More candidates

Wow. There are now 34 Green Party County Council candidates in Los Angeles County. (See list below.)

While checking out the list, I noticed that Barbara Becnel (above) had also pulled papers, to run as a Democrat for governor. Becnel, a death penalty opponent, is widely known for her friendship with, and advocacy for, Stanley "Tookie" Williams. The photo above is from the Feb 18 forum at Bethel AME Church with several Green Party candidates, in which she spoke about her disillusionment with the Democratic Party and the Democratic candidates for governor. Both supported the execution of Williams. At the forum, Becnel announced that she was contemplating a run against them in the primary (she said it was to late for her to reregister and run with another party).

The photo of Nativo Lopez (below) is taken from the same event. He is among the Greens who took out papers this week to run for County Council.



GPLAC County Council candidates as of 2/28/06 (state senate district)
ELLEN L. MAISEN (17 & 19)
CELIA H. SORENSEN (17 & 19)
JANELL M. HOLLE (20)
JOHN PAUL LINDBLAD (20)
TED C. FRANKS (21)
ROGER H. GRAY (21)
NATIVO V. LOPEZ (22)
SARA AMIREBRAHIMI (23)
ZACK BEATTY (23)
MICHAEL ALAN FEINSTEIN (23)
ANNE GOEKE (23)
ELISABETH GREEN (23)
LISA KAWAMOTO HSU (23)
GENEVIEVE MARCUS (23)
LAWRENCE SETH (LARRY) SILVERMINTZ (23)
JAMES MICHAEL ODLING (24)
SASHA KARLIK (25)
DONNA J. WARREN (25)
DOUGLES LEE BARNETT (26)
JASON NEVILLE (26)
MICHAEL ROCHMES (26)
MARJATTA WILLIAMS (26)
SEAN MICHAEL FORBES (27)
COBY SKYE (27)
GABRIELLE WEEKS (27)
RICHARD CHACKER (28)
BONNIE CORDOVA (28)
AMY FRAME (28)
AMANDA GOEKE (28)
MARCIA HANSCOM (28)
GLENN E. HOPKINS (28)
PATRICK PASCHAL MC BRIDE (28)
JOHN WENGER (28)
WILL YEAGER (28)

Update [3/4/06]:
more candidates:
EUGENE HERNANDEZ (20)
MICHAEL ALLEN (21)
SERGE BAKALIAN (21)
DIANE ERIN TROUT (21)
BERNICE G. TOLLEFSON (23)
DONALD G. TOLLEFSON (23)
FRANCES WELLS (23)
DON BORING (29 & 32)

Why I'm running

I've been a member of the Green Party since I first registered to vote, and a volunteer for the party since before then. Except for when I studied abroad, and a year when I lived in DC and had a journalism internship for the Hill newspaper, I have been involved with the Greens that whole time, in Santa Monica, Berkeley, and Los Angeles.

I was a delegate from California at the nominating convention in 2000 in Denver, when it looked for a moment like Ralph Nader would crack five percent and really put the party on the map. But then Florida happened, with the butterfly ballots and the hanging chad, and everything went pear shaped. The President turned out to be worse than anyone could have imagined, and Nader and the Greens were vilified.

The last six years have been tough for the Green Party, but the mood is changing, with a growing independent streak in the electorate and Democrats less likely to blame the Green Party and more likely to question their party's leadership. Greens who have been registering voters in Southern California this year say it has been easier to get people to register with the party than any time since the 2000 election.

Unfortunately, the Green Party of Los Angeles County has not been able to capitalize on this mood, let alone provide leadership. The party leadership at the county, state and national level have become unfocused and factional. Fortunately, the June election provides an opportunity to bring new energy to the GPLAC with an expansion to 40+ seats elected by state Senate district. Already, 23 Greens, including myself, have taken out nomination papers to run for the GPLAC County Council. If we get even 16-20 councilors, the expanded council will mean more people to bring fresh ideas and share the workload. The smaller districts can mean greater connection to grassroots Greens and community groups.

What I want to bring to the County Council is a progressive vision for growing beyond internal and past disputes, so that we can be a visible and attractive alternative for people unsatisfied with the two "major" parties. Specifically, I want the GPLAC to improve communication with Greens in the county, form a greater connection to likeminded groups in Los Angeles, and become a prominent leader on local issues and candidates.

New County Council members

At the Green Party of Los Angeles County's County Council meeting this evening, two new council members were appointed. Roger Gray and Tracy Larkins (she's on the left in the photo here).

Also, qualification for the County Council ballot is in full swing. Here is a list of people who have pulled papers so far for the County Council. My name should be on that list after Wednesday.

If you live in the 26th state Senate district (see map below, or check your district) and you want sign my nomination form, email me.

California voters

The LA Times opinion section today references a study from last year by the Public Policy Institute of California on independent (Decline to State) voters. Another study, on likely voters, found that 58 percent of unregistered Californians are Latino, 69 percent make less than $40,000 per year, 53 percent are 18-34 years-old, 66 percent rent, and 66 percent are immigrants. Thirty-two percent of the unregistered Californians live in Los Angeles (versus about 27 percent of registered voters). This begs the (unanswered) question, how many of these people are eligible to register?

The PPIC site is worth bookmarking. Right now they have two studies on education in California on their front page.

Catching up

Here are a few disconnected notes to catch us up on what's been going on with the Green Party:

* The Green Party of LA County website has been spruced up a lot, and we finally sent out an email announcement to registered Greens in LA County. The next County Council meeting is tomorrow.

* Today we are going to a forum with several Green Party candidates, including Peter Camejo (governor) and Todd Chretien (U.S. Senate) at Bethel AME Church. There has been some controversy about the way Camejo, Chretien, and a few others have been running as a self-selected slate ("A Million Votes for Peace"), arbitrarily excluding others. It is entirely within their rights to do so, although I'm not sure why they feel the need to.

* I'll be at the forum largely to support someone who wasn't invited to speak--Green congressional candidate Byron De Lear. De Lear is close to gathering enough signatures to get on the ballot without paying the filing fee. The deadline is next week.

* The LA Greens meeting was earlier this week. The big decision item was a response to a vote the national Green Party (GPUS) took last year to call for a boycott of Israel in protest of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. The vote caused a lot of suprise and consternation among the grassroots where it had not been vetted. The GPLAC County Council responded in January with a letter asking for more thorough discussion of controversial issues in the future. On Wednesday, the LA Greens endorsed the County Council's response.

* There is a new group blog (not Green Party-related) out of New York that is in opposition to the "War on Terror" and its suppression of civil liberties. The blog is called Against the War on Terror.