[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE Green gubernatorial campaigns to watch in 2010

[Green Party of California Updates]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Friday, March 19, 2010



Green gubernatorial campaigns to watch in 2010: candidates in California,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio

• Green Party Elections web page: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml


WASHINGTON, DC -- Several Green candidates have launched campaigns in their
states' races for governor in 2010.

The Green Party of California will have a contested primary election for the
gubernatorial race, with Laura Wells and Deacon Alexander competing for the
nomination, to be decided on June 8.

In recent years, gubernatorial races in some states have given Green Parties
high enough percentages to achieve or maintain ballot status and determine the
outcome of the election.

In 2006, Rich Whitney and his fellow Greens overcame an attempt by Gov. Rod
Blagojevich to keep the Green Party off the Illinois ballot.  Gov. Blagojevich
spent about $800,000 to block the Green Party.  Mr. Whitney drew over 10% of
the vote on Election Day 2006 and will be on the ballot in 2010.

Some Green gubernatorial candidates to watch:

• DAVID CURTIS is running for Governor of Nevada.

"Fellow Greens have been asking me to run for office for more than five years.
I do not enter into this lightly," said Mr. Curtis.  "Extreme economic events
of the last two years in Nevada convinced me that I needed to take a more
direct role in the leadership of my native state.  I am running to help
rebuild the Nevada economy. I want to make the state a viable place to live
for my family and the citizens of Nevada."

Web sites: http://curtis4governor.com http://www.apparatusLV.com

• DENNIS S. SPISAK is the Green Party of Ohio candidate for governor in 2010.
  Mr. Spisak is running with the goal of bringing renewable energy jobs,
single-payer health care for all, and clean fair elections to Ohio.

"I am running for governor because I believe we must send a representative to
Columbus who will address the issues facing regular citizens, not lobbyists or
corporate PACs. My campaign will focus on the issues that Ohioans care about:
affordable health care, economic fairness, quality public education, and
bringing renewable energy manufacturing jobs to the state.  I am not afraid to
call for health care for all Ohioans, economic justice, and nothing less than
a renewal of Ohio's sense of community and promise of equal opportunity for
all Ohioans," said Mr. Spisak.

"The people of Ohio are tired of politics and government controlled by the
Democrats and Republicans.  They want straight talk and straight answers to
the problems facing them and their children.  The Green Party has the answers
to their problems."

Web site: http://www.votespisak.org/governor

• S. DEACON ALEXANDER is one of two candidates competing for the California
Green nomination for governor.  A sixty-four year old retired union carpenter,
many of Deacon's ideas for a better society are from his father, bricklayer's
assistant and political activist.  As a long-time social advocate and former
Black Panther, Deacon Alexander worked to acquit all charges against Angela
Davis in 1972 and joined Latino immigrants to fight for Los Angeles' South
Central Farm.

"I run for Governor because Californians must do better.  We must educate, not
incarcerate.  Growing affordable housing and local business are in my plan to
invest in basic infrastructure.  Abolish the death penalty, the prison
industrial complex, racism against immigrants and all people of color.  I
support jobs which empower our youth, rebuild inner cities, and reduce global
warning," said Mr. Alexander.

"My gubernatorial campaign is simple.  We will go Poor-to-Poor, up and down
the State of California .  My first act as candidate was on Skid Row in LA
with the homeless, the disenfranchised, the down and out.  These people have
been excluded, denied and rejected for far too long.  I pledge to bring them
into my campaign for Governor, register them as Greens, and fight for their
rights."

"Both my gubernatorial primary opponent, Green Party candidate Laura Wells,
and I fully support Ten Key Values and platform of California Green Party.
Our differences lie not in substance, but in our priorities. A party and
candidate which put the rights of the least of us first, is one which can
proudly represent all Californians."

Website: http://www.deaconforgov.com

• LAURA WELLS is also running for the Green Party's nomination for Governor of
California.  Ms. Wells ran for State Controller in 2002 and 2006.  In 2002,
she received over 400,000 votes, the highest vote total of any Green Party
partisan statewide race in California.

"I ran as a candidate for State Controller with the motto 'follow the money'
to understand what's happened in California.  Now it's time to fix the money,"
said Ms. Wells.  "Prop 13 was passed in 1978 to keep people, especially
seniors, in their homes, but like a bad pharmaceutical, the side effects of
the tax policies have been disastrous especially to our younger generations.
The Titanic Parties will not touch Prop 13 because likely voters love it, but
I am touching it.  I sent a valentine saying, 'Prop 13, I love you, but honey,
you’ve got to change!'"

"There are solutions: we can institute a State Bank for California and invest
in California not Wall Street.  We can have great schools, healthcare, a
wonderful environment, and golden job opportunities."

The Laura Wells campaign has printed 10,000 copies of a newsletter leaflet
listing the "13 Ways Prop 13 has been Unlucky for California" on one side and
“FAQs: State Bank for California” on the other.  The campaign is distributing
them at rallies and meetings all over the state.  Leafletting began with the
March 4 Day of Action, when thousands of students from universities, community
colleges, and high schools walked out of class to demand a re-ordering of
priorities in the state’s finances.

For more about Prop 13, the State Bank, and other information about Laura
Wells and her campaign, visit her web site: http://www.LauraWells.org

• JILL STEIN has launched an exciting grassroots campaign that is posing an
unprecedented challenge to business as usual in Massachusetts.  She is
building on the 350,000 votes she received statewide in her race for Secretary
of the Commonwealth in 2006.  Given the emerging lineup that has her facing
three CEO-insider politicians with nearly identical positions on the key
issues, the race may actually be won with as little as 26% of the vote.  With
her 18% in her last statewide election, and the anti-insider fever that's
gripped the state, this could put a win in actual striking distance.

As Dr. Stein explained at a recent gathering, “A government run to benefit
lobbyists and insiders has given us double digit unemployment, skyrocketing
health care costs, predatory home foreclosures, crumbling schools,
unaffordable higher education,  counterproductive crime and drug laws,
regressive taxes, unending and costly wars,  and a climate crisis that
threatens our economy.  We can do better.  It’s time to put solutions on the
table that give us a secure green future in which there is both prosperity and
justice."

Since her February 8 kick-off, Dr. Stein has given numerous radio and
television interviews and put together a strong campaign team.  "Doors are
opening as never before for a Green candidate," Dr. Stein says.  "This could
be our breakthrough year."

Web site: http://www.jillstein.org

• RICH WHITNEY, a civil rights attorney based in Carbondale, is running again
for Governor of Illinois.  At a time when Illinois is experiencing devastating
cuts to education and social services, Mr. Whitney is the only candidate in
the race who refuses to accept such cuts as inevitable. He has set forth a
comprehensive plan for restoring health to the public sector and fighting for
"a full employment economy," at "a living wage, or better."

"It may surprise some people to hear a candidate talk about expanding public
employment at a time when the media keep pounding into people’s minds the
notion that government is 'too big' and 'we can’t afford it.'  We have to
recognize that the corporate-dominated media have an agenda and that there is
a reason why we have been hearing this propaganda steadily for over 30 years.
  We also have to realize that when the opinion leaders in the corporate media
keep telling us that 'we' can’t afford it, what they are really trying to tell
us is that 'they' – the wealthy owners of corporate America – don’t want to
afford it," said Mr. Whitney.

"They don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes needed to maintain the most
basic functions of government.  And thus the illusion is created that in the
richest, most productive nation in the world, we as a society somehow can’t
afford quality public education, quality health care for all, quality
employment opportunities for all and decent retirement security for all."

Rich Whitney proposes creative measures for dealing with the state's fiscal
and economic crises, including creation of a state bank, and imposing what he
calls the real "sin" taxes -- a financial transactions tax on speculative
trading and a fee and dividend system to combat global warming and promote
sustainable energy, transportation, and energy efficiency.

Web site: http://www.whitneyforgov.org

See also: "Rich Whitney, Green Party Governor Candidate: Tribune's Coverage Is
'Unacceptable'" (The Huffington Post, March 8, 2010,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/rich-whitney-green-party_n_490864.html)


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections
• Green Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the
United States
Winter 2010 issue now online
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


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