcast at 3:30 on Columbia’s 107.5 FM Sports radio station and another set of ads will begin airing between 6 and 10 AM during the station’s Monday post-game show.

Radio Spot 1
Radio Spot 2
Radio Spot 3
Radio Spot 4

Clements’ ads will encourage South Carolinians “to vote against the extreme policies of Jim DeMint, “against discrimination and intolerance, and to vote for saving social security, medicare, unemployment, environmental protections, and our public education system. The ads will highlight DeMint’s “bullying’ and “extreme ideas,” and promote Clements as a “moderate candidate with reasonable policies and sensible solutions.” read more »

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party candidates for US Senate across the country have broken new ground in their races, gaining greater public attention and more campaign contributions than ever before.

For a complete list of 2010 Green senatorial candidates, visit http://www.greenscc.org/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=7

Green candidates for the US Senate: top stories and videos

• The Green Senatorial Campaign Committee (http://www.greenscc.org), which is recognized by the Federal Election Commission, is distributing its first round of funds to candidates.  Despite the recession, the committee has already surpassed the funds raised in the last election cycle.

• In Maryland, Kenniss Henry has replaced her daughter Natasha Pettigrew, who was killed when an SUV struck her bicycle in September, as the Green Party’s US Senate candidate.  Ms. Henry will carry Ms. Pettigrew’s issues forward and work hard to change Maryland law to win greater protection for bicyclists.
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-state.php?ID=355
http://www.gazette.net/stories/09282010/prinnew180534_32576.php

• LeAlan Jones, running for the US Senate in Illinois, is drawing equal support from McCain and Obama voters, challenging the common belief that Greens draw votes solely from the left and potentially spoil for Democrats.

“Illinois voters have figured out that the Green Party, not the Tea Party, represents the real alternative to business-as-usual two-party politics,” said Matt Lavery, chair of the Green Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Video clips of LeAlan Jones interviewed: http://lealanforsenate.org and http://www.greenscc.org
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/fox-news-poll-kirk-edges-giannoulias-by-two-points-in-il-sen.php

• Green candidates have received increasing endorsements and support from Democrats.  In West Virginia, Democratic leader and defeated US Senate candidate Ken Hechler endorsed Jesse Johnson of the Mountain Party (affiliated with the national Green Party).  Mr. Johnson and Mr. Hechler are leaders in the movement to ban mountaintop removal mining.
http://jesse4ussenate.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25:hechler-endorses-mountain-partys-johnson&catid=1:media-news-reports&Itemid=2
http://www.jesse4ussenate.org

• Tom Clements has emerged as the choice of South Carolina voters who support neither incumbent rightwing Republican ideologue Jim DeMint or Democrat Alvin Greene, whose campaign is collapsing after troubling revelations about his past.

“If enough voters in South Carolina learn about Tom Clements by Election Day, we will make history by placing the first Green in the US Senate,” said David McCorquodale, Treasurer of the Green Senatorial Campaign Committee.

http://www.thenation.com/article/154601/greene-green-sc
http://www.wfae.org/wfae/1_87_316.cfm?action=display&id=6499

• While Green candidates for the Senate are attracting more media coverage than in past elections, they’re still struggling to get included in televised debates.  In Illinois, LeAlan Jones is currently petitioning for the right to participate in the Meet The Press candidates’ debate.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-illinoissenate-jo,0,6014610.story

Green candidates who get into the debates raise issues and ideas that the Democratic and Republican contenders won’t touch.  In Arizona, Green Senate candidate Jerry Joslyn confronted incumbent Sen. John McCain on war funding during a September 26 debate.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Arizona-US-Senate-candidates-debate-103835038.html
http://www.joslynforsenate.com

• Duane Roberts, Green candidate for the US Senate in California, has taken the lead on immigrants’ rights, demanding “immediate amnesty.”  In September, Mr. Roberts accused Democrats of being “anti-immigrant.”
http://newsblaze.com/story/20100928144003zzzz.nb/topstory.html
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/immigration/duane-roberts-beware-of-democr/
http://voteforduane.wordpress.com

• More videos:

West Virginia Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson speaks at the Sept. 27 Appalachia Rising protest in Washington, DC, against mountaintop removal mining: http://vimeo.com/15421038
Audio clip of interview about the rally: http://westvirginia.watchdog.org/2084/audio-senate-candidate-johnson-joins-hundreds-to-protest-mtr-in-dc/

“Colia’s Song,” about New York Green candidate Colia Clark: http://www.coliaclark.org

LeAlan Jones and other US Senate candidates from Illinois meet with the Chicago Tribune editorial board (audio): http://www.chicagotribune.com/wgnam-senate-candidates,0,2709990.mp3file

MORE INFORMATION read more »

Darien Cavanaugh of the Columbia City Paper has written an extensive interview with South Carolina Green Party US Senate candidate Tom Clements:

The 2010 South Carolina race for the U.S. Senate has left many voters scratching their heads in bewilderment, shrugging their shoulders in apathy, or rubbing their faces in annoyance.  Jim DeMint has become the brash new kingmaker of the rightwing Tea Party movement, alienating moderate Republicans and Independents and making progressives consider moving to another state.  Alvin Greene, the Democratic candidate, has been a controversial and perplexing figure since his come-from-nowhere defeat of Vic Rawl in the Democratic primary and hasn’t been able to mount a formidable campaign or garner much support even among his own party.

But there is, however, another choice, another party.  Enter Tom Clements, the Green Party’s candidate.  Clements was kind enough to sit down with me for a few minutes at his office on Sumter St. before heading to a meet and greet at Goatfeathers in Five Points.  After meeting him for the first time, I was sure of three things: he’s an intelligent yet down to earth man, he has the knowledge and experience to make him a serious candidate, and he’s looking for a fight.

Read the full article at the Columbia City Paper.