This is interesting, but there's few details:
The Campus Greens follow ten key values including nonviolence, ecological wisdom and community-based economics. That's exactly what Walter Pituc, junior in LAS, hopes to bring to the Champaign County Board.
Pituc is launching his 2008 campaign for the Green Party ticket. He says his platform deals with governmental accountability, smart urban planning and better communication with constituents.
"If we have someone who just runs on the issues, not on personality, then we'll do okay," Pituc said.
I don't think people will take the local Greens seriously until they can field viable candidates for local countywide offices. If their ideas have broad appeal, they should be able to do more than just running someone in a campus county board district.
In my experience, Greens aren't that interested in serving in elected office. They're more interested in stirring the pot and pushing for third party acceptance. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think that orientation is what has lead to their mediocre campaigns---even when they've had strong candidates.
In my experience, Greens aren't that interested in serving in elected office. They're more interested in stirring the pot and pushing for third party acceptance.
I don't contest that there aren't some Greens who are like that, but as a party I think we ARE ready to serve. And we are doing just that all over the country. We have 226 Greens serving in some level of government as we speak.
And Illinois is looking out to be the state where Greens are making the most headway thanks in part to our spectacular 2006 eletions results.
Here's his official announcement.
Thank you, Andrew. The article itself was very sparse on the details.
Gvien the Illinois canidates fielded by the Democrats and the Republicans, I voted more green last election. Obviously from the election results I was not alone. The greens can look for more gains until the major parties put out a better field of canidates. The party favorites are not always the voters favorites.
Thanks for the post IP!
I plan to host a blog dedicated to my campaign so that the citizens of Champaign County can see what I'm doing. But for now you can head over to my personal blog at http://openmindsandopenhearts.blogspot.com/.
-Walter Pituc
Thanks - I've been subscribed to your blog for a while, but didn't connect "GreenCutip" and "Walter Pituc."
Good luck, and please keep us updated.
Here's an important piece of info so far left out of this thread. Mr. Pituc will be running for the Champaign County Board in District 7. This is not my district, so does anyone know who his likely opponents will be?
As for the Greens not being serious contenders, that sort of dismissive attitude is just not warranted when both the Dems and Reps are basically ideologicaly exhausted. This is particularly the case at the state level in Illinois, as most readers of this blog are aware, even if they might be loathe to admit it.
About half the population doesn't vote, in large part because neither of the two established parties offers much to address the realities of these disgruntled voters own lives. The Dems and Reps seem to waste much of their energy on trying to see which one can discourage more voters of the other party, so that their own shrinking voter base will be able to win elections in front of this increasingly discouraged electorate. Negatives about the "other" side are about the only thing they are able to discuss with any real passion.
I like the fact that the Greens emphasize standing by their 10 principles, since these are all good, positive values:
Ten Key Values of the Green Party of the United States
It's hard to say what values the Dems and Reps credibly stand for as parties, although their candidates often spend lots of hot air in rather unconvincingly talking about values. Then they spend most of their time in office betraying what little in the way of values they actually have identified with.
We can do better. The Greens aren't perfect, they won't be the majority any time soon, but if I'm going to be throwing my vote away anyway, I'd rather at least vote my hopes and values. We surely can't do any worse that the mess of morons currently holding power. Eventually, voting Green will make a difference.
Lots of good points by Anonymous 4:02. Anybody paying attention at the State party level? Hello?
"Mr. Pituc will be running for the Champaign County Board in District 7. This is not my district, so does anyone know who his likely opponents will be?"
There are two Democratic incumbents running for re-election in District 7: Jan Anderson and C. Pius Weibel. Pius currently serves as Board Chair.
I assume it is plan
(9) personal and global responsibility
that covers the Green party's most distinguishing campaign plank:
White Power
Why is it a party that says it is fighting for social reform has no room for persons of color?
Even theRepublicans have more persons of color that they actually allow into leadership than the Greens do
Is it because all these pampered rich college students from the subrbs and yuppies who live in lilly-white neightborhoods don't even know where to find African Americans , or are they uncomfortable giving leadership roles to persons who are not of their class?
I'll be waiting for Little Lord Fauntelroy to break with the rest of the Greens and make diversity issues beyond making the world safe for patchouli an important part of his campaign.
Why is it a party that says it is fighting for social reform has no room for persons of color?
Do you actually believe that the Greens exclude anyone based on race? That's simply delusional.
I'm sure the Greens welcome anyone willing to embrace the 10 principles. The last thing the Republicans did for African-Americans was right after the Civil War, then they took most of that back as they became the party of capital. The local Democrats have done a pretty good job of serving the interests of many in the African-American community, so that is why the Democrats still draw strong support from it in Champaign County.
However, at the state and national levels, the Democrats have been fumbling issues of interest to African-Americans -- and the Greens have begun to make inroads as they build local party structures in many places. That is likely to be the case here locally, also, as every Green I know is talking about and working to increase the diversity of the party. Which is more than you can say for the average Republican or Democrat.
BTW, Green Party activists have worked in the past on Cynthia McKinney's unsuccessful 2004 congressional re-election campaign and are working to recruit her as either a Green presidential or vice-presidential candidate. Unfortunately and much to the disappointment of many Greens, she has appreantly withdrawn her name from contention in the last week.
www.reason.com/blog/show/120445.html
www.babblemur.com/blog/
Native American Winona Laduke was the Greens' vice-presidential candidate, running with Nader in 1996 and 2000.
The Greens are actively recruiting and endorsing candidates who are people of color.