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Green wins by a landslide in Lake Worth Commission race

On March 29th, Cara Jennings, 29, was elected to the Lake Worth, Florida, City Commission by a two-thirds margin. Jennings, a long time community activist, co-founder of the Radical Cheerleaders, and one of the Utne Reader’s “30 Under 30 young movers and shakers of 2002,” plans to make affordable housing and community participation her top priorities while in office.

“People can expect to see me as a very hands-on commissioner,” Jennings said in a recent interview with the Palm Beach Post. “I believe strongly that the community’s needs and desires should be reflected through their commissioner.” Jennings, employed as youth mentor at Forest Hill High School, was outspent 3 to 1 by her opponent, local business owner Jorge Goyannes. Developers and “big sugar” companies largely financed the Goyannes campaign, while Jennings raised money primarily from family and friends. Jennings also won the endorsement of local chapters of the Sierra Club, National Organization for Women, and the AFL-CIO.

Jennings credits her win with a major door-to-door campaign effort. This effort seems to have paid off in light of high voter turn out. She won the support of many conservative voters who were uncomfortable with recent disclosures of her opponent’s business ventures, which have included proprietorship of an escort service.

“Most people know that government can’t solve all their problems but they want to know that elected officials are accessible to then and share their concerns,” Jennings told “the Palm Beach Post.

Green Party leaders across the U.S. congratulated Wisconsin Greens for their leadership in the campaign to pass antiwar ballot initiatives in 32 Wisconsin communities.

The nonbinding initiatives, which called for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, passed in 24 out of 32 (75%) cities, towns, and villages where the measure appeared on the ballot.

“The Green Party is proud to have initiated the effort that achieved this victory at the polls,” said Marc Sanson, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. “The Wisconsin Green Party, among the most successful and well-organized in the U.S., deserves full credit for introducing and leading the ‘Bring the Troops Home’ campaign. Working with other antiwar groups, Greens used their leadership and experience in organizing political campaigns to win the support of a 63% majority of those who voted.”

Greens, expressing hope that other towns, cities, and states will entertain similar ballot initiatives, stressed that such measures carry more weight than opinion polls -- which have also consistently shown dwindling support for the occupation of Iraq.

“After more than 2,300 U.S. troop deaths and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths, and as Iraq moves closer to civil war, more and more Americans feel betrayed by the White House,” said Ruth Weill, co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party. “The Wisconsin initiatives are a mandate to save lives.”

Check out the Washington Post article in the Wisconsin section: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article
/2006/04/04/AR2006040402317.html

“International trade authorities have allowed transnational corporations to slash wages, disrupt other nations’ economies by dumping U.S. products on their markets, privatize water and other public goods and services, and pollute the land,” said Tellem. “Many new immigrants, especially those who arrive impoverished and without documentation, are fleeing nightmares in their home countries. We urge all Americans to stand up for their safety and for the rights of working people who are already citizens of the U.S., and join the Green Party’s call for repeal of NAFTA and similar trade pacts.”

Green Party leaders also called for passage of immigrant reform legislation, such as the American Families Act, which contains provisions that allows families to unite, including same-gender couples and their families. Greens note that many people fleeing into the U.S. have done so to escape sexual abuse, repression based on gender, and anti-gay and anti-transgender violence.