OntheWilderSide

The Green Party’s 2008 national nominees are Cynthia McKinney and running mate Rosa Clemente.  Ms. McKinney was interviewed on BreakTheMatrix.com on Sunday evening, October 19 (http://www.breakthematrix.com/node/28047) and on Democracy Now!, October 16, following the final presidential debate, from which she was excluded (http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/16/breaking_the_sound_barrier_third).

At least 245 Green candidates will be on ballots on Election Day, November 4.  At least 293 Greens have run for public office throughout 2008, including the November 4 election.  More Green candidates to watch are listed at: http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php

• Malik Rahim, Louisiana Green candidate for the US House (District 2), is co-founder of the Common Ground Collective, an organization that provides short-term relief to victims of hurricane disasters in the Gulf Coast region.  Mr. Rahim is a former Black Panther and ran for New Orleans City Council in 2002 as a Green Party candidate.

The election for the 2nd District US House seat will take place on December 6 instead of November 4 because of election delays caused by Hurricanes Gustave and Ike.

Campaign web site: http://www.votemalik.com
Common Ground: http://www.commongroundrelief.org
Video of Malik Rahim speaking at 2008 GP-US Presidential Convention

* Omar Lopez remains active in the leadership of the Chicago March 10th Movement  and is now the leading candidate for Congress in the 4th district of Illinois. Omar N. López was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and has lived in Chicago since 1958. In 1966, he was the founding member of LADO (Latin American Defense Organization) which organized campaigns for the rights of labor unions, tenants and inoculation drives for students living in low-income neighborhoods. He also advocated for the rights of families on public assistance in the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park, Chicago. As a teacher, Omar founded the Mexican Teachers Organization in 1973, and was a leader in the fight for quality bilingual education for students and for the recruitment of trained bilingual teachers.

In 1984, Omar López was instrumental in the acquisition deal with the Chicago Park District for the building that now houses the National Museum of Mexican Art in Harrison Park in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. He negotiated on behalf of the then emerging Mexican Fines Arts Center, to have the old boat house facility leased to the Mexican Fine Arts Center for 99 years!

In 1986, Omar Lopez helped facilitated and processed the legal residency of thousands of undocumented workers and was vigilant to ensure that agencies and individuals could not abuse Latino families by charging exorbitant prices for processing their legalization applications.

Mr. Lopez has been the director of C.A.L.O.R. for the past 14 years; C.A.L.O.R. is an organization that provides services to Latinos impacted by HIV / AIDS and other diseases. Omar Lopez was the principal convenor and leader of the historic mega- marches of March 10 and 1 May, 2006, in defense of the rights of undocumented immigrant workers and all of our human and Constitutional rights, which were then under attack by the Sensenbrenner House Bill HR 4437. These initial Chicago mega-marches, were (then) the biggest mass mobilizations in the history of the United States and were the catalyst for similar mega-marches throughout the USA.

Campaign web site: http://www.omarlopez2008.org/

Video of Omar Lopez speaking at 2008 GP-US Presidential Convention

• Jesse Johnson, Mountain Party candidate for governor of West Virginia, has participated in three debates and has attracted attention for his promotion of a ban on mountaintop removal mining by West Virginia’s powerful coal industry and his leadership on other state issues.  Mr. Johnson was endorsed by the Sierra Club on October 3 (http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2008/10/06/sierra-club-endorses-jesse-johnson-for-wv-governor/).

“Because of mountaintop removal and the power of the coal companies, West Virginia has become ground zero for global climate change in the US,” said Jesse Johnson.  “The Interior Department is now relaxing rules on mountaintop mining, which will bring untold devastation to the natural environment and a massive threat to public health, through contamination of water and other resources.  I’m the only candidate addressing this crisis, because the Democrat and Republican are too closely allied with the coal companies that are plundering West Virginia.”

Campaign web site: http://www.jesse4wvgov.org
Video clip of Jesse Johnson speaking at a West Virginia Youth Commission forum: http://vimeo.com/2013238

• Rebekah Kennedy, Green candidate for the US Senate in Arkansas, is competing against Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor, with no Republican in the race.  Despite numerous invitations, Sen. Pryor has avoided facing Ms. Kennedy in a candidates’ debate.
http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=9182552
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/240400/

Campaign web site: http://www.kennedy2008.org

• Gordon Clark, Maryland candidate for the US House (District 8, Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s seat), is receiving significant attention for his grassroots campaign against a powerful Democrat.  (Mr. Van Hollen, though only in Congress five years, is Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.)  Gordon raised more campaign funds (all individual) during the second quarter than any other candidate nominated for Congress by an alternative party in the US (http://www.politickermd.com/clarkforcongress/2953/clark-campaign-releases-2nd-quarter-fec-report-total-tops-3rd-party-campaigns-).  Mr. Clark came out on top in a candidates’ forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters on October 2 (http://www.gazette.net/stories/10152008/montlet175510_32497.shtml) and is now receiving coverage in the mainstream press.

Gordon Clark noted that “Chris Van Hollen went from being a liberal Democrat to a corporate Democrat, and he no longer represents his constituents on an array of issues.  Maryland’s 8th is one of the most progressive districts in the country, and voters here are looking for a political leader who has a vision for tackling the energy crisis, the faltering economy and the climate crisis of global warming, as well as the willingness to end the war in Iraq and the judgment to stop an expanding war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  It’s becoming clear to many that Mr. Van Hollen, with his numerous close ties to campaign contributors, cannot meet that need — and that our campaign does.”

Campaign web site: http://www.clarkforcongress.net
Video of Oct. 2 candidates’ forum: http://www.clarkforcongress.net/press.cfm
More video clips of Gordon Clark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbj-MoxER7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyYZ9Oof_RQ

Filed under: 3rd party, Anti-War, Green Party Websites, Green Presidential Campaign 2008, Political Websites, US Politics Tagged: | Malik Rahim, Omar Lopez