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Springtime is Election Season, Too.
This April, community leader and anti-war
activist Aimee Allison (http://www.AimeeAllison.com)
is running for City Council District 2 in Oakland, California.
Allison is running on a platform of responsible government that
emphasizes community-based economics over big moneyed interests.
As she's the only Green running in the nine-way race, votes
among the other parties are likely to be divided.
Oakland, CA City Council candidate Aimee Allison with future
Green voters.
A coalition of neighborhood activists, union
members, and Green Party members urged Allison to run because of
her background as a teacher, nonprofit business consultant, and
housing advocate. Oakland's failing school system is a top
priority for Allison. "Oakland needs leadership from the
City Council to make our schools work for our children,"
she said recently. "We cannot let the State Administrator
or the Governor's office dictate what is best for Oakland's
youth."
Allison, an African-American, veteran, and
12-year Oakland resident, took a public stand against the
Persian Gulf War in 1991 while she was serving as a medic in the
Army Reserves. She received an honorable discharge as a
conscientious objector. She continues to counsel service members
about their rights and has led the national coalition to support
Marine conscientious objector Stephen Funk.
"We are incredibly lucky to have someone
like Aimee running for office as a Green," said Matt
Gonzalez, former President of the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors, when he officially endorsed Allison following a
recent TV press conference. "She is intelligent and has the
courage to stand up for her convictions. She has the leadership
skills to represent the most diverse district in one of the most
diverse cities in the country."
This election is being held entirely by
mail-in ballot (a first for Oakland). So far, Allison is getting
good local press coverage, and a full slate of campaign events
are scheduled for the next few weeks. For more information
contact Jen Freitas at jenfreitas@earthlink.net.
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Campaign Schools Underway
Allison's colleague across the Bay, Ross
Mirkarimi, San Francisco Supervisor, District 5, is traveling in
April to participate in Green Party Campaign Schools in both
Washingtons--the State and the District. The regional Campaign
School, which takes place annually around the U.S., is a two-day
retreat offering education on how to conduct successful
political campaigns for Green candidates and organizers. The
structure is based on previous schools in Portland, New York and
the Mid-west. Each school has six tracks (Candidates, Campaign
Managers, Field Organizers, Fundraisers /Treasurers,
Media/Marketing, and Initiatives/Petitions) and 12 workshops
(Developing a Green Message, Public Speaking, Campaign Strategy,
Endorsements, GOTV, Volunteer Coordinating,
Fundraising/"The Ask," Writing a Fundraising Plan,
Getting Press, Technology: Design and Marketing, Technology:
Managing Data, and Running a Winning Petition Campaign)
coordinated with the tracks.
This weekend, April 1-3, the Green Party of
Washington State hosts the Northwest region's Cascadia Campaign
School in Seattle for about 100 people from Washington, Oregon,
California, Idaho and British Columbia. Contact Cynthia Cantrill
(cynth@drizzle.com) or
Mike Gillis (mikedgillis@hotmail.com)
for more info.
Back East, the 2005 Chesapeake Campaign
School is scheduled for April 23-24 at Howard University in
Washington, D.C. For more information, contact Brent McMillan at
brent@gp.org or 202-319-7191.
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The Spring issue of Green Pages, the
national newspaper of the Green Party of the United
States, has just gone to press with a stylish new design
that's sure to appeal to readers from the very first
page with its dramatic visual images. Green Pages is
also launching a new "Evergreen"
section--human-interest narratives about how Greens are
involved in changing their communities, in addition to
news features, opinions, and comics from the funniest
Greens we know.
We are offering bundles of 100 copies
of Green Pages for just $25. They're great for outreach
on Earth Day. We also like to share them with our
friends and leave small stacks at laundromats, coffee
shops, libraries, and the like.
To order a bundle of 100 online,
visit http://www.gp.org/greenpages.html.
To place a smaller order, contact us
at GPHQ--at--gp.org,
202-319-7191, or toll-free (US) 866-41GREEN. |
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