[Sosfbay-discuss] Pro-impeachment candidate to run against Lofgren! - Possible Green recruit?

[Drew Johnson]

Cynthia Papermaster is a very active member of Code Pink.  I couldn't tell
from the article what her party affiliation is, but I did find a note from
our sister  Green Carol Wolman that suggested she run as an independent
against Zoe Lofgren.  Even if she runs as an independent (due to the way
the election laws are written and the window having closed for switching
party membership to run as a member of a different party) she may be
interested in the longer run in being a Green. Carol Brouillet knows
Cynthia Papermaster.

Carol Wolman's incouraging note:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eastbayimpeach/message/3411

Note: the following Cynthia Papermaster for congress web site hasn't been
updated yet to reflect her switch from running against Pete Stark (who
just signed to HRes 333 -- Yeah!) to running vs. Lofgren.
   http://www.cynthia08.com/

Some profile pages of Cynthia Papermaster
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Elections/candidates/2002/schoolbd/papermaster.htm
http://impeachbush.meetup.com/127/members/3964174/
http://cpapermaster.livejournal.com/profile

http://www.dailycal.org/article/100768/resident_runs_for_congress_in_hopes_of_ousting_che
Resident Runs for Congress In Hopes of Ousting Cheney
By Asaf Shalev
Thursday, March 6, 2008

Cynthia Papermaster

Empowered by her ability to influence a member of the U.S. House of
Representatives, a resident of Berkeley decided yesterday to run for a
seat in the House in the June 3 primary.

Cynthia Papermaster, who is an activist with anti-war group Code Pink,
said she decided to run for a seat in the 16th Congressional
District-which does not include Berkeley-because she said she wants to
impeach Vice President Dick Cheney.

Officials from the California Secretary of State said citizens can
represent a congressional office they do not live in. Papermaster will be
running against Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose.

Papermaster first filed papers to run against Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont,
but decided to withdraw those papers after Stark said he would support
impeaching Cheney.

Stark also said Papermaster had been a vocal supporter of impeachment,
convincing him to poll his constituents.

"We then added a question on impeachment to the survey," he said. "She was
very instrumental in getting me to reach out to the constituents."

Stark said Tuesday he changed his position after that survey indicated 64
percent of the 2000 constituents polled in his district said they
supported impeaching President George W. Bush.

Stark said he supports impeaching Cheney before Bush to prevent Cheney
from becoming president.

Papermaster then decided to withdraw from the race against Stark and
instead run against Lofgren, who does not support impeachment.

Papermaster said that while she does not think she can beat Lofgren, she
is running in hope of influencing Lofgren to change her position, just
like Stark.

"She's absolutely got that seat for life," Papermaster said. "My chances
of winning are laughable."

But Papermaster said she still has hope because the public supports
impeachment.

"If I can capture her constituents on that, maybe I can win," she said.

Lofgren's office could not be reached for comment.

Even though Cheney leaves office in less than a year, Papermaster said she
felt it was her duty to try to impeach him by running for office.

"We have to uphold the constitution," she said.

Papermaster said she is not opposed to Lofgren's policies, only the fact
that she does not support impeachment.

Because Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, who represents Berkeley, supports
impeachment, Papermaster said she would not run against her.

Many politicians in the Democratic Party think impeachment will divide the
nation and are waiting for Bush and Cheney to leave office, Papermaster
said.

"Impeachment is not a dirty word," she said. "It is possible to do this."
Contact Asaf Shalev at ashalev at dailycal.org.
Tags: CYNTHIA PAPERMASTER, CITY, ELECTIONS