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Success in California: 14 Victories and Control of Two City Councils.

GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
www.cagreens.org

Thursday, November 4, 2004

Contact: Beth Moore Haines, spokesperson 530.277.0610 beth@ncws.com
Sara Amir, spokesperson 310.270.7106 saraamir@earthlink.net
Cres Vellucci, State Press Office, 916.996.9170 cres@cagreens.org

14 Greens claim victory in California Tuesday; Green Party takes control of 2 city councils, makes big gains elsewhere.

SACRAMENTO (Nov. 4, 2004) – At least 14 Green Party candidates claimed victory statewide Tuesday night from city councils to school boards, while party candidates in congressional and state races made big gains at the ballot box, according to the Green Party of California. 

About 20 percent of the 75 Greens running for office on Nov. 2 wound up in the victory column, giving Greens statewide a hold on about 75 seats throughout the state. In all, 9 Greens Tuesday won or retained seats on city councils in California. Greens retained a majority on the Sebastopol City Council after winning two spots (Craig Litwin, Sam Pierce), while Greens now have the city council majority in Arcata with two more victories (Harmony Groves, Paul Pitino). 

In addition to Arcata and Sebastopol, other Greens to win city council seats were Lynda Deschambault (Moraga), Doug Hammerstrom (Ft. Bragg), Gayle McLaughlin (Richmond), Christine Mulholland (San Luis Obispo) and Karl Warkomski (Aliso Viejo). 

In San Francisco, longtime Green campaign consultant Ross Mirkarimi is currently leading all voters in the District 5 race for Supervisor, a seat vacated by popular Green Matt Gonzalez, who chose not to seek re-election. 

Other Green winners include Mark Sanchez, who became 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. 

Elsewhere, 12 Green congressional candidates made credible showings, including in the 12th CD (San Mateo, San Francisco), where labor activist Pat Gray drew nearly 10 percent of the vote (9.2 percent) in a race against 13-term incumbent Tom Lantos (D), making the withdrawal of troops from Iraq the major issue.