Update 8/16/2024:
Press Conference 3, Green Party Elected Officials
Attendee, Bruce Delgado, Mayor of Marina, California (frozen video, audio only) has been a registered GRN since he was 18 yrs old. Was elected to city council in 2000. Advocated for an Urban Growth Boundary. It was unpopular but was able to win by a slight majority. One of the boundaries was a former military base that needed to be cleaned up before it could be developed. The mayoral term has been expanded to 4yrs now when it was previously 2 years. Marina is a small town, its people speak 52 languages. It has 64% people of color. GRN values really come in to play. There has been an emphasis on finding space for gardens, clean up of litter, clean up of graffiti. On the ground issues. Respect, basics.
There is an airport left over from the Army. There is a company developing an unmanned air taxi. It means 450 jobs in manufacturing and engineering. Water is a big issue. There is litigation (with) American Water Works (confirm name), fighting them from taking/polluting ground water.
We lack funds for public amenities.
Rent control is at 3% per year. 552 units have been purchased by the city for rent control units. Redevelopment of leftover Army buildings.
Delgado was a botanist by trade, recently retired. Being elected official means meeting people from all walks of life.
David Doonan, small city in NY, City has a program where it buys 3 abandoned houses and rehabs them then sells them at fair market rate or lower.
Josiah Dean, Dufar, OR. In the hospitality industry, bought a hotel in Dufar, rural community 100 miles from Portland. Red town. Al Gore in 2000 caused him to find the GRN party. Trying to do good governance. Finding funding for a sewer project. Everyone wants to have a good community. Water bills are paid, pot holes are filled. It is a volunteer position, 600 people in this town. Earn trust by doing good deeds.
Gloria Caballero-Roca, School Committee (Ward 4), Holyoke, Massachusetts Has lived in community since 1999. It is mostly Hispanic. Corporations own most of the housing. Focus is on living conditions of students and their families. The Holyoke School System has been under receivership since 2015. 1st Hispanic Mayor in history. Root cause inequality. 7 wards, poorer wards lack services.
Students are struggling with standardized tests. 89-90% are low income Hispanic. There is a lack of infrastructure. A lack of ADA access. It affects quality of life. Air quality alerts are occurring from the burnings in Canada. High rate of asthma.
Since Holyoke School System has been in receivership, they are working to build a solid plan. They have many Spanish speakers. Need more teachers of ESL.
Post industrial city, Dams, Solar, Coal used to affect the area. Find ways to not feel like victims.
Stephen Zollman, Sebastopol City Council, California, army vet, was with SF Public Defenders office. Social Justice equal opportunity advocates. Veterans for Peace organization. Ran to oppose a potential conservative majority council. Board member of Sonoma Clean Power. Geo thermal. Animal rights issues related to factory farming. There has been prosecution of people defending animal rights. Work on a proclamation to protect animal rights. Fiscal crisis. Wants to “smartly” employ police for serious crimes only. Mental health funding. Fully out gay man. No one is doing well with mental health issues. Police are spending a lot of time on mental health issues.
Gloria Caballero-Roca, we are a city that is under funded. System puts obstacles. We need support. Fight the system that is oppressing us. Would love to see more programs, students need to do things matter to them. At 5pm it is a ghost town. Neighbor to neighbor. We have shortened the period families can stay in shelters. Many students still live in shelters. We are violating human rights to shelter. Where are the families going to be? International affairs are generating this problem. Why are they leaving their countries? The policies are being designed. Shelters are being cleared to make room. Robbing John to pay Peter. We are going to be run down by waves of migration.
Samuel Pfeifle, School Board member, Maine School Administrative District 15, Gray/New Gloucester, Maine, Rural community have exact opposite problem. 10 places in Maine are least effected by climate change. Wealthy people coming to Maine, people being taxed out of their homes. They want different things from the government. GRNs and conservatives are asking are there ways to conserve? Keep life simple? In rural Maine we do not have infrastructure to support climate refuges. Affluent refuges are a harder problem, it’s money we cannot generate. Plan to adjust to refugees.
David Doonan: Too many properties are being turned into Airbnb.
Young people, find a meaningful issue, or help others in community. You don’t want to be a leader before you are ready.
John Q: What helped you prepare to serve?
Gloria: The system helped prepare me. Please run for any position. I creid a lot. People opened up. Get involved. Talk with your neighbor. We talk. We door knock. Agora. We talk, we do politics. You are important. You know what your problems are. Let someone know. Don’t be intimated. Language has kept Hispanic/English population separated.
I have two doctorates. As a mom. I did it. I stay on those young people. It is up to me to educate them.
David Curtis, Pi-Des reporting.
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Press Conference 2, Green Party Congressional candidates.
David Curtis, Pi-Des reporting
In attendance, Beau Forte, running in NJ CD5. Spoke on expanding the number of seats in Congress, to make it more difficult to gerrymander districts. Special interests would have to “buy” more candidates. His opponent takes support from AIPAC.
Justin Filip, OR discussed the need for public financing of elections. It (running for office) being a rich man’s game. Housing issue and foreign policy are not inseparable. 62% of the budget is spent on war. Less is left for schools, housing, there is inadequate money for the unhoused.
Michael Dublin, working man in a rich man’s game. Help people down on ground level, we have enough lawyers in DC. Lawyers are good at deflecting. Cut military spending. Help Palestinians, address what is happening in the Congo, Sudan genocide. US is complicit. Increase min. wage, the amount of affordable housing we are losing. Developers are only concerned about profit.
Question from John Q, KEPW 97.3: Is attracting young voters an explicit goal of the Green Party?
Justin Filip: We need to be in the community, be allies, walk the walk. I wasn’t really emphasizing the Green party, (at the protests) the focus was the students. (It is hard to) get 5 students to start a chapter. DSA is having more success, students are drawn to socialism, it seems to resonate. Messaging, students gravitate to more socialist groups.
Beau: Progressive, young people push people to the left. If we don’t get young people we won’t grow.
Michael: We are driven to include young people, events on college campuses. NC State. Some people are concerned about entities losing their non-profit status by hosting political parties/events.
DC, Pi-Des: I have heard the fundraising climate is difficult this cycle. Voters are disgusted and at the local level in OR, I am adjacent to a local campaign for Portland City Council where due to restructuring, it expanded the seats and there are many candidates running. Are you finding the fundraising climate to be difficult?
Justin: 1/2 time is spent fundraising. we have some support, we cannot compete on the same level as corporate candidates.
Michael: My DEM opponent takes AIPAC money. It costs $2-4K/month for a billboard. It would help if people share website links on social media. And also word of mouth.
Beau: Fundraising is the least fun part, most challenging. Don’t want to see people throw money away. Have to go gorilla warfare politics. Shake hands with people at the bus tops. 60-65% of the time Reps are doing fundraising.
Question from John Q, KEPW 97.3: Will you be in debates with the other candidates?
Michael: I am scheduled to do a forum w/ GOP opponent and the incumbent DEM. The forums are not Green party events.
Joining late is Kymore Freeman, DC. We need to lead with the platform. In DC we pay $ but we don’t have representation in Congress. There is hoopla surrounding VP Harris. These are exciting times. He recalled the 1968 speach of MLK regarding remaining awake during a revolution, don’t end up sleeping through a revolution. Stay woke. GP opportunity to right this ship. Imagining a better world for our children going forward. Getting people to vote outside of their political party. Freeman is with the DC Statehood party.
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Press Conference 1 happened just now via a Zoom meeting.
Stay tuned here for updates. DC
One of the key goals for the Green Party is to obtain Minor Party status on the National level. To do that, they need to achieve 5% of the vote at national level, running a presidential candidate. This is perhaps one thing critics of the Green Party do not understand when they accuse them of trying to “spoil” elections at the national level.
The PNC received 3 proposals for the national convention. Potential host cities included Seattle, WA, and Las Cruces, NM, and virtual.
I asked if the party was collaborating with the candidate’s campaign to strategize for security given the environment currently.
The co-chair said the party is supportive of Stein’s campaign request for Secret Service protection should she become the nominee. It is likely she will be the nominee.
There was some discussion about a candidate (Cornel West) departing the Green Party nominating process to run an independent campaign. Stein had advocated for West seeking the nomination, but West decided to instead pursue a run as an independent.
The Green Party suggests a virtual conference allows for greater accessibility in that participates do not need to travel to attend.
Scott McLarty emphasized a virtual convention has a very low carbon footprint.
Greens distinguish themselves as an anti-war party.
“If killing children isn’t your redline, there is something wrong, you need to fix your heart.” Margaret Elisabeth, PNC Honoray Co-Chair
(Jill Stein, the presumptive Green Party nominee, has been running as the only candidate meaningfully opposing the ethnic cleansing that Israel has been conducting in Gaza.)
Craig Cayetano, co-chair, said the party is out in the streets, New Jersey Jewish population wanting a free Palestine, the Green Party has been bringing the issue to the forefront.
Other issues include Medicare for all.
Green Party anticipates a migration from the DEM resulting from their stance on Gaza and anticipates a rude awakening in the final vote totals. BDS has been on the Green Party platform for several years.
On the VP selection, Co Chair Margaret Elisabeth said the party doesn’t offer input, but has been made aware of the VP short list.
DC, Pi-Des reporting
Pi-Des 