Green Party of Connecticut
www.ctgreens.org
November 11, 2005
Contact:
Tim McKee, CT Green Party National Committee Person, (860) 643-2282 or cell (860) 324-1684
Kelly McCarthy, State Co-Chair (203) 506- 7723
Mike DeRosa, State Co-Chair (860)956-8170 or (860) 919-4042
Aaron Gustafson, State Co- Chair (203) 215-8829
34 Greens elected in 2005, 223 Green Party office holders
nationwide.
Hartford, CT -- Today, Green Party of Connecticut officials announced the continued growth of the Party's reach, following the state's 2005 municipal election . Several strong candidates and a surge in voter turnout
buoyed the Green Party on both the local and national level.
"34 Greens were elected nationally in 2005, bringing the total to about 223 Greens across the United States," remarked Tim
McKee, a GPCT Representative to the Green Party of the United States.
"I am very proud of the progress Greens made in this year's campaigns," said Kelly McCarthy, local candidate and co-chair
of the Green Party of Connecticut. "The victories won for the democratic process in Towns across Connecticut will surely
prove to be the best reward ."
* Kelly McCarthy, in her first run for public office, garnered 40.3% of the vote s in her race for Hamden's 5th District Legislative Council Seat, coming only 139 votes shy of beating her Democratic opponent. "The 600+ tally represented over 200 more voters than we had calculated as likely supporters on election eve, testifying to the compelling nature of the campaign's message even beyond those we met during in-person campaigning," commented Mark Sanders, manager of the McCarthy for Council campaign. "The supporter turnout also far exceeded the count we calculated would produce a win based upon 2001 and 2003 turnout figures. All of which leads to the most important point, based upon the over 20% increase in voter turnout (over 2003) - that the "choice" provided by a quality third party candidate is just plain good for democracy!"
*Jean deSmet, running for Windham's First Selectman (Mayor) lost by 665 votes, but finished a strong second with 28% of the total vote, beating the Republican candidate.
*New London City Council candidates worked the Eminent Domain issue (among many others ) to equally strong finishes. Bob Stuller and Andy Derr got 1094 votes and 1186 votes, respectively, placing 13th and 10th in a field of 19 candidates for City Council. In a race that elects the top 7 candidates, both were within 225 votes of getting elected , a major increase over the same race two years ago, where they finished 800 and 1000 votes from election, respectively.
* Also in New London, Ken Hanson placed 8th in a field of 14 candidates running for Board of Education where the top 7 candidates are elected. He was 50 votes shy of winning a seat, garnering 1280 votes (nearly 600 more than when he ran in 2003).
* In Hartford 's Board of Education race, Dave Ionno was narrowly beaten by the Hartford Courant-endorsed Working Families Party candidate for the final seat.
In Mayoral races, three candidates ran against strong incumbents, but established ballot lines for Greens. They are:
*Eric Brown in New Haven
*Darek Shapiro in Stamford
*Miguel Nieves in New Britain
18 Greens ran for local offices in Connecticut with many establishing ballot lines for future Green runs. All the candidates were non-professional politicians, most of whom were running for the first time.
