*********** GREENGRAM Sept. 1998 *********** The Green Party of NJ Monthly Bulletin INSIDE: - Congressional and Freeholder campaigns - Recent legal victories - Candidate profiles - Calendar - Endnotes -------------------------------------------- Congressional and Freeholder Campaigns The Green Party of New Jersey recently launched three Congressional campaigns and two county Freeholder campaigns in the state this fall. Former law professor Carl Mayer, a close associate of Ralph Nader, has come over to the Green Party to run as our candidate in the Sixth Congressional District, after a strong but unsuccessful bid earlier to win the Democratic nomination in the Twelfth. His decision to run as a Green in a Congressional district different from the one in which he had previously been a Democratic primary candidate caused a major legal and political controversy. Legally speaking, his right to run as a Green in another district in the same year as his unsuccessful primary bid was a case of "first impression" in New Jersey and was challenged by the Attorney General and also by the Democratic State Committee. Their legal challenge was defeated, however, and Carl is on the ballot as a Green! Welcome Carl! In addition, Madelyn Hoffman, last year's Green gubernatorial candidate, is running for Congress in the Twelfth District. Nick Mellis has also taken up the Green banner to run for Congress in the Fourth District. On the county level, Fred Disque is running for Burlington County Freeholder and Paul Williams is running for Atlantic County Freeholder. Biographical sketches of all candidates appear below. Never before have we run a slate of candidates, so this is a major step forward, but it is also a monumental undertaking. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! A joint campaign committee has been formed and is meeting weekly at the branch of the Monmouth County library in Manalapan. All are welcome. On Thursday, September 10th, the meeting will begin at 5:30 PM. The library is located just off Route 9 on Symmes Road -- about two miles north of Freehold (landmark: from Route 9 look for the large blue water tower which is located just behind the library). In two initial campaign meetings, many voiced the belief that the campaigns should raise issues that are not being discussed at all by the two "major" parties such as: ending suburban sprawl; key environmental and economic issues relating to the failing garbage incinerator and nuclear power industries; women's health issues; inadequate funding for social programs in urban areas; genuine campaign finance reform; and peace issues around the world. We want to hear from you as to what other issues the campaigns should be raising. RECENT LEGAL VICTORIES In a major legal victory for the Green Party and for pamphleteers and lovers of the First Amendment everywhere, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Martin L. Greenberg held recently that the Mall at Mill Creek cannot require organizations to purchase insurance or meet other onerous requirements before leafletting for social and political issues. The Mall had required that groups seeking to distribute literature or collect signatures purchase a $1 million liability insurance policy first. The Green Party sued the Mall in 1996 with help from the ACLU and the Constitutional Litigation Clinic at Rutgers Law School. Rutgers Professor Frank Askin represented the Green Party. Mill Creek's attorney says his client is likely to appeal. This latest victory follows two other court and administrative proceedings in which the Green Party was victorious. When Carl Mayer decided to run as a Green Party candidate in the Sixth Congressional district after losing in a bid for the Democratic nomination in the Twelfth district, Attorney General Peter Verniero filed a legal action challenging his right to run. Judge Neil H. Shuster of the Superior Court of Mercer County denied the application to preclude Mayer from participating in the November election. Bruce Afran represented Carl Mayer in this case. Finally, the Green Party defeated an attempt by the Democratic State Committee to keep Carl Mayer and Madelyn Hoffman off the ballot on the basis of alleged procedural irregularities in the filing of election petitions. One of the allegations was that Carl Mayer had gathered signatures for both the Green Party and the Reform Party. When no evidence was presented, the Democrats' attorney was forced to admit in open court that this allegation was "an Elvis sighting." Bruce Afran represented Carl Mayer and Joe Fortunato represented the Green Party. For those scoring at home, it is now: Green Party 3, Corporate Interests 0. -------------------------------------------- CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES Madelyn Hoffman for U.S. Congress 12th Congressional District After moving into the Ironbound section of Newark in 1979, Madelyn Hoffman happened to see her new community in the news: City officials had discovered dozens of drums holding illegally stored wastes in a warehouse right down the road from her apartment. "The Newark fire director said that Ironbound was a toxic time bomb ready to explode," recalls Hoffman. After that, she and some of her co- workers in Ironbound began to organize. They hung small cards shaped like time bombs on doorknobs to recruit members for what became the Ironbound Committee Against Toxic Wastes. The group had several dramatic victories, like defeating plans for an incineration ship that would have docked in Newark to burn hazardous wastes at sea. But they also saw the dangers grow: In 1983, they discovered that a Diamond Shamrock plant that had made Agent Orange during the Vietnam War had left behind the highest levels of dioxin contamination in the country, just 1,000 feet from Ironbound's farmers market. So Madelyn established the Grass Roots Environmental Organization (GREO), which, ever since, has been instrumental in providing support to some 125 community groups on the front lines of NJ's toxic-waste wars. Those groups challenged the state's plan to build 19 new garbage incinerators, and, in the end, the state built only five (efforts continue to rid NJ of even these five unnecessary, polluting, and financially insolvent incinerators). On the basis of the outstanding reputation she had developed as an activist, the New Jersey Greens invited her to be their "favorite daughter" Vice Presidential candidate in 1996 during the Ralph Nader for President campaign. Madelyn accepted the invitation and then helped to put the Green Party on the map in this state. Almost 35,000 New Jersey voters showed their desire for a progressive alternative to the status-quo parties by pulling the lever for the Nader- Hoffman ticket that year. The Greens followed up by running Madelyn for Governor in 1997. In a field of nine she placed fifth, receiving almost 11,000 votes, a very respectable start for a candidate who had never been a participant in electoral politics until the prior year, running under the banner of a Party that was formally established just before the start of the campaign! Nick Mellis for U.S. Congress 4th Congressional District In January 1997, Nick Mellis announced his first bid for public office, running for a seat on the Lawrence Township Council under the Green Party banner. Nick is a lifelong resident of New Jersey and a graduate of Mercer County Community College. He is self- employed, running his business from his home. Mellis has been an effective environmental activist for many years; he was a key member of the coalition that helped to defeat the Duck Island incinerator in 1996 after a ten year struggle. For many years he worked for the Democratic Party, but he came to see that the Democrats and Republicans both speak for the same corporate contributors and have lost their connections with ordinary people. Carl Mayer for U.S. Congress 6th Congressional District Carl Mayer has worked extensively with Ralph Nader, both for consumer advocacy and for political change (Nader had a brief exploratory run as an Independent for President in 1992 and then, of course, was the Green Party candidate in 1996 -- Carl actively helped with both campaigns). Carl holds law degrees from Harvard Law School and University of Chicago Law School; he attended Princeton University for his undergraduate degree. Carl was a Law Professor at Hofstra University, but he has dedicated most of his time to activities fostering social change and progressive politics. He has been a Consultant to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Investigations and was elected to the Princeton Township Committee in 1995, running as an Independent. In past campaigns for U.S. Congress and the NJ State Assembly, Carl has been endorsed by the Sierra Club, the New Jersey Environmental Federation, the National Organization for Women, and the Mercer County Women's Political Caucus, as well as the Mercer County Greens. Carl has a long history as an environmental activist -- he was a key member of the coalition which helped defeat plans for a sixth New Jersey municipal waste incinerator on Duck Island in Mercer County. "All Americans have a right to clean air and clean water. Instead of bowing to the special interests, I will toughen the Superfund program and fight corporate polluters who try to make an extra buck by hurting our environment." Fred Disque for Freeholder, Burlington County (Endorsed by the National Organization for Women) Fred Disque is the Founder and Chairman of Green Vigilance, an environmental activist organization based in Burlington County. A Korean War veteran, he previously was the Chair and Organizer of the Mt. Holly branch of the Rancocas Conservancy and a Planning Aide for the Burlington County Land Use Office. He is a member of NOW (National Organization for Women), the Sierra Club, and the NAACP. "I will work to have Burlington County declared an MAI (Multilateral Agreement on Investments) Free Zone. The MAI would allow corporations to sue townships whose zoning policies, etc. do not suit the needs of the giant corporations." Paul Williams for Freeholder, Atlantic County Paul Williams is currently attending the New Jersey City University (formerly Jersey City State College), majoring in Political Science. He has an impressive track record as an activist working for peace, social justice, the environment, and workers' rights. In 1997 Paul was a key South Jersey organizer for the Green Party's Madelyn Hoffman for Governor campaign, during which he formed the South Jersey Cape Greens, a local representing environmentalists from Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland Counties. -------------------------------------------- CALENDAR (contact e-mail and phone number information is listed once, the first time the contact appears in the schedule) MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: The Green Party will have a booth at the Rutherford street fair on Park Ave. in Rutherford beginning at 10:00 AM. We will be distributing literature along with Peace Action members. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 11:00 AM: Joint meeting of the Essex County and Passaic County Greens at the Collage II coffeehouse, 399 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. Contact Joe Fortunato (973-744-5958; ESSEXGRNS@aol.com). SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 11:00 AM: The Communications Committee will be meeting prior to the Green Council meeting. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1:30 PM: The NJ Green Council will be meeting to discuss, among other things, the recent decision to run Green Party Congressional campaigns in three Congressional districts. At the Rutgers Labor Education Center, Ryders Lane, New Brunswick (right behind the Sears on Route 1). Contact Gary Novosielski (gpn@bigfoot.com; 201-507-5477). SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1-4 PM: Annual Picnic, South Mountain Peace Action, the Hoffners, 358 Montrose Avenue, South Orange - RSVP 973-762-2495; $6 contribution (or bring a dish serving at least eight people). TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 8-10 PM: The Hoboken Greens will be holding their monthly meeting at the Hoboken Farmboy healthfoods store on Washington Street in Hoboken. Contact Lewis Pell at (201) 963-2177. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 10 AM-12 Noon: The Sussex County Greens will be holding a local meeting at the Franklin library in Franklin. This will be followed by a Policy Committee meeting at Harold Lewis' house. Contact Harold Lewis (grunwald@nji.com; 973- 827-9197). TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 6:30 PM: Second meeting of the coalition of labor and community organizations exploring the idea of holding a mock tribunal to place one or more representative corporations on trial for violation of the public trust. At the headquarters of CWA Local 1035. Contact: Madelyn Hoffman (973-252-0797; Organizer@gpnj.org). MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 7:00 PM: The St. Peter Claver Church, 56 Elmwood Avenue, Montclair. Ann Markusen, Rutgers University, and others, "The Military Budget, Social Needs and You." Info: NJ Peace Action, 973-744-3263. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 11:00 AM: Monthly meeting of the Essex County Greens at the Collage II coffeehouse, 399 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. Contact Joe Fortunato. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 11:00 AM: "CIA: Washington's Hit-Men," by award-winning film documentarian Al Levin. Ethical Culture Society of Essex County, 516 Prospect Street (corner of Parker), Maplewood. Info: 973-763-1905. MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 7:00 PM: Union County Public Safety Director Harold Gibson and Prof. William Hartung, author, Weapons for All: "Guns at Home and Abroad," Newark location, NJ Peace Action, 973-744-3263. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 11:00 AM: Bill Hegel, "Is There Life after Capitalism?" Ethical Culture Society of Essex County, 516 Prospect Street, corner of Parker Ave., Maplewood, 973-763-1905. --------------------------------------------- Endnotes: . On September 6 eleven members of the Green Party marched side-by-side with labor in New Jersey's largest Labor Day parade -- all the way from the Botto House/American Labor Museum in Haledon to the Great Falls in Paterson. Stuart Hutchison drove the Green Machine and made sure that our 1998 candidates were announced as the Green Party contingent passed the reviewing stand. . During August, Paul Williams, Green Party candidate for Freeholder in Atlantic County, participated in two actions focusing on the mistreatment of animals. One, sponsored by the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance, was held at the NJ State Fair in Cherry Hill. Another, sponsored by Circo-America, was held on August 17 at the Clyde Beatty Cole Brothers Circus in Wildwood. . Following up on the Green Party's June 9 Forum on Corporate Dominance, a diverse coalition of labor and community organizations is exploring the idea of holding a mock tribunal to place one or several representative corporations on trial for violation of the public trust. The second meeting of this coalition will be held September 29, 6:30, at the headquarters of CWA Local 1035. The mock tribunal format could be used to show how community and labor forces can have leverage over such issues as payscale, benefits, working conditions, layoffs, and the exportation of jobs. . Karin Westdyk reports that Passaic County environmentalists met on August 31 toward building a movement to conserve the watershed supply lands in their county. Owned by the City of Newark, this acreage contains the reservoirs that provide drinking water for a great many New Jersey residents. . Roger Sedmont, Paul Williams, and Nick Mellis attended the Eastern Regional Greens Gathering held July 24-26 at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA. --------------------------------------------- The GreenGram is circulated monthly in an effort to keep all GPNJ members and supporters informed about recent matters and upcoming events. Members are encouraged to provide brief submissions of news items or opinions, as well as event announcements. The deadline for the October issue will be September 28. Please submit material to Joe Fortunato (EssexGrns@aol.com; 973-744-5958). !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GreenGram Green Party of NJ Member Bulletin P.O. Box 9802, Trenton, NJ 08650 To subscribe, become a member! 7 Generations, 10 Key Values !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!