Saturday, July 23, 2005
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator (on site), 202-518-5624, cell phone
916-995-3805, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Committee, starlene@greens.org, cell phone
916-995-3805
Rachel Jackson, Co-Chair of the Green Party of Oklahoma (on site),
Annual National Meeting Coordinator, 405-205-6048, rachel@gp.org
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Greens at meeting raise donations for a local
Tulsa shelter.
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Green candidates and officeholders from all
over battle antidemocratic ballot access rules, defend low-income
residents who face displacement because of gentrification,
development, and eminent domain; Rev. Al Sharpton endorses Elaine
Brown for Mayor of Brunswick, Ga.
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Schedule of meeting events: http://www.gp.org/meeting2005/agenda.shtml
TULSA, OK. - The national meeting of the Green
Party of the United States continued in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday
morning as Oklahoma Green leader Rachel Jackson and 2004 Green vice
presidential nominee Pat LaMarche announced an effort to assist a
Tulsa shelter for victims of domestic violence.
During the meeting, 2004 presidential candidate
David Cobb told Greens he had no plans to run for the party's 2008
presidential nomination, and instead wants to see the Green Party run
a woman candidate. There is currently widespread and growing support
within the party for a 2008 Green presidential ticket headed by a
woman.
Peter Camejo, former Green gubernatorial candidate
in California and Ralph Nader's running mate in 2004, said that he is
considering a run for Governor of California in 2006.
Pat LaMarche and Rachel Jackson, who serves as
co-chair of the Green Party of Oklahoma < http://www.okgreens.org>
and Annual National Meeting coordinator, recalled Ms. LaMarche's Left
Out Tour as they collected several hundred dollars from Green Party
members at the national meeting for Domestic Violence Intervention
Services of Tulsa. Ms. Jackson said that the donations were made by
"generous people who live by Green values."
In her Left Out Tour, vice presidential candidate
Pat LaMarche undertook an unprecedented two-week journey from
September 21 to October 4, 2004, spending nights in homeless and
domestic violence shelters across the U.S. to draw attention to those
left out of the election year debate -- the homeless, victims of
domestic abuse, people without health insurance, and the working poor
-- and to collect donations of essential items for homeless shelters.
State party co-chair James Branum noted that,
after a Friday evening fundraising event in connection with the
national meeting, the Green Party of Oklahoma has a substantial
warchest - unlike the Oklahoma Democratic Party, which is now in debt.
Mr. Branum called Oklahoma's ballot access laws "the absolute
worst in the country" and talked about Green participation in
Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform <http://www.okballotchoice.org>.
Local Green candidates and officeholders
Georgia Green Nan Garrett discussed former Black
Panthers leader Elaine Brown's campaign for Mayor of Brunswick,
Georgia: "Elaine Brown has been working this town like you
wouldn't believe."
Ms. Brown's candidacy was recently endorsed by
Rev. Al Sharpton, who plans to appear at a fundraiser for the campaign
in Brunswick on August 6.
Ms. Brown has gained a large base of volunteers,
including longshoremen, in a campaign focusing on saving Brunswick's
majority low-income African American population from eviction to make
way for the 'Blueprint Brunswick' development plan. Blueprint
Brunswick, promoted by corporate developers and Republican and
Democratic politicians, is a land use scheme based on eminent domain
for private taking similar to one recently approved by the U.S.
Supreme Court; Greens strongly opposed the court's decision.
Rebecca Rotzler, Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New
York, described her town's recently introduced Affordable Housing Task
Force and legislative mandate to set aside a portion of any new
development for affordable housing. Ms. Rotzler noted that the
legislation, which she called a "project for the people"
dedicated to housing assistance for low-income residents, has been
used a model by other municipalities in New York.
Brent McMillan, national political director of the
Green Party, said that he anticipates a large increase in the number
of Greens running for office in the 2006 midterm election, in part a
result of the party's Campaign Schools. The Campaign Schools, held in
various states and regions throughout the U.S., offer training for
Green candidates and campaign organizers.
For information about the meeting, visit <http://www.gp.org/meeting2005>.
For a map of the University of Tulsa campus, visit
<http://www.utulsa.edu/campusmap/>.
The University of Tulsa does not promote or
support any particular political party.
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Green Party of Oklahoma
http://www.okgreens.org