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The Hankster

Occupy Boston’s encampment is a “tinderbox” of tightly packed, flammable tents where cigarette smoking, incense burning and garbage have led to “rampant” health and fire code…

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In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Twin Cities Daily Planet has published interviews with two Green Party city council candidates. Johnny Howard is running in Ward 1:
“I want to change the culture of leadership,” says Johnny Howard who is competing in the race for the Saint Paul city council against incumbent council member Melvin [...]
Green Party Watch

From the New York Green Party:
Howie Hawkins needs your help to get elected to Syracuse City Council!
Howie won over 40% of the vote the last time he ran for this seat, and that was after having to petition like crazy to get on the ballot. This time, with [...]
Green Party Watch

Kaitlyn Foti reports at Chestnut Hill Patch:
Chestnut Hill resident Brian Rudnick is hitting the street, trying in a short amount of time to get the signatures he needs to get on the ballot this November.
Rudnick decided late in July that he wanted to switch from a write-in campaign as the Green Party candidate for [...]
Green Party Watch

Press release from the Green Party of Philadelphia:

By Chris Robinson
Green Party members and friends met on May 26 to discuss their current and future elector campaigns and other actions designed to mobilize the voting public.
Cheri Honkala spoke about her campaign as the Green Party candidate for Sheriff [...]
Green Party Watch

TAKE HEART, LIBERTARIANS– JOHN HARRINGTON ACTUALLY GOT ELECTED !
Libertarian Wins Seat on San Gabriel City Council
By Ted Brown

On March 8, John Harrington, a long-time registered Libertarian, won election to the City Council of San Gabriel, a city of 40,000 people about 10 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Even though 3 other people ran for this seat and outspent him, Harrington prevailed by building community ties and delivering the libertarian message to high-propensity voters.

Harrington, 40, a Washington native, has lived in San Gabriel since 2004. He is house counsel for a large construction company and is also a real estate broker. He is married and has two daughters, ages 9 and 11. He’s been involved in the community as a soccer coach and a community activist. He succeeded in getting more than 3,000 signatures from residents to prevent closing down a popular park in the city. He has been a registered Libertarian since 1994.

He says that he has had the same philosophy since he was a kid, in a word: “Liberty.” He became part of the bond oversight committee for the San Gabriel Unified School District, where he opposed demands for mandatory union labor on school construction projects. He persuaded the entire committee to oppose this power grab, yet the unions singled him out and succeeded in removing him from the committee.

Our new Libertarian officeholder believes that local government has more direct effect on our lives than state and national government. He will now have input in the process, and he has plenty of good ideas of how more freedom will help his community. He found a lot of apathy in San Gabriel, and said that the incumbent officials, most in place for 10 years or more, didn’t seem to have any goals beyond getting elected. The city has a million budget which Harrington says is so complicated and full of “smoke and mirrors” that he, as a lawyer, couldn’t even read it, nor could friends who were experts in analyzing budgets. He said that no city budget should be beyond the understanding of the average high school graduate.

How did Harrington win, when so many Libertarians before him have failed? He began his campaign with the people who knew him best, and then got his message out to people who aren’t familiar with the concept of smaller government. He walked precincts and knocked on thousands of doors, along with dozens of volunteers, some of whom came from local Tea Party organizations. He and his volunteers covered all 26 precincts in the city, concentrating on people who vote in every election.

He proudly said that of the 4 candidates, he was the one who won the endorsement of the local fire and police departments. He did it by telling them that their pension system was not sustainable, and that they would have to privatize it in order to keep what they had. He won them over, as they recognized that he was being honest with them. “Those police can smell B.S. a mile away,” he said. His hallmarks are honesty, accountability, and disclosure from public officials. He wants people to know what’s going on, and doesn’t believe that public documents should be kept confidential. He is very concerned with government spending. He says, “I hold tax dollars sacred. It’s not my money.” He also doesn’t believe in eminent domain, especially when the city takes property from one private citizen and gives it to another. Instead, he wants to get property owners involved in local development projects, rather than throwing them to the curb in favor of politically-connected developers.

San Gabriel was one of the first cities in Los Angeles County to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. Harrington would vote to allow them to open there, but doesn’t anticipate a vote any time soon. He knows that he needs three votes (out of 5 council members) to pass anything, and he is in the process of building those relationships. He also strongly urges Libertarians to seek local office in San Gabriel and other cities as well. Kudos, John Harrington! May you have a long and productive political life.

Independent Political Report

It’s Friday night, you’re in New York City, and you’re looking to meet some interesting people.  You can go to a museum or have dinner with friends, you can go see a Broadway play or an Off-Broadway play, AND….. if it’s the 3rd Friday of the month, you can take a step off the beaten path and step into the world of Lenora Fulani.

Dr. Fulani is one of the country’s most significant black leaders and the leading black independent. She helped establish the current independent movement with her 1988 independent run for President of the United States in which she became the first woman and first African American to be on the ballot in all 50 states. She also qualified for federal primary matching funds.

Fulani hosts a monthly forum called Interviews by a Black Independent (on the 3rd Friday of the month) at the Harlem State Office Building on 125th Street in Manhattan. She interviews her guests in an intimate setting on the 2nd Floor Gallery with a diverse audience of political and cultural independents. Introductions are made, interview ensues, and Q&A from the audience makes for a really interesting and important community dialogue where you can get to know some of the movers and shakers in the NYC intellectual community.

Last month Dr. Fulani interviewed New Federal Theater founder Woodie King, Jr. (see below) and this week we are treated to a conversation with former NYC Comptroller and recent candidate for Mayor Bill Thompson.

Hope to see you there!!
NH

Did you miss last months Interview with Woodie King Jr?   Click here to listen to it, or here to download it on iTunes! This Friday, April 15th – 6pm  Dr. Fulani Interviews Bill Thompson, Former NYC Comptroller  Join us for an interesting conversation about politics and the civic life of the city — a great opportunity to take an inside look at the city and state government.         Harlem State Office Building 163 W. 125th Street, second floor If you haven’t yet, please RSVP by calling (212) 962-1699 Here are a couple of photos from the March event: Lenora Fulani talking with young people who attended the Woodie King Jr. interview in March 2011 Did you miss last months Interview with Woodie King Jr?   Actor Moshe Yassur, Woodie King Jr., Jim Horton Click here to listen to it, or here to download it on iTunes! Woodie King, Jr. is the founding director of the New Federal Theater, a pioneer in Black theater and a progressive with a long track record of speaking out on behalf of the poor and excluded. Mr. King directed Fred Newman’s Mr. Hirsch Died Yesterday at the Castillo Theater (in which Lenora Fulani made her stage acting debut)

The Hankster

The Hankster

There will be a meeting of the state party’s committee, a fundraiser dinner featuring Green Party activist Mike Nance answering the question, “Was Hericletus right?” and a pancake breakfast the next morning at the house of Green Party activist Hillary Kane, which is part of an effort to form a new West Philadelphia Greens group.  Both Nance and Kane were involved with Hugh Giordano’s campaign for state legislature this year.  Below are links to the facebook pages for each event, with more details.

State Committee Meeting

Singapore Dinner Fundraiser

Pancake Breakfast

Independent Political Report