[Sosfbay-discuss] RECORD NUMBER OF GREENS RUNNING FOR OFFICE

Mon Aug 24 14:27:59 PDT 2009

 Dear Hank, 

Thanks for posting this.  I just finished checking out Allan Brison in New Haven, Connecticut. His story should be an inpiration to all of us "inner-city" Greens.  

= = = = = = = = = 

http://www.ctgreens.org/candidates/brison2007/

Why I Ran
by Allan Brison 

New Haven needs choices. There is no
electoral democracy where, in the vast majority of New Haven's 30
wards, there will be only one candidate facing the voters on Election
Day. Is this the way our democracy should work? 

In particular, New Haven needs a Board of Alders strong
enough to perform its mandated role as the legislative check on the
executive branch of City government. The Board must be independent of
the Mayor, capable of challenging mayoral proposals concerning the many
important issues of the day. 

Those issues include the budget and ever-rising taxes,
patronage and mismanagement at the Board of Education, and major
development projects such as downtown and the Route 34 corridor. 

The Board of Alders has to cease being a rubber stamp.

To
achieve this objective we need alders who are independent of both the
Mayor and of the Democratic Town Committee, two of the principle
centers of power in New Haven. 

If I am elected, I pledge to be that Independent Voice. I
will never forget that an Alder's main responsibility is to his
constituents, not to political power brokers. 

. . .

Sounds a lot20like One-Party Democratic Los Angeles, San Jose, and Oakland, California.  New Haven, home of Yale University, is one of those pain-in-the-ass "liberal" college towns like Henry Louis Gates' beloved Cambridge, Massacusetts.  "Liberal" New Haven, like "Liberal" Oakland, has a police department that had been under investigation for allegedly planting drugs, and then falsely arresting someone who subsequently went to jail for many years, as well as falsifying overtime pay. Brison had the guts to recommend more oversight on the Police Department. 

In 2008, Allan shocked the hell out of the "liberal" Establishment by "whupping" a 6-year incumbent under a Green landslide:  

= = = = = = = = = 

>From Green Pages: 

http://greenpages.wordpress.com/2008/03/22/allan-brison-upsets-incumbent-in-new-haven/

Allan Brison Upsets Incumbent in New Haven 

by Mike DeRosa and Mike Feinstein,

In the November 6th election, Brison trounced incumbent Democrat
Edward Mattison in a two-way race 386 votes to 283 (57.7%). Mattison
had been Ward 10 Alderman for 6 years and on election night was
observed by supporters to be shocked as the numbers from the precincts
came in.

Brison told the Green Party of Connecticut’s Green Times that he had
“beat a well entrenched political insider who has never voted against a
significant piece of legislation proposed by long-time Democratic Mayor
John DeStefano.” New Haven Greens have long apposed the city’s 
strong
mayor/weak council system of government, which they feel overly
concentrates power in the hands of the mayor and by extension, the
Democratic Town Committee chair.

Not only was Brison’s victory the first for a Green in four years,
but it was the first against an incumbent alderman in a regular
election. The last Greens to be elected were John Halle (Ward 9) and
Joyce Chen (Ward 2) and both were elected to open seatsHalle in a July
2001 special election and Chen in a November 2001 regular election.

Brison’s lively campaign included participating in two debates,
along with an active door-to-door campaign in Ward 10 in both the more
affluent area of the ward and in the lower income Cedar Hill section
near State Street.

.  .  .

-----Original Message-----
From: Hank Chapot <hchapot at igc.org>
To: GPCA Media comm comm <gpca-mediawg at marla.cagreens.org>
Cc: gpca forum <cal-forum at cagreens.org>
Sent: Mon, Aug 24, 2009 12:50 pm
Subject: Re: [GPCA-MediaComm] RECORD NUMBER OF GREENS RUNNING FOR OFFICE

I forgot to credit the source. Sam Smith, the Progressive Review,  
prorev.com

hc

On Aug 23, 2009, at 10:37 AM, Erika McDonald wrote:

> This is great news! Thanks Hank! I am still not doing much politics
> these days...just paying enough attention to know WE were right all
> along! Obama and Pelosi suck! They are letting the elites run
> everything, just like the RE-thugs.
>
> Best, Erika
>
> On Fri, 2009-08-21 
at 20:46 -0700, Hank Chapot wrote:
>>
>> RECORD NUMBER OF GREENS RUNNING FOR OFFICE
>>
>> Across the country a record number of Green Party candidates are
>> running for office. There are currently 144 Green Party candidates
>> running in local and state races, nearly ten more than at this point
>> in 2005 and nearly 50 more than at this point in 2007. . . . Among
>> them: Allan Brison is running for re-election as Alderman of New
>> Haven, Connecticut. . . Cam Gordon is seeking re-election to the
>> Minneaspolis, Minnesota City Council. Cam has received the  
>> endorsement
>> of his local Green Party, a local Sierra Club chapter, the Minnesota
>> Nurses Association, and several other area unions. Also: artist and
>> anti-corporate activist Reverend Billy Talen is running for mayor of
>> New York City. Earlier this week Billy's volunteers turned in over
>> 18,000 signatures to get the Green Party on the ballot. And Lynne
>> Serpe, New York City Council 22.
>> _______________________________________________
>> GPCA-MediaWG mailing list
>> GPCA-MediaWG at lists.cagreens.org
>> http://lists.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/gpca-mediawg
>

Hank Chapot
hchapot at igc.org
510.654.5311

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