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Mirkarimi Elected SF Supervisor; Other Green Election Updates |
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GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES Monday, November 8, 2004 Contacts: ROSS MIRKARIMI ELECTED SAN FRANCISCO SUPERVISOR; OTHER LATE GREEN ELECTION UPDATES WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United States has announced several new victories as election results poured in late last week and during the weekend. -- At least 14 Greens out of 75 who ran for office in California claimed victory statewide Tuesday night; 75 Greens now hold public office in California: Ross Mirkarimi won the District 5 seat for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, replacing retiring Matt Gonzalez, in an election based on Instant Runoff Voting. Nine Greens won or retained seats on city councils. Greens retained a majority on the Sebastopol City Council after Craig Litwin, Sam Pierce won two seats; Greens now have a city council majority in Arcata after two more victories (Harmony Groves, Paul Pitino). Other winning city council candidates: Lynda Deschambault in Moraga, Doug Hammerstrom in Ft. Bragg, Gayle McLaughlin in Richmond, Christine Mulholland in San Luis Obispo, and Karl Warkomski in Aliso Viejo. Other Green winners in California include Mark Sanchez, the first Green to be re-elected in San Francisco for the Board of Education; John Selawsky, Berkeley Unified School District Board; Jeff Sklar, Santa Monica Rent Control Board; and Kaitlin Sopoci- Belknap, Humboldt Bay Water Board. -- Three city council victories in Oregon: George Grosch (incumbent) and Emily Hagen in Corvallis; Wendy Siporen (incumbent) in Talent City. Also in Oregon, Tim Dehne was elected to the Benton County Soil and Water District; Xander Patterson was re-elected to the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District. -- The attempt by Maine Democrats to redistricting Green Maine legislator John Eder backfired against Democrats: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/041105eder.shtml -- Referenda to enact Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) passed in Ferndale, Michigan; Burlington, Vermont; and western Massachusetts. IRV was used for the first time in San Francisco elections for the Board of Supervisors. IRV is a major goal of the Green Party, and its enactment will help Green candidates. More information: http://www.fairvote.org http://fairvote.org/sf/sfchronicle110304.htm -- Green candidates ran in 356 races in the November 2, 2004 election, with record numbers of candidates in California, Delaware, D.C., Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Altogether, 430 Green candidates ran in 2004, in 41 states, for 74 types of offices, with 63 Green victories. There are now 212 elected Greens in 27 states. -- National Green Party voter registration now stands at an all time high of 311,350 in 22 States. This number omits Greens in states where the Green Party has not yet achieved ballot status and in states that don't permit party registration. State-by-state totals: <http://web.greens.org/stats> MORE INFORMATION search: elct |