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November 2003 Newsletter
1. "Provoking and Winning a Non-Violent Democratic Revolution"
An Evening with David Cobb, Green Party Candidate for President
2. Green Talk: Roundtable on the Recall
3. Peter Camejo's Groundbreaking Campaign in the Recall Race Sets the
Stage for Greens in 2004
4. Historic Opportunity to Elect a Green Mayor
5. SSU Students Start First Campus Greens Chapter in Sonoma County
6. Patriot Act Opposition Continues Two Years Later
7. Election for KPFA Station Board in Process
8. Calendar of Upcoming Meetings and Events
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"PROVOKING AND WINNING A NON-VIOLENT DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION"
An Evening with David Cobb, Green Party candidate for President in 2004
Monday, October 27, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
New College of California, 99 6th Street, Railroad Square, Santa Rosa
The Green Party of Sonoma County hosts an evening with David Cobb,
Green Party candidate for President in 2004. Cobb has worked as a
public interest attorney specializing in issues of corporate law and
democracy. He coordinated the Nader 2000 presidential campaign in
Texas and now lives in Humbolt County. Hear Cobb describe his goals as
a candidate for the Green Party and why he says, "The Green Party can
run a strong campaign in 2004 that grows our party, garners millions
of votes, and culminates with George Bush losing the election." Cobb
will also discuss the ways citizens can exercise our democratic
authority to govern ourselves and the crucial role of the Green Party
as the electoral arm of the growing democracy movement.
Sliding scale donation at the door; no one turned away for lack of
funds. The event is wheelchair accessible.
For more about David Cobb visit his website http://www.votecobb.org.
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GREEN TALK: A ROUNDTABLE ON THE RECALL
Thursday, November 6, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Environmental Center, 404A Mendocino Ave (near 5th Street), Santa Rosa
Meet with other Greens to share thoughts on the recent recall election
and what it means to progressive politics in California. Refreshments
will be provided.
Green Talks are free, informal meetings hosted by the Green Party of
Sonoma County on the first Thursday of each month. For more
information or to suggest topics for future Green Talks, email
greentalk@sonomagreenparty.org or call (707)524-8818.
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PETER CAMEJO'S GROUNDBREAKING CAMPAIGN IN THE RECALL RACE SETS THE
STAGE FOR GREENS IN 2004
Green gubernatorial candidate Camejo's participation and performance
broke the two-party chokehold on debates.
Green Party of the United States Press Release - 10/15/03
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Green candidate Peter Camejo's strong performance
in the California gubernatorial debates drew praise from across the
political spectrum, giving further credence to calls for Green
inclusion in the 2004 presidential and candidates' debates.
"If the California recall election is any indication, Greens are going
into the 2004 election season with a focused message and a lot of
respect," said Mark Dunlea, chair of the Green Party of New York
State. "There's no excuse for barring Green candidates from the
debates in 2004."
Many national commentators lauded Camejo as a serious candidate with a
sound platform budget plan, increasing Green Party credibility
nationwide. San Francisco Chronicle political writer John Wildermuth
praised Camejo's performance in the debates, calling him an
"articulate advocate" for the Greens, and declared that "Camejo isn't
going to be California's next governor, but the Green Party candidate
wasn't a loser in Tuesday's election" (October 8).
After the September 24 'Superbowl' debate, 32 of respondents chose
Camejo as the winner in a poll conducted by the San Francisco
Chronicle and Examiner. The Los Angeles Times found that among
Democrats, 25 saw Camejo as the winner, compared to 13 for Democrat
Cruz Bustamante.
Camejo's favorable ratings increased after each debate, according to a
California Field Poll, with upwards of 2 million Californians giving
Camejo's candidacy positive marks by the end of the campaign.
In early October, when the League of Women Voters and media sponsors
initially barred Camejo from the final two debates, the public
responded with more than 20,000 letters of protest sent to debate
sponsors. Greens note that the Commission on Presidential Debates,
which are controlled by the Democratic and Republican parties, are
unresponsive to the public's demand for inclusion of third party and
independent candidates.
Camejo's participation "broke new ground for the Green Party and was
an important victory for American democracy in a time of threatened
civil liberties," said Camejo campaign worker Linda Schade, noting
that Green presidential candidate Ralph Nader was excluded from the
debates in 2000. "Voters clearly support the inclusion of Green voices
in the political debate. The question is, will the Presidential Debate
Commission respect their call?"
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HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY TO ELECT GREEN MAYOR
Residents of San Francisco have the chance to elect a Green mayor in
one week. This important campaign deserves the support of all
progressives in the area.
San Francisco Board President Matt Gonzalez--the highest-elected Green
in the state--is a candidate for mayor on the November 4 ballot. Matt
entered the mayoral race pledging to articulate and defend progressive
values.
Recent polls show Matt placing strongly among the progressive
candidates and being the only one who can beat Gavin Newsom, the neo-
con frontrunner in the run off.
In order to make the runoff, however, he needs strong Green support.
We do not want to wake up November 5th and wonder if Matt might have
won if we had only made a few more phone calls, walked a few more
doors, gotten a few more Green votes out...
This is history waiting to be made! Please get involved and help any
way you can by contacting the SF Green Party: 415-701-7090 or stop by
the office to help out (1028 A Howard Street SF, CA 94103).
http://www.mattgonzalez.com
http://www.sfgreenparty.org
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SSU STUDENTS START FIRST CAMPUS GREENS CHAPTER IN SONOMA COUNTY
The first Campus Greens chapter in Sonoma county has been started on
the Sonoma State University campus. A national organization of Green
student clubs (see http://www.campusgreens.org) the Campus Greens, is
having its first state-wide conference at San Francisco State
University this weekend, Oct. 25th and 26th. The new club was
represented at an Election Day No on 54 Rally by acting President
Jared Laiti, and has begun the process of outreach to the campus
community.
So far there is good response to our tabling, and we have built a
listserve with over 20 people on it, which anyone is welcome to join
by going to http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/sonomacampusgreens. But
we currently have only a small core of people that attended our first
meeting, including acting Treasurer Veronica Lopez, Faculty Advisor
Thomas Cooper, new Campus Greens Outreach Liaison James Swinger, and
Jim Housman of the Electoral Reform working group. We plan to hold
elections as soon as we can get some more active membership, so those
of you who are or know someone who is part of the Sonoma State
community, we need all the participation we can get.
One of our long-term goals is to work for implementation of IRV on
campus, as well as of course promoting Green candidates and politics.
Also, anyone who knows someone interested in starting a Campus Greens
club at Santa Rosa Junior College is urged to contact James at
jswingaling@hotmail.com.
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PATRIOT ACT OPPOSITION CONTINUES TWO YEARS LATER
Local Resolutions Face-off Against National Legislation
NORTH BAY PROGRESSIVE - October 2003
Two years after the hurried passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, North Bay
civic groups are continuing in their efforts to protect local
communities from invasive police powers granted in the act. A
unanimous vote in September made the San Rafael Town Council the
newest North Bay jurisdiction to pass a resolution opposing portions
of the USA PATRIOT Act and related executive orders. The path to a
resolution in San Rafael may have been eased by the fact that the
Marin County Board of Supervisors and at least four other city
governments in the county passed resolutions opposing portions of the
Patriot Act this spring.
The Santa Rosa Bill of Rights Defense Committee sponsored an
educational forum at Santa Rosa Junior College Oct. 12 in an effort to
raise awareness and support for a resolution that might come before
the Santa Rosa City Council as early as December. The coalition behind
the effort includes the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of
Sonoma County, the Green Party of Sonoma County, the Libertarian Party
of Sonoma County, the Santa Rosa Democratic Club, the Sonoma County
Latino Democratic Club and a number of local businesses, religious and
civic groups. While the cities of Sonoma, Cotati, and Sebastopol have
successfully passed resolutions in Sonoma County, resolutions have
failed in at least two other cities in the area.
The effects of "homeland security" legislation continue to be felt
locally. Said Mansour, speaking as President of the Islamic Society of
Santa Rosa at October's educational forum, attested to having
repeatedly undergone invasive airport security checks while traveling
for business...
[For the complete article, link to
http://www.roadtaken.com/srbordc/article/NBP_SRForum10-03.htm ]
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ELECTION FOR KPFA STATION BOARD IN PROCESS
KPFA, the first listener-sponsored, community radio station in the
United States, has emerged from a fierce struggle to preserve its
local autonomy and is now refocusing on its mission to amplify the
otherwise unheard voices of the Bay Area in the struggle for social
justice.
Election for KPFA Station Board has begun. All 18 seats for
Listener/Sponsors on KPFA's Station Board are to be filled.
Listeners who have donated at least $25 or volunteered at least 3
hours to KPFA in the last year will have the right to vote and run in
KPFA's elections. Join or volunteer by October 30 to take part in this
historic election! All Candidate forms need to be received by Nov. 15.
Thursday, October 23, 7-9 PM
New College, 99 Sixth Street, Old Railroad Square, Santa Rosa
Showing of "Afghan Massacre" followed by a discussion of KPFA's
Station Board Elections Information: 707-795-2890
Interested in running for the KPFA Station Board? Have questions
concerning the elections? Need signatures for your nomination papers?
For more details: http://kpfa.org/elections
Contact the Elections Supervisor at KPFA:
Les Radke (510) 848-6767 Ext. 626 or by email at election@kpfa.org
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Calendar of Upcoming Meetings and Events
*NOTE* To keep up on the latest event dates, check out our new
events calendar at http://www.cagreens.org/c/sonoma/calendar.pl
October ---------------------------------------------------------
23 (Thu) DISCUSSION OF KPFA'S STATION BOARD ELECTIONS
After showing of "Afghan Massacre" film
7:00-9:00 PM, New College, 99 Sixth St, Old Railroad Square, SR
For more info, see item #7 in this newsletter.
24 (Fri) IT WORKING GROUP MEETING
7:00 PM. Contact: it@sonomagreenparty.org
24-25 (Fri-Sat) SIXTH ANNUAL LABOR AND SOCIAL ACTION CONFERENCE
Keynote Speaker on Friday, Oct. 24: Amy Goodman.
For information on the cost of attending and other details, call
(707)545-7349 ext 109, email mfromer@seiulocal707.org, or visit
http://northbayclc.home.mindspring.com/laborschool.html
25-26 (Sat-Sun) FIRST CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE CAMPUS GREENS CONFERENCE AT
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
Featured guest speakers include 2004 U.S. Presidential Green
party candidate David Cobb and CA Green party gubernatorial
candidate Peter Camejo on the spotlight panel discussion "Greens:
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!" Free admission.
Info: http://www.campusgreens.org/calcon.php
Contact: Grant Donnelly, SFSU, (415)405-2246, email: gd@sfsu.edu
27 (Mon) THE GPSC HOSTS AN EVENING WITH DAVID COBB, GREEN PARTY
CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
For more info, see item #1 in this newsletter.
30 (Thu) BYLAWS WORKING GROUP MEETING
7:00 PM. Contact: bylaws@sonomagreenparty.org
November --------------------------------------------------------
6 (Thu) GREEN TALK: ROUNDTABLE ON THE RECALL
7:00 PM, Environmental Center, 404A Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa
For more info, see item #2 in this newsletter.
13 (Thu) GREEN TALKS WORKING GROUP MEETING
7:00 PM. Contact: greentalk@sonomagreenparty.org
20 (Thu) GPSC GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING
7:00-9:00 PM, Environmental Center, 404A Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa
The general meeting is held every 3rd Thursday. All interested
Greens are welcome to attend!
Info: info@sonomagreenparty.org
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