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"This campaign for governor is about speaking up
for these issues: community agriculture, community-based economics,
grassroots democracy, and waging peace."
-- Jay Robinson
Jay Robinson is the Iowa Green Party's candidate for Iowa
governor. Like many Iowans, Jay is a farmer. He understands
farmers' realities -- good and bad. And he believes that our state's
rich farming culture must remain centered around local people, not
national corporations intent only on realizing massive profits at the
expense of public health. Jay is alone among 2002 gubernatorial
candidates in declaring opposition to corporate dominance of Iowa
farming.
"I am a producer of organic vegetables, focused on creating local
markets for local foods," Jay says. "Through strong local food
systems, we can help recreate a vibrant and sustainable agriculture for
Iowa."
The economic problems currently facing Iowans are not without
solutions. But righting the situation necessitates fundemental
re-examination and reprioritizing.
"In the midst of state budgetary woes, we cannot forget to look at
the more basic questions of what kind of future we would like to see for
Iowa," Jay says. "Greens have a vision of sustainable and
compassionate living that this gubernatorial campaign is working to
promote. We also need economic arrangements and incentives in our local
communities that bolster smaller, more human-scaled enterprises."
Winner-take-all electoral systems do not adequately represent the
variety of Iowans' political thinking. When a candidate can fail to
attract a numerical majority of voters yet still be installed in office,
democracy's ideal of popular rule is stifled.
Jay Robinson believes that addressing this problem requires a logical
new approach.
"We need instant runoff voting (IRV) which ranks votes and ensures
majority rule, greater ballot access for the various political parties,
and other measures that strengthen grassroots democracy, that work to
see the will of the people being implemented."
And he points with pride to his long record of activism as a part of
Iowa's peace community. "Iowa has a great tradition as a 'peace
state,'" he notes, citing the Iowa Peace Institute as an example of
committed Iowans putting good will into organizational practice. Jay's
guiding belief in the principles of nonviolence would determine his
approach to governing, impacting everything from protecting Iowa's
status as a non-death penalty state to resisting federal calls for using
Iowa's national guard in overseas actions.
JAY ROBINSON: FARMER. ACTIVIST. GOVERNOR.
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