OntheWilderSide

Green presidential candidates arrive in Arizona to assist state ballot access efforts

Five candidates running for the Green Party’s presidential and vice presidential
nomination will visit Arizona this coming weekend to meet voters and help Arizona Green Party with their ballot access petition drive

Green presidential candidates Jesse Johnson, Cynthia McKinney, Kent Mesplay, and Kat Swift and vice presidential candidate Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry will also hold a news briefing on Sunday, February 24 at the Mesa Public Library, Saguaro Room (2nd Floor), 64 East 1st Street in Mesa, Arizona.

The news briefing will begin at 1 pm, and will be followed by a 1:30 pm candidates’ forum hosted by the Maricopa County Green Party. Reporters and photographers are invited to both events.

“We’ve gathered thousands of signatures already and we look forward to handing in far more than the required 20,449 signatures for ballot access by the March 6 due date,” said Richard Scott, Media Coordinator for the Arizona Green Party. “Lots of Greens and friends will be pounding the pavement and collecting signatures this weekend. We really appreciate our presidential candidates for coming to Arizona and helping us meet our
goal.”

Some of the candidates will also attend Parada del Sol and Trail’s End in Scottsdale on
Saturday, February 23. Parada del Sol/Trail’s End, an annual parade and rodeo, will begin 10 am Oak and Scottsdale Roads www.scottsdalejaycees.org.

The Green Party’s 2008 nomination will take place July 10-13 at the Green Party’s National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Five state Green Parties have already participated in primary elections, and more state Green Parties have scheduled statewide meetings and caucuses to vote for presidential candidates.

Presidential candidates visiting Arizona:

• 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.

• Kent Mesplay, 2004 candidate for the Green presidential nomination; former president of Turtle Island Institute; environmental engineer, alternative energy activist; California Green organizer 

• Kat Swift, Texas Green Party organizer & former co-chair; first Green Party Candidate for City Council in San Antonio 2007; former activist with Clean Money San Antonio and San Antonio Democracy Now

Vice Presidential candidate visiting Arizona:
• Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry (SKCM Curry), Green Party activist and organizer for six years at local, state, national levels and internationally; leader in efforts to involve women and people of color in the Green Party and electoral politics.

Also in the race for the Green presidential nomination is Howie Hawkins, who is serving as a stand-in candidate for Ralph Nader until Mr. Nader declares his intentions for the 2008 race; Mr. Nader has established an Exploratory Committee.

Filed under: Ballot issues, cynthia mckinney, election, elections, grassroots democracy, Green Party Websites, presidential race, Press Release, Ralph Nader, third party, US Politics Tagged: | Ralph Nader, third parties