 |
Fall 2008 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION ORDER BUNDLES ----- Green Pages Board Business |
Campaign committee provides candidates with resources
By Mike Livingston, Maryland Green Party
The Green Party is fielding a growing slate of candidates across the nation. The challenge is that, with limited resources, the partyâs money and talent must be targeted carefully to the races where it will have the greatest impact.
Those tough decisions are the job of the Coordinated Campaign Committee (CCC), which appraises dozens of state and local races to identify the partyâs best bets and rising stars.
In allocating the party's "targeted resources"--including media support, volunteer referrals, special appeals, and custom consulting services, as well as modest contributions of matching funds ÷ the CCC looks for detailed, well-developed, realistic plans and a clear road map of capacities, goals and strategies. Special consideration is also given to candidates who aren't white, male, straight and over 30 years old.
Three campaigns in 2004 got organized early enough and demonstrated enough thoughtful planning to receive matching funds from the CCC in the Spring application cycle. Each of these campaigns has a strategic plan and, not coincidentally, an experienced campaign manager with a record of accomplishment.
 |
| Cedric Hunter |
Town council elections in Irvington, N.J., were held in May, and in the South Ward, 23 percent voted for the wardâs only registered Green, Cedric Hunter. The only challenger to a Democratic incumbent, Hunter brought a record of civic leadership to the race: He has been president of his block association since 2002, and he founded the Kraal Society, an African-American community empowerment group.
Hunterâs opponent was ordered by a state court to remedy a conflict of interest: She is a paid employee of the town government on which she serves. According to Hunterâs campaign manager, Jonathan Fluck, the incumbent had not complied with the court order as of Election Day.
Fluck described the town of Irvington in a memo to the CCC: "Irvington has been in decline for two decades with basic services being neglected. Drug dealers and prostitutes are at every major intersection; garbage removal is sporadic; there is an exploding rodent population. [Hunter] is one of four reform candidates trying to take their government back from a corrupt organization that has bled the township dry."
Hunter said the town is "in a state of decline that has taken it from one of the most prosperous and peaceful communities in America to one of the most depressed and crime-ridden."
The Hunter campaign approached the CCC with a detailed field plan and thorough voter identification work, including alliances with the local Haitian Coalition and seniorsâ organizations, and requested matching funds for the salary of the campaignâs only paid staff member. Fluck told the CCC, "This campaign will build Green Party credibility with voters and at the same time groom this candidate for bigger things later on." The committee agreed.
Claudia Ellquist
Claudia Ellquist, the only female candidate to apply for early support from the national party, is challenging Pima County, Ariz. County Attorney Barbara LaWall (D), who was elected in 2000 with less than two-thirds of the vote even though her only opponents were a Libertarian and a Green. (The Green candidate, Peter Hormel, got 8.9 percent.)
Ellquist is, to date, the only Green seeking office in Arizona this year. If she gets just 5 percent, or approximately 12,500 votes, the party's ballot status will be renewed. The campaign team has more ambitious goals, however; they would consider 12 percent a mark of significant growth and 20 percent a clear protest of the incumbentâs record.
Campaign manager David E. Stewart told the CCC Ellquist has a broad base of support ãmainly in groups that are underestimated by the pundits," adding, "Unlike many activists who seek the limelight but don't deliver in politics, our candidate has harnessed a low profile and general underestimation to pull off three upsets at the polls, in the form of a recall and two statewide ballot measures, none of which were predicted to succeed."
One of Ellquist's public health initiatives passed despite 3-to-1 opposition spending.
Based on the campaign's field plan and demonstrated attention to voter ID and political analysis, the CCC approved the largest award of matching funds in the Spring 2004 cycle.
 |
| Bob Jacobson |
Councilmember Bob Jacobson is running for a second term in the 6th District of Hawaii County, Hawaii and seeking a sixth Green victory there. The seat was held from 1998 to 2002 by Julie Jacobson, wife of the incumbent, and from 1992 to 1996 by Keiko Bonk, the first Green to win a partisan election in the United States.
Jacobson won his current term by just 53 votes, or 1 percent of the vote, and that was before he made waves on the island by introducing a council resolution against the Iraq war. Now he's in a nonpartisan race; according to campaign manager Jay Scharf, the council went to a nonpartisan model several years ago in retaliation for the Green Party's success in keeping a seat.
The campaign will rely heavily on radio advertising, which, Jacobson told the CCC, was decisive in his 2000 victory. ãBecause of the vast area I represent," the candidate explained, "I am forced to buy radio and TV in three markets, print media in two daily papers and two bimonthly papers," plus direct mail. He requested matching funds for an ambitious ad budget, and the CCC approved the first-ever grant of Green Party matching funds for purposes other than staffing.
The campaign does not expect to be able to pay interns, but does offer other incentives; Scharf points out, "Hey, this is Hawaii!"
Other Campaigns
The CCC also recommended support for five other candidates in the Spring cycle.
Bob Kinsey, running for Congress in Colorado's 4th District, is challenging Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, sponsor of the proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage.
Chris Glassburn, running for Ohio state legislature in Cleveland, is a college student and the youngest candidate to file for CCC support this cycle.
Bicycling activist Henry Lawrence is breaking new ground as the first Green to seek office in Bay County, Fla., running for a seat on the county commission.
Daryl Northrop is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Jeff Toste, 2002 candidate for Rhode Island State Senate in Providence, is back for a second try; he got 23 percent of the vote last time and brings that experience to the 2004 election.
All content © Green Pages | Site design by Greg Everett
Green Pages is the newspaper of the Green Party of the United States.