A special election for West Virginia Governor was held on Tuesday, October 4th, and the WV Mountain Party’s Bob Henry Baber came in third with 2%, while Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin beat Republican Bill Maloney 49.4% to 47.2%. Thanks to Ballot Access News for the story.
West Virginia is holding a special election for governor today, October 4, and one of the candidates is the Mountain Party’s Bob Henry Baber. The Mountain Party, WV’s Green Party affiliate, has made a name for itself by opposing mountaintop removal mining, which both Democrats and Republicans support and which MP candidates have dubbed “ground zero for global climate change”. WBOY Channel 12 recently interviewed Baber for his thoughts on the election:
“To speak for the common man, woman and child of West Virginia and try to move West Virginia into the 21st century and tell the truth about where we are, running a three-legged race with Mississippi to be the poorest state in the union — and we should be the wealthiest — it can never be a futile effort. You just do what you do and leave it to the voters to decide. Where would the world be without futile efforts?” he said.
“Politics is awful hard to read. I know the people are sick of the negative ads. I feel that I have some wind at my back right now. I think the Mountain Party is going to grow this year.”
Over at Alternet, Jeff Biggers has published a detailed interview with Bob Henry Baber, the West Virginia Mountain Party’s candidate for governor in an October 4th special election:
In a blatant genuflect to the coal industry’s stranglehold over state politics, the West Virginia Broadcasters Association blocked the participation of popular Mountain Party gubernatorial candidate Dr. Bob Henry Baber last week, as it hosted a widely denounced debate between the two climate-change-denying, Big-Coal-bankrolled candidates.
Never has West Virginia seemed more like an embarrassing 19th-century throwback to dirty politics and absentee corporation control over the very heart of democratic elections than in the upcoming gubernatorial race.
Never has Baber’s inspiring and heartfelt campaign platform for a just transition to a sustainable and clean energy economy in ailing coal country seemed more timely — and threatening to the Democratic and Republican Parties.
West Virginia Mountain Party gubernatorial candidate Bob Henry Baber participated in a 3-way televised debate on September 7th with his Democratic and Republican opponents. Baber is running in a special election for WV Governor to be held October 4th. WBOY ABC-12 reported on the debate:
Baber, though, said it’s government’s job to protect the entire state, “not just one industry.” … “If we had a real EPA we’d never have started down this road of mountaintop mining,” said Baber, a former Richwood mayor and former chairman of the Mountain Party who now works as the major gifts officer at Glenville State College. “Mountaintop mining is vile. It’s wrong, but we’re tied to it for the time being.”
Baber said the state needs to encourage new, greener technologies. “Those who have gotten the most have given the least, and it’s dragging down the whole state,” Baber added.
Read the entire article with more quotes from Baber and his opponents at ABC WBOY-12.
In an article at the Charleston Daily Mail, reporter Jared Hunt reports that the Mountain Party has unanimously nominated Bob Henry Baber as their nominee for Governor.
Baber was the first Mountain Party member ever elected to public office when he won the 2004 Richwood mayoral election. He had lost out to (Jesse) Johnson for the party’s gubernatorial nomination earlier that year.
He acknowledged that being a third-party candidate is an uphill battle.
“It’s a tough way to go — you don’t have a lot of finances; you’ve got to do a lot yourself,” he said. “Our party is a party about the truth, and sometimes telling the truth is not the most popular thing in the world to do.”
Addressing one of West Virginia’s blessings, and burdens, Baber said
“We are hooked on coal, the whole country’s hooked on coal and oil, and we’re going to be for the foreseeable future,” he said. “But we absolutely need to start a plan to get off coal and oil. We should have done this a long time ago, and now it’s time to start.”
Coal mining has offered West Virginia’s working families jobs at above average wages, but has despoiled much of their land and killed and maimed many miners, with the benefits enriching a small number of mine owners and others similarly situated.
H/T to Independent Political Report and writer Daniel Surman.
D.ERIS has a write-up over at Third Party Daily of an article at the Register Herald which quotes Mountain Party senatorial candidate Jesse Johnson extensively.
I think that every American and every West Virginian looks at the two-party system, looks at the Democrats and Republicans and says, “We have a problem.”
For the full story, please hit the Third Party Daily link above.
Last night West Virginia Mountain Party US Senate candidate Jesse Johnson joined a debate with Democrat Joe Manchin, Republican John Raese, and Constitution Party candidate Jeff Becker. Johnson stood out as the true progressive and the only candidate to oppose mountaintop removal coal mining. Watch the debate online at C-SPAN.
See also Jesse Johnson’s responses to questions from the Register-Herald editorial board: read more »
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 »
Julie Eisenberg and Babette Hogan have posted an article on Alternet entitled “Appalachia Rising despite business as usual” that covers West Virginia Mountain Party US Senate candidate Jesse Johnson:
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) launched a lawsuit Wednesday against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its regulation of the practice of Mountaintop Removal mining in the state and the EPA promptly punched back with a report from a surprise inspection uncovering safety violations of Massey Energy, one of the state’s most notorious and profitable coal companies…. His Republican opponent, John Raese (R), who has become flush with RNC campaign funds, called Manchin’s lawsuit a political move, meant to show the coal industry that Manchin is still their man, despite his party affiliation.
Third party candidate Jesse Johnson (Mtn. Party) sees this as political theater from both candidates. “Manchin’s always been for the coal industry just as Raese is,” Johnson said during an interview on Friday. “Its business as usual and politics as usual. It’s pretty obvious that both of my opponents stand for the coal operators and not the coal miners and their jobs and their communities.”
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 »
From GreenChange.org:
Here are ten growing Green campaigns from around the country. Our Green candidates are the true leaders of the Green movement. They are working hard for all of us, and they need your help. Please support them by donating and volunteering today.
RICH WHITNEY FOR GOVERNOR (IL)
Rich Whitney is a civil rights attorney who received over 10% of the vote for Governor of Illinois in 2006. He has proposed a detailed plan to fix Illinois’ budget shortfall and invest in green public works through public banking and progressive taxation, while his opponents Pat Quinn, Bill Brady and Scott Lee Cohen have not offered plans of their own. Whitney is advocating for single-payer health care, a living wage, free higher education and legalization of marijuana. Whitney needs at least 5% of the vote to maintain a ballot line for the growing Illinois Green Party, which is running 47 candidates at all levels this year. Learn more about Rich Whitney’s campaign and how you can help.
JESSE JOHNSON FOR US SENATE (WV)
Jesse Johnson is a leader in the battle against mountaintop removal coal mining, which he calls “ground zero for global climate change.” He is the only candidate in the race who opposes mountaintop removal, which Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican John Raese both support. Johnson has been endorsed by WV Democrat Ken Hechler, a former member of Congress and mountaintop removal opponent who challenged Manchin in the primary. Watch Jesse Johnson whip up the crowd at the Appalachia Rising rally in Washington DC on September 27th. Learn more about Jesse Johnson’s campaign and how you can help.
JOHN GRAY FOR US SENATE (AR)
John Gray is the Mayor of Greenland, Arkansas and an advocate for single-payer health care, worker’s rights, and ending corporate personhood. His opponents are Republican John Boozman, conservative independent Trevor Drown, and Democrat Blanche Lincoln, a leading recipient of Wal-Mart campaign cash who has fought to weaken health care reform and stop the Employee Free Choice Act. Gray’s priorities include breaking up “too-big-to-fail” corporations, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and putting Americans back to work. Learn more about John Gray’s campaign and how you can help.
TOM CLEMENTS FOR US SENATE (SC)
Tom Clements is a veteran activist against nuclear proliferation who has worked for Greenpeace, the Nuclear Control Institute, and Friends of the Earth. He is running against far-right incumbent Republican Jim DeMint and Democrat Alvin Greene, who faces felony obscenity charges. Clements is a strong advocate for green jobs, single-payer health care, and halting the abuses of big corporations and their political cronies like DeMint. He has been endorsed by the Greater Columbia Central Labor Council. Learn more about Tom Clements’ campaign and how you can help.
LAURA WELLS FOR GOVERNOR (CA)
Laura Wells is a financial manager and democracy activist who is campaigning on a plan to fix California’s budget crisis and provide quality affordable health care and education to all. Despite widespread dissatisfaction among voters with Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman, organizers of an “eco-friendly” gubernatorial debate on Oct. 12 are denying Wells the chance to offer her Green solutions to voters. Wells and local Green officeholders will join supporters at an open debate demonstration outside the debate in San Rafael. Learn more about Laura Wells’ campaign and how you can help.
LUISA EVONNE VALDEZ FOR STATE HOUSE (AZ)
Luisa Evonne Valdez is running for Arizona State House in District 15, which covers central Phoenix. Valdez is a disabled veteran and advocate for LGBTQ and veterans’ rights who was recently named one of “40 Hispanic leaders under 40″ by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She is campaigning to bring a voice for equal rights, community-based economics, renewable energy and sustainability to Arizona state government. Learn more about Luisa Evonne Valdez’s campaign and how you can help.
DAN CRAIGIE FOR STATE HOUSE (MN)
Dan Craigie is running for Minnesota State House in District 59B in Minneapolis. Craigie, whose background includes working as a Navy technician, is a strong advocate for green jobs, single-payer health care, and equal rights. With the support of Cam Gordon, a Green who has twice won election to Minneapolis City Council, Craigie is running a muscular on-the-ground campaign to become the first Green elected to Minnesota’s legislature. Learn more about Dan Craigie’s campaign and how you can help.
DAVID ELLISON FOR CUYAHOGA COUNTY EXECUTIVE (OH)
David Ellison of Cleveland is running for Cuyahoga County Executive in Ohio. Ellison is an architect and community activist who has led the fight for community-driven development. In a race with five other candidates, Ellison stands out as a supporter of community-based economics and environmental sustainability. He supports creating a public bank and investing in local food production to strengthen the local economy. Learn more about David Ellison’s campaign and how you can help.
EDWARD SHADID FOR STATE HOUSE (OK)
Edward Shadid is running for Oklahoma State House in District 85 in Oklahoma City. Shadid is a medical doctor and advocate for healthy, sustainable lifestyles. His campaign is focusing attention on the issue of ballot access reform in Oklahoma, which makes it harder than any state for Greens and other independents to qualify for the ballot. Ralph Nader recently joined Shadid for a campaign rally in Oklahoma City – watch the video here. Learn more about Edward Shadid’s campaign and how you can help.
CHERYL WOLFE FOR STATE HOUSE (MT)
Cheryl Wolfe is running for Montana State House in District 11, which covers parts of Flathead and Lake Counties north of Missoula. Wolfe is an accountant and community activist from Polson. She is running against incumbent Republican Janna Taylor, a supporter of more oil and coal industry development in Montana. Wolfe’s campaign gives Montanans the choice of voting for green jobs, sustainable development, progressive taxation, instant runoff voting and more. Learn more about Cheryl Wolfe’s campaign and how you can help.
From Independent Political Report:
The Mountain Party’s (the West Virginia affiliate of the Green Party) candidate for US Senate Jesse Johnson participated today in an anti-mountaintop removal protest at the White House. More than 100 people were arrested at the protest in an act of civil disobedience, although Johnson does not appear to be one of them. read more »
Alison Knezevich reports at the Charleston Gazette’s Squawk Box blog that former US Representative and West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler has endorsed the Mountain Party’s Jesse Johnson for US Senate:
Democrat Ken Hechler today threw his support behind the Mountain Party’s Jesse Johnson in the special election for U.S. Senate, saying Johnson holds the same ideals as him — but has the advantage of not being 95. read more »
The Charleston Gazette reports that Jesse Johnson has filed as the West Virginia Mountain Party (WV’s Green Party affiliate) candidate for the US Senate special election to fill the seat left by the late Robert Byrd. Johnson is a well-known campaigner against mountaintop removal and an experienced Mountain Party standard-bearer, having previously run for US Senate and twice for governor as the party’s nominee.
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