GREEN PARTY OF NEW YORK STATE
http://www.gpnys.org/
November 29th, 2005
Party Confident of Recapturing Full Party Status
in 2006 Gubernatorial Elections
The Green Party had its best electoral showing ever in New York State this year, including
electing its 5th and 6th current office holder. The Greens also did well nationwide.
The Greens said their strong showing in the 2005 elections bodes well for the party obtaining at
least the 50,000 votes (approximately 1%) needed to regain their official party status. While the
Greens successfully sued in federal court to retain the right to enroll as Greens, their
candidates are forced to comply with the more difficult ballot access rules for
independent candidates.
Mary Jo Long, who polled more than 50,000 votes for the Greens three years ago in her race for
Attorney General, was elected to the Afton Town Board. She joins four other elected Green
officials in Ulster and Monroe Counties.
Also, SUNY student Mike Sellers was elected Mayor of Cobleskill with 46% of the vote. Sellers
handily defeated both the current mayor and another candidate. Sellers will be the second
Green Mayor in New York State joining New Paltz Mayor Jason West.
The Greens ran Mayoral candidates in four of the state's largest cities, with civil rights
advocate Dr. Alice Green polling a stunning 25% of the vote in the City of Albany, easily
surpassing the Republican vote total. In Syracuse, former Green State Comptroller
candidate Howie Hawkins polled 5% of the vote while Judith Einach polled 4% in the City of
Buffalo. And Tony Gronowicz came in fourth place out of a field of eight for New York City mayor.
"The results in Albany highlight that voters are increasingly responding to the Green Party
message. For Alice Green to receive 25% of the vote in a citywide election, and David Lussier to
achieve 30% of the vote in a 4-way council race, both finishing second ahead of the Republicans,
means that we can expect further successes here next year in our quest to
regain ballot status as a party," stated Peter LaVenia, Chair of the Albany County Green Party.
Dr. Green was the Green Party nominee for Lt. Governor seven years ago when she and Al Lewis
polled 53,000 votes statewide to qualify the party for automatic ballot status.
In the capital region, the Green candidate for Albany Common Council, Dave Lussier, pulled 29%
of the vote on two lines, with most of his votes coming on the Green line. In Rensselaer County,
Green Party Secretary Dan Spilman polled 18% of the vote , finishing third in a race for two
seats on the Schodack Town Board.
In New York City, peace and labor activist Gloria Mattera qualified for $200,000 in matching funds
in her race for Brooklyn Borough President, and polled nearly 18,000 votes (7%). Ms. Mattera, the
Co-Chair of the Green Party of New York State, had pulled 20% of the vote in her prior race for
a City Council position. Green City Council candidate Robyn Sklar also
qualified for public campaign funds in NYC and pulled 12.9% of the vote. Jerry Kann pulled 8% of the vote in his
race for a City Council position from Queens.
In other races statewide, Darin Robbins polled over 25% for Corning Alderman in Steuben County.
David Linton polled 17% of the vote for Onondaga County Legislature with Cosmo Fanizzi polling
13%. Chris Hilderbrant polled over 15% of the vote in his run for Monroe County Legislature.
Will Maksuta polled over 13% of the vote running for New Paltz Town Clerk in
Ulster County.
"Once again, voters nationwide have demonstrated their enthusiasm for Green Party candidates who
make issues of social and economic justice the highlight of their platforms. In the aftermath of
Katrina and the continued occupation of Iraq, the Green Party offers people an opportunity to
support candidates who will be a catalyst for change," stated Mattera.
The Green Party noted that their candidates picked up an increasing number of endorsements
from other groups, including local Labor Councils, Empire Pride Agenda, National
Organization for Women, Sierra Club, and newspapers.
Nationwide, Green Party candidates won at least 20 races in November 2005, bringing the number of
Greens elected in 2005 to 35.
-------------------
The Green Party is committed to ecology, nonviolence, grassroots democracy, and social and
economic justice.
More information about the Green Party of New York State can be found at
http://www.gpnys.org
