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The Green Party of New Jersey The Green Party of New Jersey Bulletin March 2005 Special Pre-Convention Issue |
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Inside:
------------------------------------------ If you plan to attend, please bring food, as it is traditional to have a "working lunch". We place dishes to be shared – vegetarian only – in the lobby area. Convention Credentials: You must be a paid-up GPNJ member in order to vote at the convention. Annual dues are $25 for regular dues, $10 for students and low income. New membership dues must be sent in by March 23 in order to have a vote at the convention. Renewals may be paid at the door. The following is the agenda as it stands at press time:
8:45am - 9:15am Registration Be sure to check www.GPNJ.org for last-minute changes to Convention plans. See you there!
Rule for Succession Bylaws Amendment: Under Section 5 Executive Committee – Composition (e) the following statement shall replace the current language: Succession shall proceed in the following manner for Officers in the case of vacancy with the next lower position filling the vacancy above, or in the case of an officer or standing committee chair choosing not to move up in the rank determined by this clause, moving to the next position and so on. Officers succeeding positions shall perform all the duties of and act in the full capacity of the position for the duration of that vacancy. After the ranking list is exhausted, remaining vacancies shall be filled by the Executive Committee by appointing a replacement to serve for the unexpired remainder of that Officer’s term. Order of ranking list: (1) Chair, (2) Vice Chair, (3) Second Vice Chair, (4) Secretary, (5) Treasurer, (6) Membership Committee Chair, (7) Policy Committee Chair, (8) Finance Committee Chair, (9) Communications Committee Chair Further, the following deletions will be made: Under Section 5.3 -- Vice Chair
Under Section 5.4 – Second Vice Chair
County Reports------------------------------------------
The Atlantic County GP combines community
service and gets some PR! Thanks to David Alcantara for sending us this
picture. The Bergen Greens, in an outreach effort to become more widely known to the activist community, signed on as a co-sponsoring organization to two events in Bergen County. In December we recruited attendees and co-sponsored a successful fund-raising concert spearheaded by the Bergen County chapter of Peoples Organization for Progress, which was held at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood. Two thousand dollars was raised for POP and a summer program for inner-city youth. In January, BCGP, was a co-sponsor of the Annual Birthday Celebration honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., which was held in the African-American community of Teaneck. Submitted by Alvin Meyer, Co-chair Outreach Committee ------------------------------------------ Last October, the Burlington County Green Party held an event that was both fun and profitable: a concert fundraiser. We were able to book folk music recording artists Dave Lippman and Ray Korona for the show, which we held at the Mount Holly Friends Meetinghouse (where our Green party meetings are held). We advertised, sold tickets and had about 50 people come out for the show. Both musicians put on very entertaining sets, in between refreshments and a few words about the Green Party.
In the end,
our chapter made a small profit after the costs of the entertainment, and
had a fun Saturday night in the process.
Gregory Lee Lane,
------------------------------------------ The Green Party of Essex County has been active over the past several months. In January we worked with the People's Organization for Progress and N.J. Peace action to organize a successful counter-inaugural car motorcade on the afternoon of January 20th. 15 cars participated as we traveled from Glen Ridge to Montclair to Bloomfield to the Newark federal building for a closing picket line and rally. The next day, the Newark Star Ledger carried a major story on the front page of the Essex County section. One month later, on February 23rd, one week after the Kyoto global warming treaty went into effect, 35 people attended a community forum on global warming at the Bloomfield Civic Center. Emily Rusch of N.J. PIRG, Rev. Paul Mayer of the Climate Crisis Coalition and Ted Glick were the featured speakers. There was much interest in this issue, and the Essex Greens plan to continue working on it in the coming months. We have also been involved with a coalition of groups planning a peace demonstration in Montclair on March 19th, and we intend to organize a public forum on instant runoff voting this spring.
Submitted by Ted Glick
Mercer County
is proud to announce the beginning of grassroots development in four towns
in 2005. Hamiltion, Hopewell, Lawrence and East Windsor Townships all have
individuals who are interested in and or are currently building local
parties. People who step forward in showing some interest in party
involvement are asked to at least be precinct leaders for their
neighborhoods. The Mercer Greens continue with the sale of the Mercer
Artist's only cd "From the GrassRoots Volume 1". Althought the Cable Access
show is on temporary hiatus work to revive that project are underway. We
hope to have candidates for this coming Novembers elections. Registered
Greens in Mercer County jumped from 33 in 2003 to 55 in 2004. A goal will be
to double that amount this year. Greens are presently involved in a couple
of very important issues here in Mercer. We have people who are involved in
the Anti Wal-Mart movement in Lawrence Township, the Patriot Act town
resolutions that send a message to Washington, DC that we are not happy with
most of the provisions in it. We were also involved in helping pass pay to
play reform in Lawrence Township after council there refused to implement
the Common Cause approach and forced citizens to lead a petition drive and
election victory making reform a strong priority. Sad news that we will be
losing two of our most original members Steve Welzer and Susan Deckert are
planning on moving out of Mercer County. Our loss will be another Green
Party's gain! Good Luck Thank You and God Bless! In place of a county report, Liz Arnone sends us a letter which she wrote to the members of the Lakewood Council. Lakewood Council Members: I saw an article recently about the Lakewood Town Square being considered for a parking area. I’m appalled at the proposal and at Robert Singer. As a public official who has been elected to serve the best interests of his constituents, I believe he does not serve the best interests of a large portion of Lakewood residents by supporting this proposal. I can remember Lakewood prior to the restoration and how the restoration was designed to capture Lakewood’s turn of the century historical past. This was captured quite well and many people were very pleased with the results. For those who cannot drive, it is a pleasant walk to the stores and resting or gathering area for many. I think if the Council or Mr. Singer are offended that the square is sometimes used as a place to distribute food or clothing to the needy, they might want to realize there are needy, and look for ways to remedy that situation, along with affordable housing which I think should be further up the list of priorities for Lakewood than a parking lot and more stores. It does not speak well where this proposal is going and who’s best interests it will serve. I truly hope you will reconsider and let your conscience be your guide. Sincerely, Elizabeth Arnone
We are
currently seeking Green candidates for local and county offices for 2005.
Please get involved in research for ballot access, changing the structure of
county government, and discussing the function and economic relationship of
local communities for residents. 2004 Campaign Reports
My run for Cumberland County Clerk
by Gregory Lee Lane Before I took over the Chair of the CuCGP in mid-November, I ran as the Green Party candidate for Cumberland County Clerk. The race for the office pitted me against the Republican incumbent Gloria Noto and Democrat Maria LaBoy. Ms. Noto was known for ballot mistakes which resulted in numerous ballot reprintings as well as expanding the services of the Clerk's office while keeping a tightfisted rein on expenses. One of those mistakes was on the first printing of the 2002 sample ballot, in which Green Party was not mentioned under Roger Merle's and Ted Glick's ballot lines, which I mentioned in an appearance on radio station WSNJ in mid-July. My campaign themes were empowerment of special clerks to do their jobs without much interference and greater use of technology in the office. One of my major ideas was the placement of selected mortgages and deeds on separate software. Some of the highlights of the campaign were 100 signs that we used and my appearance on radio station WVLT-FM. GPUS vice-presidential candidate Pat LaMarche was also on that program. The campaign also had a web page. In the end, I got 687 votes, according to the Cumberland County Board of Canvassers. We feel that this was a very strong showing for a "conservative" Green in a very laid-back, rural and conservative county in Southwestern New Jersey.
The Bergen County Green Party got involved in borough-level partisan races for the first time in 2004 by endorsing Gary Novosielski and Stewart Kautsch for Borough Council in Rutherford. It was a two-seat race, with a total of 15,000 votes cast (approximately 7500 voters). The Democrats received 51% and won both seats (and now have all council seats). GOP 43%. Greens 6% - Novosielski getting 530, Kautsch 370 for a total of 900. These totals are before absentee ballots. Some accomplishments to be noted: 10,000 pieces of literature were distributed (4 different pieces), covering most of the 5000 households in the borough. The campaign received a lot of press coverage from the weeklies, ran 5 newspaper ads, and was covered a little in the large daily (the "Bergen Record"). The campaign also featured a web site with a "chat board". There was a mailing of 2100 letters (much of it to apartment houses), but most of the literature was delivered door-to-door by volunteers. Gary and Stu staffed tables at two public events and were interviewed by both area weekly newspapers. Well over a dozen volunteers helped at some point or another, including our wonderful media director Natalie Kochmar and energetic treasurer and fundraiser Susan Gempler. Thanks also goes to Matt and Sue Ahearn for help in many ways. The campaign committee held a post-mortem and identified more than a dozen points which they feel can be improved greatly in future campaigns. Greens in Rutherford are already preparing for another race – probably in 2005.
Gary at the Rutherford Street Fair
Stu at the Rutherford Street Fair
Carpool trip to
visit a new ecovillage
In previous years groups of New Jersey Greens have gone on carpool trips to visit the EcoVillage at Ithaca (EVI). This spring, for the sake of comparison, we're organizing a trip to a different place, the Ecovillage of Loudoun County (ELC). The trip is scheduled for Saturday, May 21. You can view their Web site at: www.ecovil.com. ELC is located in northern Virginia, just south of the Maryland border and west of Washington, DC. The trip by car is about 3.5 hours. On the way home we'll eat dinner together (optional) at The Orchard Restaurant in Frederick, MD. Ecovillage of Loudoun County is newer than EVI. The first residents moved in just two years ago. So they are still at the stage of actively formulating their plans. It will be interesting to hear about their intentions and see how they've started up their project. If you are
interested in joining this trip, contact
Steve Welzer
(609-443-6782).
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Harvest of
Empire
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