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| The Iowa Green Party: Post-Election Statement/Future Plans. |
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IOWA GREEN PARTY MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: The Iowa Green Party: Post-Election Statement/Future Plans Though the Iowa Green Party lost its official ballot status in Tuesday night's elections, we have every confidence that that loss is but temporary and that we Greens will reclaim our rightful ballot status in 2004. It's important to remember that Third Parties have never had an easy time of it in Iowa. And that no Third Party here has held onto ballot status in the last 70 or so years. Given that political history, it is indeed significant that the Iowa Green Party came so close to retaining that status last night, and that our present statewide membership numbers are about 2400! Iowa Green highpoints of note Tuesday night: Brian Depew, our candidate for Sec. of Agriculture, attracted nearly 4% voter support. Tim Hustvet and Jeannie Hegemann, seeking places on the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors, each earned 10% support. And Joannes Pool, Green Party candidate for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, received 18% voter support. Grassroots democratic activism may not always result in hoped-for short-term triumphs, but it nevertheless advances the cause of long-term political justice for all citizens. And the many Iowa Green Party candidates and volunteers who have worked so diligently these past months have much of which they can be proud. And, as Iowans' thoughts now turn to the future, the Iowa Green Party already is in motion, planning for the important work now before us: 1) We will continue to organize and operate as an official party. This will include aggressive membership recruitment, as well as outreach to our natural allies in Iowa's Peace, Labor, Civil Rights, Social Justice, and Environmental groups. In unity there is strength. And the Iowa Green Party is the logical electoral vehicle for these interests! 2) We will accelerate our already-impressive statewide organizing and growth. The Iowa Green Party has active chapters in several of the state's counties. And we're dedicated to establishing organizations in all 99 Iowa Iowa counties. Iowans across the state tell us that the Green alternative is an important and much-needed one! 3) We will continue to pursue success on the issues citizens have told us they care about: health and safety, the integrity of the democratic process, sustainable agriculture, peace, and environmental safeguarding. Our work will include appearances before city, county, and state governmental bodies, referendum activities, and public writing and speaking. The Green public interest mission continues! 4) We will prepare for the 2004 electoral contests. We will consider campaign efforts at all levels of government. Iowa Greens will review possible candidacies, plan new electoral strategies, and build on our past successes. A Green day is dawning in Iowa politics! 5) We will assist in the establishment of a political discourse more conducive to reasonable and thorough examination of serious issues. "Sound Bite"-type politics must go. Important matters must be fully explored and their complexities articulated for superior solutions to be found. The public deserves better than "Sound Bite" politics, and the Iowa Green Party understands that! 6) We will work to attain greater visibility in Iowa's news media. Many of our members specialize in various areas of political and social concern (for instance, agriculture and nonviolence), and are quite articulate in explaining practical Progressive solutions to pressing issues. Not to put too fine a point on it, but articles and opinion pieces that consistently draw on the same, predictable commentators tend toward uninterestingness. The smart reporter or columnist will begin putting Iowa Greens in their Rolodexes. We speak for interests often neglected in the media! (Review post-election articles surveying voting results: How many Greens appear in them as commentators?) As you can see, our planned work is considerable. But so is our commitment to public interest political betterment. The Iowa Green Party stands on four pillars: Social Justice, Ecological Wisdom, Nonviolence, and Grassroots Democracy. And it will be around for a long time to come! |
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