OntheWilderSide

Wilderside post on results and commentary for DC Statehood Green Party Primary.

DC’s ‘Second Party’ will send 16 delegates to the Green National Convention in Chicago, July 10-13

Green presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney will visit DC on Tuesday, Feb. 19 and speak at Howard University; details to be announced

DC Statehood Green Party leaders look forward to a good turnout of registered party members in the February 12, 2008 primary election in the District of Columbia.

“Since the DC Statehood Green Party has major party status in the District of Columbia,
Statehood Green voters will participate in the primary just as Democratic and Republican voters do,” said LaVerne Butler, Ward 5 representative on the Statehood Green Party’s steering committee.

LIST OF CANDIDATES
on the DC ballot in the February 12 primary:

Howie Hawkins (Ralph Nader placeholder), 2006 New York Green candidate for the US: Mr. Hawkins has consented to serve as a ‘placeholder’ candidate on the DC ballot for Ralph Nader until Mr. Nader announces his intentions for the 2008 election. Nader Exploratory Committee: http://www.naderexplore08.org

Jesse Johnson, 2006 US Senate candidate and 2004 gubernatorial candidate for the Mountain Party in West Virginia (now an affiliate state party of the Green Party of the United States); filmmaker

Cynthia McKinney, former member of the US House of Representatives (Georgia), 1993 to 2003, 2005 to 2007; former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, 1988-1992 http://www.runcynthiarun.org

Kent Mesplay, 2004 candidate for the Green presidential nomination; former president of Turtle Island Institute; environmental engineer, alternative energy activist; California Green organizer http://www.mesplay.org

Kat Swift, Texas Green organizer; former Campus Greens leader; activist with Clean Money San Antonio and San Antonio Democracy Now , Texas Green organizer; former Campus Greens leader; activist with Clean Money San Antonio and San Antonio Democracy Now http://www.voteswift.org

Jared Ball *(withdrawn from the race; see below) http://www.jaredball.com

*One of the Green presidential candidates, Jared Ball, has withdrawn from the race; however, his name was submitted before his withdrawal and remains on the February 12 ballot. Dr. Ball, an independent journalist; radio host (WPFW 89.3 FM Pacifica Radio), hip-hop scholar, and assistant professor of communications studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, has endorsed Ms. McKinney’s candidacy.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-3645967525088985081]

Also See these videos:

• Daily Greens: Green Party Presidential Candidate Press Conference
• Daily Greens: Nader & Romanelli press conference on Pennsylvania Ballot Access
• Daily Greens: Q&A from Nader & Romanelli press conference on PA Ballot Access
• Daily Greens: Nader on Will He Run for President in 2008
• Youtube of Cynthia McKinney announcement

The DC Statehood Green Party has qualified to send 16 delegates to the Green Party’s 2008 Green National Nominating Convention in Chicago, July 10-13, at which 836 Green delegates will choose the party’s presidential and vice presidential nominees.

The DC primary is one of five state primaries in which Greens are participating in 2008. Results from the four states where Green Parties participated in the February 5 Super Tuesday primaries showed a landslide for Ralph Nader in California (61%), a lead among candidates for Cynthia McKinney in Arkansas and Illinois, and close but unconfirmed numbers for Ms. McKinney and Mr. Nader in Massachusetts.

Some Green Parties are choosing presidential candidates by caucus voting and by election of national convention delegates at state party conventions.

The Green Party has vowed to achieve 51 ballot lines in 2008 in all the states and the District of Columbia, and has committed party resources for this purpose. Greens currently have ballot access in 21 states, including Washington, DC

On Tuesday, February 19, presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney will visit Washington, DC, for an evening appearance at Howard University, a press conference, and other area appearances. Details of Ms. McKinney’s visit will be announced soon.

On Saturday morning, February 2, the DC Statehood Green Party and Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Green Parties hosted a Green presidential candidates’ forum at Busboys & Poets in Washington, DC. Candidates Jesse Johnson, Kent Mesplay, and Kat Swift participated. Ms. McKinney, who had a prior engagement in New York, was represented by hip-hop artist Head-Roc. Ralph Nader spoke after the forum, because he has not formally announced his candidacy yet.

In recent elections, DC Statehood Green candidates have collectively won more votes than Republican candidates, even in 2006 when the two parties ran the same number
of candidates for partisan office. The Statehood Green Party is now ‘DC’s Second Party’ in terms of electoral clout.

DC Statehood Green leaders look forward to a possible milestone in 2008: the Green presidential candidate placing second on Election Day, ahead of the Republican candidate.

Filed under: cynthia mckinney, Green Party Websites, presidential race, Press Release, Ralph Nader, US Politics Tagged: | dc primary, Ralph Nader, unreasonable man