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| Greens Win Election in Kalamazoo, Ferndale, Strong Showing in Other Races Across Michigan. |
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Green Party of Michigan Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) members won three seats this week in non-partisan elections in Kalamazoo and Ferndale, and made strong showings in several other cities across Michigan. Preliminary results from election-night reports also suggest that grassroots campaigning by Greens helped make the difference for some independent progressive candidates. Two Out of Three in Kalamazoo (and Moving Forward on the Third) In Kalamazoo, incumbent Don Cooney was elected to another two-year term on the City Commission after joining the Greens earlier in 2003. Cooney finished fifth out of nine candidates with 4,590 votes -- 11.9% of the total votes cast. In 2001, Cooney placed sixth out of eleven candidates with 8.6% of the vote. Also elected in Kalamazoo was longtime community activist but first-time candidate David Juarez, placing sixth with 3,991 votes -- over 10.3% of the total. Juarez is the first Hispanic to win one of the seven seats on Kalamazoo's City Commission. The third Green candidate, Elizabeth Forest, finished ninth with 2,581 votes or 6.7% of the total. Forest also ran in 2001, and finished 11th of 11 in 2001, with 5.2% of the total votes then. Ferndale -- Another Green Success Story In Ferndale, another incumbent who recently joined the Greens -- City Councilmember Craig Covey -- was the top vote-getter among seven candidates for two four-year terms. Despite organized opposition from other parties, Covey received 1,469 votes or 23.1% of those cast. Also elected was another candidate, running as an independent but backed by the Ferndale Green Party -- Mayor Robert Porter, who received 59.0% of the vote. By contrast, the two progressive candidates to whom Democrats turned -- Jackie Koivu and Joseph Trice -- placed third and fifth in the Council race, respectively. Tom Ness of the Green House, an independent Ferndale institution promoting causes and campaigns of the worldwide Green movement, noted that Covey won despite being targeted by conservatives for removal -- the only one in the race. Ness also observed, "Democrats mad at Covey for joining the Green Party threw their support behind fellow progressives Trice and Koivu. Both were defeated . . . and both ignored overtures from Greens. Koivu would almost certainly have won if she had pursued the Green endorsement." Other Results Two other Greens came within 250 votes of winning their elections. In Traverse City, incumbent city commissioner Ann Rogers finished fourth in a five-way race for three seats, receiving 1,699 votes or 18.5% of the total. However, another incumbent was elected mayor, so the commission must fill that new vacancy for the two years remaining on her term by either holding a special election or appointing someone. In either case, as the next highest vote-getter, Rogers should receive strong consideration. In Grand Rapids, Roger McClary got 3,904 votes for a seat on the Grand Rapids Library Commission (19.2% of the vote). He placed third of four candidates. McClary's tally was almost ten times the number of votes he received in 2000 running as a Green candidate for Kent County Commissioner -- garnering 6.1% of the total then. The Huron Valley Greens nominated three GPMI members to run for Ann Arbor City Council -- Rob Haug in the First Ward, Scott Trudeau in the Fourth Ward, and Adrianna Buonarroti in the Fifth Ward. They received between 14.3% and 29.8% of the vote. Progressive voters who turned out in unexpectedly high numbers also passed a "greenbelt" land-preservation millage proposal in the city by a 2-1 margin. GPMI elections co-ordinator John La Pietra is pleased by the progress of grassroots campaigning by Greens for candidates and campaigns in 2003. He notes that, in other cities where Greens have been active on issues, progressive candidates who are not Greens themselves have run on those issues . . . and won. "The Green Party is growing, in Michigan and across the country -- moving, not left or right, but forward. And it will keep growing, as more and more people find out there is a political party that not only stands on its principles . . . it runs with them." Candidates, their campaigners, and other GPMI members from around the state will be gathering in Lawrence this coming weekend for a quarterly statewide meeting. For information about this event, or the Green Party of Michigan in general, please visit the GPMI Web site: http://www.migreens.org |
