Ecological Wisdom * Social Justice * Grassroots Democracy * Non-Violence
>> Green Party of Michigan <<
http://www.migreens.org
>>> ---------------- <<<
>>> News Release <<<
>>> ---------------- <<<
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
---------------------
May 27, 2004
For More Information Contact:
----------------------------
Marc Reichardt -- Chair, GPMI
734-635-3541
chair@migreens.org
John Anthony La Pietra, Elections Co-ordinator
elections@migreens.org
elections@migreens.org
>>> Green Party of Michigan Nominates 11 for November at Convention <<<
>>> =============================================================== <<<
>> More to Come -- from County Caucuses Across State <<
>> <<
>> Olson, Attorney in Suit to Shut Ice Mountain Plant, <<
>> Urges GPMI to Keep "Giving a Voice" to Water <<
> <
> Presidential Straw Poll Guides National Delegates <
> But Vote Empowers Delegation to Make Final Choice <
The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) put 11 people on the ballot for
November 2 -- and laid the groundwork for more, including a Presidential
ticket -- at its state convention this past weekend at Eagles Ridge
Conference Center in Peshawbestown north of Traverse City.
There will be Greens on the ballot for at least four seats in
Congress, and one Green each running for the State Board of Education
and the three major university boards. Two Green candidates were
nominated for state representative, and one for county commissioner.
And more candidates are yet to come this summer, from nominating
caucuses in at least ten counties across the state. The convention
commended ten Green candidates to their county parties, and endorsed
two Greens running in non-partisan races -- one of them Jason Glover
of Traverse City, a candidate for the Northwest Michigan College Board
of Trustees.
Greens also heard from attorney Jim Olson, who helped Michigan
Citizens for Water Conservation win an injunction to stop Néstlé's
Ice Mountain extraction and bottling plant in Mecosta County, on how
the case will affect the future of water as a public trust.
And GPMI voted to give its delegation to the national convention
(June 23-28 in Milwaukee) flexibility in considering the results of a
Presidential-preference straw poll . . . and taking appropriate action
if Greens nationwide do not either nominate or endorse a Presidential
ticket.
Green Candidates for Everyone in Michigan
-----------------------------------------
Green Congressional candidates span the state:
* David Newland of Bellaire is running in the 1st District,
which includes all of the Upper Peninsula and 15-1/2 counties
in northern lower Michigan.
* Harley Mikkelson of Caro will again campaign for the 5th
District seat, which serves Genesee and Tuscola Counties
and parts of Saginaw and Bay Counties as well.
* Randall MacPhee of Schoolcraft is running to represent the
southwest corner of the state as the 6th District's member
of Congress.
* And Jason Seagraves of Adrian -- and formerly of the Democratic
Party -- is now the Green candidate for the 7th Congressional
District in south central Michigan.
County caucuses in the Detroit metro area could add one or more names
to this list, as well as several candidates for county or local office.
And voters in other parts of the state will still have four Greens
to consider for offices involving education:
* Peter Ponzetti III of Kalamazoo is halfway through a year-long
campaign for a seat on the State Board of Education.
* Nathaniel Damren of Ann Arbor is running to join the Board of
Regents of the University of Michigan.
* Ben Burgis of East Lansing is Damren's counterpart candidate,
campaigning for a seat on the Michigan State University Board
of Trustees.
* And Margaret Guttshall of Detroit is running close to home,
too -- for the Board of Governors of Wayne State University.
To this "hometown team" could be added Jason Glover of Traverse City,
whose candidacy for the non-partisan Northwest Michigan College Board
of Trustees was endorsed. All these candidates were approved by
consensus, as were three more:
* Robbie Kull of Monroe won the GPMI's approval to run for the
56th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives --
a district entirely in Monroe County (where no caucus is
scheduled).
* Similarly, Jessie Olson of South Haven was nominated for the
District 1 seat on the Van Buren County Board of Commissioners.
* And Rebekah Mikkelson of Caro, Harley's daughter, was nominated
from the floor for the 84th State House seat -- serving both
Huron and Tuscola Counties.
Olson: "Give Water a Voice"
----------------------------
Olson admitted he was preaching to the choir when speaking to
Greens about the importance of giving water a voice. But he added
that the voice needs to go beyond Greens -- beyond Republicans and
Democrats, as well -- until everyone hears and understands that water
is not a resource, but a commons.
Olson praised Judge Lawrence Root for deciding the _MCWC v.
Néstlé_ case on the basis of Michigan common law -- which can't be
overturned without revoking statehood -- and called on Governor
Granholm and state legislators to write new state laws identifying
and protecting water as a public trust.
Olson's words were echoed by both Greens running for re-election
this year -- Jim Moreno of the non-partisan Mount Pleasant City
Commission and JoAnne Bier Beemon, Drain Commissioner for Charlevoix
County. Both have joined MCWC and the Sweetwater Alliance in protests
against Ice Mountain. Beemon remarked: "Water is life -- and every
person is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Olson quoted the Polish poet laureate Wislawa Szymborska:
A drop of water fell on my hand,
drawn from the Ganges and the Nile. . . .
and concluded, "We hope people in the future can say the same of the
Great Lakes -- and that that's the only water diverted from them."
Preparations for a Presidential Ticket
--------------------------------------
The party confirmed an equal balance of men and women in its
delegation to next month's GPUS national nominating convention
in Milwaukee -- and selected a slate of Presidential electors with
nine men and eight women.
Michigan Greens had twice before declared strong support for
running a Green Presidential ticket this year. At the convention,
they decided to give the delegation guidance and flexibility in
helping decide who would appear at the top of the Green column on
this year's ballots.
The convention authorized GPMI's 32 delegates and 18 alternates
to take action in Milwaukee if the national convention ended without
a Presidential nomination or endorsement. There was also a straw
poll, in which almost half the vote went to attorney David Cobb;
nearly 1/4 to Ralph Nader; and over 15% to favorite-daughter and -son
candidates JoAnne Bier Beemon and Harley Mikkelson. About 13% voted
to have the delegates go into the convention uncommitted.
Campaign treasurer Dean Myerson spoke for Cobb; rival Kent Mesplay
sent a statement to be read at the convention. GPMI members stood up to
support preferred candidates -- or tell what they knew about candidates
with no backers present.
If the delegation voted in the same proportions as the straw poll,
Cobb would get 16 votes on the first ballot in Milwaukee, Nader seven,
Beemon four, and Mikkelson one. The remaining four votes would be
uncommitted.
Michigan Greens also passed a resolution opposing the Michigan Civil
Rights Initiative, and answered an appeal to help bring to the national
convention leading figures of the worldwide Green Party and movement --
including:
* Ane Aadland, one of the founders of the Green Party of Norway;
* Edward Martín Salazar Cruz, president of Nicaragua's Green Party
(which GPMI and long-time member Steve Herrick helped to take
root); and
* Juan Carlos Lecompte, the husband of kidnapped Colombian Green
Party Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.
And they heard from another nation when the Medicine Lodge Singers of
Peshawbestown came to sing a traditional Native American honor song and
a song for veterans -- including about a dozen Greens, and at least
three candidates.
For information about GPMI in general, please visit the party's
home page:
http://www.migreens.org
# # #
[first in a series of stories from the GPMI convention]
Green Party of Michigan * 548 S. Main Street *
* Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * 734-663-3555
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Green Party of Michigan was formed in 1987 to address environmental
issues in Michigan politics. Greens are organized in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia. Each state Green Party sets its own goals
and creates its own structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values:
Ecological Wisdom * Grassroots Democracy
Social Justice * Nonviolence
Community Economics * Decentralization
Feminism * Respect for Diversity
Personal and Global * Future Focus/
Responsibility Sustainability
created/distributed using donated labor
[========================= candidate list =========================]
Green Party of Michigan
=======================
Candidates from 2004 Convention
NOMINATED: 11
==============
David Newland
US Representative in Congress/District 01
8001 Honey Hollow Rd.
Bellaire, MI 49615
231-533-8038
northstar@torchlake.com
Harley Mikkelson
US Representative in Congress/District 05
3122 West Caro Road
Caro, MI 48723-9610
P.O. Box 314
Caro, MI 48723-0314
989-673-7883
votegreen_mi@yahoo.com OR voteharley@centurytel.net
Randall MacPhee
US Representative in Congress/District 06
MacPhee for Congress
11448 Terry Dr. #29
Schoolcraft, MI 49087
269-679-5878
kzoogreen@aol.com
Jason Seagraves
US Representative in Congress/District 07
Seagraves for Congress
P.O. Box 374
Adrian, MI 49221
www.jasonseagraves.com
[website has contact form]
Peter Ponzetti III
statewide/State Board of Education
Peter Ponzetti for State Board of Education
1610 Knollwood Ave., Apt. L4
Kalamazoo, MI 49006-5694
810-577-6301
http://www.votepete2004.tk
p1ponzet@wmich.edu OR ponzy_pp@yahoo.com
Nathaniel Damren
statewide/University of Michigan Board of Regents
909 E. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
313-530-8818
ndamren@umich.edu
Benjamin Burgis
statewide/Michigan State University Board of Trustees
Committee to Elect Benjamin Burgis to MSU Board of Trustees
647 Sunset Lane
East Lansing, MI 48823
517-332-8417
BurgisforMSUBoard@spmichigan.org
Margaret Guttshall
statewide/Wayne State University Board of Governors
14 Charlotte Street, #51
Detroit, MI 48201
313-831-0383
mguttshall@peoplepc.com
Robert Kull
State Representative/District 056 [all in Monroe County]
3009 Mentel Road
Monroe, MI 48162
734-289-2369
think_green04@yahoo.com
Rebekah Mikkelson
State Representative/District 084 [Huron & Tuscola Counties]
3122 West Caro Road
Caro, MI 48723
989-673-7883 OR 810-760-6464
rmikkels@umflint.edu
Jessie Olson
County Commissioner/Van Buren County -- District 1
Committee to Elect Jessie Olson for County Commissioner/
Jessie Olson a Change for Van Buren County
P.O. Box 8
Bangor, MI 49013
269-639-0839
269-427-8477 fax
jessieforcommissioner@olsonlegalservices.com
SUPPORTED (to caucus): 10 [* = incumbent]
============================================
Charlevoix County
-----------------
JoAnne Bier Beemon* County Drain Commissioner
Macomb County
-------------
Ken Berggren Jr. County Commissioner/District 4
[note: Mr. Berggren later withdrew his name from consideration]
Oakland County
--------------
Arthur Myatt State Rep/District 027
Matthew Abel Township Trustee/West Bloomfield Township
Tuscola County
--------------
Rev. A. S. Wright County Sheriff
Washtenaw County
----------------
Donald Abdul Roberts County Sheriff
Roberts
Keith Agdanowski City Councilor/Ypsilanti/Ward 3
S. Antigone Klima Township Clerk/Northfield Township
[note: Ms. Klima later withdrew her name from consideration]
Wayne County
------------
Mike Madias US Representative in Congress/District 13
Tom Lavigne State Representative/District 001
ENDORSED (non-partisan): 2 [* = incumbent]
==============================================
Jason Glover Trustee/Northwest Michigan College
[Grand Traverse County]
Jim Moreno* City Commissioner/Mount Pleasant
CAUCUSES SCHEDULED IN:
---------------------
Bay County 07/11/04
Charlevoix County [TBD]
Genesee County 07/17/04
Lapeer County 07/17/04
Kalamazoo County [TBD]
Macomb County [07/10/04?]
Oakland County 07/10/04
Tuscola County 07/17/04
Wayne County 07/10/04
Washtenaw County 07/21/04?
Other Contacts:
Green Party of Michigan
548 S Main St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-663-3555
info@migreens.org
posted to web 28 May 2004, reposted 20 June