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April 1st, 1993
The Green Party Ripens: Victories and Hopes.
By Mike Feinstein.
Published in the Whole Life Times, Santa Monica, California.
April 1st, 1993
From 1984-90, only a few dozen Greens had run for office in the
US. In 1992, advancing their agenda of ecology, justice, democracy,
and non-violence, state and local Green Parties ran 92 campaigns in 14 states, receiving over 570,000 votes and
winning 15 races, including city council seats in Berkeley and
Davis and a board of supervisors on the island of Hawai'i.
In mid-February, 100 Green Party candidates and other party activists
gathered in Santa Monica for the Green Parties of the West conference.
Coming primarily from states where the Greens have state-wide
ballot status (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai'i,
and New Mexico) the conference focused on Greens in the '92 elections
and strategies for the future. A major emphasis was on being a
credible political party and winning races. This was a coming
of age for a movement that only a short time ago seemed paralyzed
over whether to get into electoral politics at all.
Saturday began with Hawai'i's Keiko Bonk-Abramson telling how
she became the first U.S. Green to win a partisan race. Defeating
an incumbent Democrat for a Board of Supervisors seat on the Big
Island, her campaign so threatened Hawai'i's Democratic Party
machine that Governor Waihee and U.S. Senator Inouye campaigned
actively against her, something unheard of for a local race. Bonk-Abramson's
campaign was perceived as credible because of her long history
of local activism and because of her and her family's deep roots
in their community.
That she could win with a grassroots campaign demonstrated that
normal citizens don't have to sell out. "For more than 20 years
I have demonstrated and testified against the environmental and
cultural destruction approved by the Democratic machine. In the
'60s they paved Oahu, in the '70s and '80s they paved Maui and
Kauai, and now it is supposed to be the Big Island. I realized
that I can't waste anymore time, I had to get in and take back
the system."
La Mesa City Council candidate Steve Saint talked about how Green
campaigns empowered citizen action. In San Diego County, where
Greens hold seven elected seats on school, water, and planning
boards, their electoral model was not candidate but consensus-driven.
Elections were organized by teams, and candidates were players
but not rulers. This not only enhanced accountability between
candidate and party, but it empowered individuals to run who would
not have if they had to do it alone.
Alaska's Kelly Weaverling approached credibility and victory by
rejecting both the image of Greens as screaming environmentalists
who want to lock up all natural resources forever, and the whole
left-right spectrum altogether. Weaverling's 1991 election as
mayor of Cordova, Alaska is the highest elected office for a U.S.
Green, and in 1992 he received 27% for state house, coming within
800 votes of winning a three-way race.
Weaverling advocated following a "gentle path" towards a politics
of the radical middle and the common good. He detailed a vision
of sustainable forestry that would not clearcut and ship off unmilled
timber (and jobs) to Asia as is presently practiced, but would
promote instead a selective, sustained yield involving local mills
cutting dimensional timber. Finished products would be produced
first for the community, region, state, and then nation. Only
then would overseas trade be pursued.
Winability goes hand in hand with the question of the relationship
to the Democratic Party. Hawai'i Green co-chairs Linda Martin
and Ira Rohter recounted the brief, competitive history between
Hawai'ian Greens and Democrats. Hawai'i has been a one-party state
since the Democrats took power from the Republicans in 1954, with
a plantation mentality where people no longer question the machine.
In this atmosphere, the 1992 Democratic state convention was a
watershed for Green organizing. The Democratic Party hierarchy
had just blocked a vote for its new officers to be chosen by party
members, so long-time Democrat Jack Davis took 40 key environmentalists
and called Rohter about their joining the Greens. Rohter integrated
this group into the party within a week. Davis was one of the
most successful integrees, receiving 27% for mayor of the Big
Island in 1992, more than double the total of the Republican.
This showing, together with Bonk-Abramson's victory, Connie Chun's
38% for State House, and Linda Martin's impressive 52,000 votes
and 13% for US Senate against long-term incumbent Inouye, solidly
put the Green Party on the Hawai'ian political map.
According to Santa Fe Green Cris Moore, not only is New Mexico a right wing Democratic one party state,
but it can be physically dangerous to run against this machine.
Nevertheless, Abraham Guttman challenged and received 42% for
State House against an incumbent Democrat, and Andres Vargas received
41% for DA in a 3-county district.
Another interesting debate was not only against whom, but upon
which level should Greens run. Pointing to local success in San
Diego County, Saint challenged Nevada County's Kent Smith on Smith's
one time assertion that Greens should run to win. Why then did
Smith run for State Senate in '92, which he could not win, when
he could win a local race? Smith, who received 32,000 votes and
10% in his race, argued that his campaign had actually built the
party because it got many people involved and improved the chances
that some of them might run in future local races. Weaverling
added that the 1990 gubernatorial campaign of Jim Sykes inspired
him and others to run. Arizona Green co-chair and 1992 State House
candidate Carolyn Campbell said that although the Greens won two
school board seats in sparesely-populated Cochise County, it was
the presence of the Party in higher races that gave it the ability
to communicate its message state-wide.
While most Greens felt it would be premature to run a Green presidential
ticket until 2000, many were open to considering a 1996 coalition
candidacy with other emerging parties such as the New Party, the
21st Century Party, the Labor Party Advocates, Project New Tomorrow
and others. But candidacy or not, there was support for a nationally-televised
convention in 1996, following those of the Democrats and Republicans,
in which Greens views would be broadcast to a broad audience.
Broadening the base was also the subject of the alliance-building
workshop. Although the Greens are known for strong environmental
positions, support from the environmental community is not necessarily
a given. David Allgood, Southern California director of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV), was invited to explain when and how CLCV endorses and
supports candidates. Because it has limited resources, CLCV concentrates
on candidates that come closest to CLCV's positions and who CLCV
thinks have a reasonable chance to win.
But many Greens argued that it is the very endorsements from groups
like CLCV that help make Green candidates viable. Kent Smith said
that based on his platform, he should have been CLCV's candidate
in his race, and by endorsing the Democrat, CLCV was supporting
status quo politics. Two time Congressional candidate Mindy Lorenz
followed that there is incredible energy in the country for new
parties because the mainstream is realizing that the 2-party system
is not broad enough to represent them. Groups like CLCV have to
begin to take chances if a Green agenda is going to be realized.
Lisa Duran, community organizer for the Wilmington-based Labor/Community
Watchdog and a regional vice-president of the Mexican-American
Political Association (MAPA), spoke about alliance-building with
labor and with communities of color. She stressed alliances based
upon honesty of motives and not the false unity that sometimes
accompanies multi-cultural organizing. Pasadena Green Heather
Stone expressed the hope that the Green Party could be an electoral
vehicle for kindred activists from the type of organizations Duran
represented.
Duran said the Green Party takes good positions on the right issues,
but questioned Greens running against activists of color who have
worked through through the Democratic Party. For example, running
against decent Latino candidates, even if they are not as strong
across the board on issues as a Green candidate might be, could
send a confusing message to the Latino community. Blase Bonpane,
Green Congressional candidate in LA's heavily Latino 30th district,
said that to not challenge the mitaristic Democratic Party because
it features a particular ethnic group would be patronizing. Lorenz,
who ran against a Latina Democrat in 1990 and a Fillipina Democrat
(who misrepresented herself as Latina) in 1992, said that Democratic
party members revealed this latter candidate not to be grounded
in the communities she claimed. Duran agreed that where to run
involved hard questions without easy answers.
Overall, the weekend was marked by the clarity of discussion,
the quality of candidates, and the seriousness with which they
addressed electoral politics. It signaled a maturation of a Green
movement that might not have all the answers, but is willing to
tackle the hard organizing questions necessary to challenge for
power. Greens have won 12 out of 21 local races in California
alone this year, and they are getting strong percentages in state
and national politics, demonstrating a further widening of our
political spectrum is at hand.
That organizations as significant as CLCV, MAPA, and the Labor/Community Watchdog are willing to engage in frank political exchange with the Greens is evidence that other important grassroots movements are taking notice. As to whether the step into electoral politics will corrupt the Green message, Weaverling, who goes dressed up to public events, said of his long hair and beard that, "For the next election I may cut my hair and trim my beard. Who here would not cut his hair or trim his beard to save his mother's life? When we run for elective office, we run because we are concerned for Mother Earth."
The following is a background report on the "Green Parties of the West" conference.
"Green Parties of the West" was one of the most successful Green
events ever held in the United States, bringing together Green
Party candidates, campaign managers, and other party activists
to look at how Greens did in the 1992 elections and to talk strategy
for the future.
Beyond the content of "Green Parties of the West'", one of the
important aspects of the conference was that it almost exclusively
brought together Greens who are both serious electoral politics
and who are "dooers". The meeting had none of the baggage of people
who just go to meetings to hear themselves. It also had none of
the baggage of people who want to question the validity of whether
Greens should be in electoral politics at all. As such, it was
an incredible breath of fresh air for those who want to seriously
pursue Green electoral strategies.
The conference also was a success because it focused on learning
and exchanging of ideas and not the kind of arcane structural
and process discussions that so often plague Green events. It
was a gathering of some of the best Green minds in the country
and in so doing was truly an inspirational event. To see the kind
of talent all together in one place that was witnessed in Santa
Monica gave a sense of confidence and credibility to conference
attendees about the possibilities for the Green movement.
Conference presenters included:
Local Races
Keiko Bonk-Abrahamson, Volcano, Hawai'i, Hawai'i
55%, elected, County Council (Board of Supervisors) of Island
of Hawai'i, District 6
Steve Saint, La Mesa, CA
15%, City Council
Jack Strasbourg, Tuscon, AZ
6.3%, Pima County Board of Supervisors, District 1
State Races
Carolyn Campbell, Tucson, AZ
11%, State House, District 11
Kent Smith, Nevada City, CA
10%, State Senate, District 1
Kelly Weaverling, Cordova , AK
current (at that time) Green Party mayor (elected in 1991)
27%, State House, District 35
National races
Blase Bonpane Santa Monica, CA
8%, US Congress
Mindy Lorenz, Santa Barbara, CA
10%, US Congress
Linda Martin, Kaneohe, Hawai'i, HI
13%, US Senate against Daniel Inouye
Alliance building
David Allberg, Los Angeles, CA
Southern California Regional Director, California League of Conservation
Voters
Lisa Duran, Silver Lake, CA
Regional Vice-President, Mexican-American Political Association,
Los Angeles, CA
Volunteer Organizer and Coordinator, Labor/Community Strategy
Center & Watchdog, Los Angeles
Strategy
Ira Rohter, Honolulu, HI
Professor of Political Science, University of Hawai'i
Co-chair, Hawai'i Green Party and
author "A Green Hawai'i: Sourcebook for Development Alternatives"
Cris Moore, Santa Fe, NM
New Mexico Green Party (elected to the Santa Fe City Council in
1994)
Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco, CA
Co-Coordinator, Goals & Strategies Working Group, Green Party
of California
Update on the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement
Robert Benson, Los Angeles, CA
Professor of Law, Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University,
Los Angeles