************* GreenGram ************* The Green Party of NJ Monthly Bulletin March 1998 issue (Part 2) ------------------------------------------------------ LOWER THE THRESHOLD FOR MATCHING FUNDS IN GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS! The Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) is conducting hearings on public financing for gubernatorial campaigns. At the first of a series of hearings, held at Seton Hall Law School in Newark on Feb. 18., ELEC got an earful from three Green Party spokespersons: Madelyn Hoffman, Earl Gray, and Joseph Mosley. The Greens urged the commission to open up the political process by moving toward more public funding of campaigns and by guaranteeing that third party candidates get access to state-sanctioned gubernatorial debates. Joe Mosley noted that a national presidential candidate only has to raise $100,000 to qualify for matching funds while a gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey has to raise more than twice that figure. The Greens and the Natural Law Party agreed that the threshold must be lowered and that current regulations were discriminatory -- preventing those with new ideas from being heard on an equal level with the traditional parties. Mary Jo Christian of the Natural Law Party asserted: "The system now in place in the United States and here in New Jersey has two sets of election rules, an automatic process for the Republicans and Democrats and a highly discriminatory procedure for independent candidates and third parties. Most countries give all qualified candidates equal airtime and include them in all televised debates. By denying ballot and media access to all qualifying candidates we are in essence allowing for the rigging of the election ... The present ballot access barriers for third parties blatantly violate the 1990 international Helsinki accords that guarantee universal and equal suffrage to all adult citizens without discrimination, including equal access to the ballot and the media." Madelyn Hoffman testified: "We have already heard rumors that there are legislators poised to suggest that the threshold for qualifying for state matching funds be RAISED to avoid the "debacle" of Murray Sabrin's participation in the gubernatorial race. Translated that means that since Marry Sabrin took votes away from Christine Todd Whitman making the race more closely contested than it would have been otherwise, the powers that be must find a way to protect their exclusive club ... WE MUST OFFER A MORE DEMOCRATIC ALTERNATIVE, so that more candidates qualify, not fewer." Prior to the Feb. 18 hearings the Green Party unveiled its Clean Money Campaign Reform (CMCR) proposal for public financing of the state's gubernatorial campaign. This proposal is based on a program passed by the state legislature in Maine which is designed to keep big money out of politics and to help voters make a more informed choice on election day. The Greens also announced the kickoff of a petition drive to demonstrate support for the CMCR -- to change NJ law to parallel that of Maine, where 2,500 people have to kick in $5 in order for a ballot-qualified candidate to receive $100,000 matching funds. Visualize, if you will, 2,500 people throwing $5 into the ring -- what a democratic and populist notion! To help with the petition drive, contact Earl Gray, Green Party Monmouth County Coordinator (732-219-5841). By the way, Madelyn's testimony received good coverage in the 2/19/98 Star Ledger. A second ELEC hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 18, 11:15am, at the Burlington County Office Building, Freeholders Board Room (1st floor), 49 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly. Testimony will be limited to 10 minutes. If you are interested in testifying (and we urge you to do so), please contact the Election Law Enforcement Commission at P.O. Box 185, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0185 or call them at 609-292-8700 to inform them of your intention. You are also welcome to submit written comments up until the March 25, 1998 deadline. We want to make the strongest statement possible about LOWERING THE THRESHOLD and creating a LEVEL PLAYING FIELD so that our democracy can work as it should. ----------------------------------------------------- GREENS TO SPONSOR MAJOR CONFERENCE ON BIOENGINEERING The Green Party of New Jersey will be a co-sponsor of the "First Grassroots Gathering on Biodevastation: Genetic Engineering" to be held July 17-19 at Fontbonne College in St. Louis. The principal hosts of the conference will be the Gateway Green Alliance, the Pure Food Campaign, and the Edmonds Institute. The event will address the intertwined issues of genetic engineering, patenting of seeds and other life forms, worldwide trade in human genetic material, and monopolization of food production. It will include scientists who have researched the dangers of genetic engineering and organizers who work to maintain local control of food production by legislative initiatives and direct actions. The keynote speaker for the Gathering will be Vandana Shiva, author of "Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge." Confirmed panelists include Tulio Avelino (Partido del Sol, Uruguay), Mark Bohnert & Tammy Shea (Gateway Green Alliance), Barbara Chicherio (President of The Greens/Green Party, USA), Mitch Cohen (Brooklyn Green Party), Ronnie Cummins (Director of Pure Food Campaign USA, which organized the 1997 "Global Days of Action Against Genetic Engineering"), Steve Emmott (Green Group of the European Parliament), Zoe Erwin (Institute for Social Ecology), Don Fitz (Editor, Synthesis/Regeneration), Michael Hansen (Consumers Union), and Brian Tokar (Z Magazine, author, "Earth for Sale"). The Grassroots Gathering will include workshops on the following: basic issues of biotechnology; genetic engineering vs. ecological balance; economic effects of control of food by multinational corporations -- plus open plenaries to plan the Fall, 1998 "Global Days of Action Against Genetic Engineering" and to build resistance networks in the US. 1997 was a banner year for the biotechnology industry, with successful cloning experiments in Scotland achieving worldwide headlines and some 30 million acres of genetically engineered crops grown in the US alone. International opponents of genetic engineering have escalated their activities as well, with partial bans on engineered foods passed in Austria, Italy and Luxembourg, and new direct actions against engineered crops in Germany, Ireland and Australia. Also in 1997, the organic sector experienced astounding growth as those seeking to avoid genetically engineered food voted with their feet and their shopping carts. Industry, noticing the move, tried to soften the blow by aggressively lobbying to change the newly promulgated national organic standards so they would allow the inclusion of genetically engineered inputs into the official definition of "organic." Green members of the European Parliament have taken a leadership role in opposing importation of genetically engineered food from the US. Activists throughout the world participated in two coordinated "Weeks of Action" against biotechnology, first in April, then again in October. Though there are numerous embryonic networks which challenge the corporate view, there has yet to be an event which brings these groups together to coordinate their efforts. The hosting organizations are appealing to the grassroots to help make the Grassroots Gathering on Genetic Engineering a success by co-sponsorship, which means early preregistration. We are asking co-sponsors to send a check for $100 to the Gateway Greens, P.O. Box 8094, St. Louis MO 63156. In return, (1) the co- sponsoring group will have the registration fee covered for 3 members or will have $100 apply to registration and lodging of 1 or 2 members; (2) the group will be listed as a co-sponsor in the brochure, and (3) the group may have a literature table at the event. Co- sponsoring will be good for everyone: the GGA needs the seed money to finalize preparations and the early $35 registration fee for co-sponsors is much less than will be charged at the door. ----------------------------------------------------- NO BAILOUT OF PSE&G MISMANAGEMENT! Legislation is pending in Trenton to allow the Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) to charge back to its customers costs associated with losses and shutdowns at its obsolete and unproductive coal-fired and nuclear power plants. This chargeback could add $7 billion to the monthly bills of ratepayers during the next decade, while sparing the shareholders and managers of PSE&G. In response, New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) has launched a Campaign for Fair Utility Rates, insisting that shareholders of the company, rather than customers and/or taxpayers, bear the brunt of these costs. PSE&G would be allowed the chargeback if the obsolete and unproductive plants are granted "stranded costs treatment." Green Party Vice Chair Jim Mohn asserts that this would constitute the "biggest chunk of corporate welfare seen in this state in a long while." Consequently the Greens have signed on to a "Statement of Concern" being circulated by NJCA and will help to build demonstrations around this issue. At the Mercer County Greens meeting on March 4, Al Goldberg talked about a brief he will be filing in the case "In the Matter of Public Service Electric and Gas Company's Plan for Recovery of Stranded Costs." Goldberg agrees that customers should not have to pay for mistakes made by the company, but he has an interesting strategy in the event that PSE&G is granted "stranded costs treatment." If ratepayers pay to bail out the utility, they should get equity in the plants! This could be done under the auspices of a publicly controlled New Jersey Power Authority, and the idea is not so far fetched. In Nebraska, for example, all power plants are publicly owned and there is a conscious attempt to make sure that they are democratically controlled. Public utility districts are intentionally kept small and citizens are elected to public utility boards in much the way they are elected to local school boards. So, PSE&G: Either eat the costs associated with your mismanagement and your ill-conceived bet on nuclear energy; or, if we're going to pay ... give us the plants! ---------------------------------------------------- AUSTRALIAN SENATOR ENCOURAGED AFTER TOUR OF INTERNATIONAL GREEN PARTIES (Excerpted from the AAP Newsfeed, 2/3/98): Upon returning to Australia after an overseas tour, Tasmanian Greens Senator Bob Brown was full of enthusiasm for the way the Green Parties are becoming established as part of the international political map. He said there are 200 Green Members of Parliament in national European legislatures and they are part of national or state governments in Germany, France and Finland. Unless there is a Christian Democrat-Social Democrat alliance, the German Greens are likely to be sharing government in the world's third largest democracy after the September elections in that country. German Greens leader Joschke Fischer is a celebrity and his favorable rating in the polls is equal to that of Chancellor Helmut Kohl. There are six Green Members of Parliament in the new Mexican government and the party controls five Mexican cities. Senator Brown said Mexico was a "dynamo country" in terms of Green development, as it is a bridge between the Americas and also between the developed and developing worlds. However, the Greens are only strongly established in countries which publicly fund political parties between elections as a way to avoid the potential corruption of corporate donations to the major parties. "I've been in the Senate long enough to know that funding from big corporations influence both major Australian parties," he said. The other apparent prerequisite for the Greens' electoral success is a form of proportional representation. "Single member, winner-take-all electoral districts are out of date, undemocratic and not representative of pluralist societies," Senator Brown said. Australia will go into the new century with such a system, but won't come out of it with it." [Ditto for the U.S., we might add] Senator Brown said the misperception of the Greens being single issue parties should be rectified by the success of the parties becoming part of governments. In France, for example, the Greens have been instrumental in cutting working hours to try to create more jobs. The Greens are now the only truly global party. There is a European Federation of Green Parties and federations were on the verge of forming in the Americas and Africa. Senator Brown expressed the hope that Australia will host a global Greens conference in 2001. ---------------------------------------------------- Available: A one hour video with segments on the theme of "Greening Cities." 1) Eleven minutes presentation made by the three Green Party Arcata City Councilmembers highlighting 13 Green things that can be done in any town. 2) Three minutes about Arcata from CBS "This Morning" of last August, 1997. This nationally aired segment called Arcata the "greenest city in the country." 3) Forty-six minutes of mini-lectures by six locally elected Greens including Cris Moore (Santa Fe, NM), Jennifer Hanan and Jason Kirkpatrick (Arcata, CA), Krista Paradise (Carbondale, CO), Mike Feinstein (Santa Monica, CA), Bruce Mast (Albany, CA). This video is intended to help locals organize their communities and to prepare potential local candidates to achieve victory in their races for office. Price: $15 - Organizing manual: "How to Run for Local Office," 26 pages. Has all the basics about how to win a local race. Sample candidate literature included. Price: $5 Prices include shipping. Make checks payable to: Green Party of California. Send to: Jason Kirkpatrick, POB 4796, Arcata, CA 95518; 707-826-1688 (ph/fax). ---------------------------------------------------- ENDNOTES . Members of the Green Party were among those who picketed outside Llewellyn Park, the ritzy "gated community" in West Orange, where Bill Clinton attended a Democratic National Committee fundraiser on Feb. 25. Several dozen people assembled outside the main gate, holding signs and chanting. Joe Fortunato and contingent thoroughly leafletted the daylights out of the crowd with flyers about the Feb. 28th Montclair anti-war forum and march. Apparently not interested in what the group at the main gate had to say about his military buildup in the Mideast, Clinton re-routed his motorcade around to a rear entrance. . A Green Party of New Jersey tri-fold brochure is in the works. We hope to have them ready in time to make bundles available to all members and county coordinators at the party convention April 18. Let's get them all around the state and double our membership this year! . The Finance Committee met on Feb. 24 and endorsed a major fund drive, both to raise money for our new part- time Organizer position and to ensure that party work is well funded until we can increase the membership enough to have dues cover most of our expenses. The opinion was expressed that annual dues need to be raised to $25 in line with most membership organizations. Leaders and other active members are being asked to make special pledges, either in a lump sum or by monthly or quarterly payments over the next 12 or 18 months. A goal of $20,000 has been set. At the time of the meeting $5,420 had been raised in both cash and pledges. - Jim Mohn . The Fourth Mid-Atlantic Environmental Conference will be held April 23-25 at Ramapo College in Mahwah. The theme will be "Tools for Community Sustainability." Call 914-658-9120 for advance registration information or contact Tula Tsalis (ttsalis@igc.apc.org). . We knew we were smart, but ... Beautiful ??? CQ Magazine reported that the California Green Party has "recruited one of the 'beautiful people' -- former Democratic Rep. Dan Hamburg --to run for Governor." Hamburg, who represented the 1st Congressional District from 1993-95, was "named by People Magazine as not only 'Capitol Hill hunk' but also one of 'the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.'" Hamburg "drew attention in California two years ago by abruptly quitting the Democrats and stumping full-time for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader." . On Feb. 27 GPNJ Secretary Joseph Mosley was honored by the Mercer County Economic Opportunity Corporation (MCEOC) for his many years of community service. At the awards dinner he introduced Madelyn Hoffman (who received more votes in Middlesex than in any other county, perhaps due to the efforts of MCEOC members!) . From Pete Seeger: "Eventually everybody will vote Green in some way, but meanwhile someone has to start now. Why not work for a party that represents the future? As Woody Guthrie sang: "This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York island!" ------------------------------------------------------ The GreenGram is circulated monthly in an effort to keep all GPNJ members informed about recent matters and upcoming events. Members are encouraged to provide brief submissions of news items or opinions, as well as event announcements. The deadline for the April issue will be March 28. Please submit material for inclusion to: Steve Welzer (609-443-6782; StWelzer@aol.com). !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GreenGram Green Party of NJ Monthly Bulletin P.O. Box 9802, Trenton, NJ 08650 To subscribe, become a member! 7 Generations, 10 Key Values !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!