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New Orleans Greens Endorse Five Candidates for Local Races
by bardamu
Tuesday, Jul. 15, 2003 at 7:03 AM
c_roselund@yahoo.com imported from the old IMC postnuke site
Sunday, July 6, the Greater New Orleans Green Party voted to endorse five candidates, two independents and three greens, for local races in the October 3 election. This is a surge in activity both for independent candidates and for the GNOGP, which was founded three years ago during Ralph Nader's campaign for president.
CC Campbell-Rock was endorsed for state BESE board, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Her primary issue is opposition to LEAP testing, a proficiency test for fourth and eighth grade students that determines whether they can continue to the next grade. LEAP testing is very controversial, especially in Louisiana, with many teachers opposed to this and other 'high-stakes' tests. Outside the meeting local teacher Abrahm Himmelstein commented that LEAP testing is "part of President Bush's money for testing, no money for education (plan)." CC has long been active in local issues, especially issues of education and incarceration. She is also opposed to school vouchers and took a strong stance against sheriff Foti's 'prison school' program. She is running as an independent. Renee Washington is running in Jefferson Parish for the office of sheriff, opposing twenty-year incumbent Harry Lee, a very well known figure in local politics. Her law enforcement career began in the seventies when she had many firsts for a black woman in her department, including first patrol officer, first detective, and first head of a division. She is an advocate of community policing and alternatives to prison for young and non-violent offenders, stating that "no one can show me that a child, a person under twenty-one, is better off with incarceration." She ran in 1999 against Harry Lee, and received 22,000 votes, which was a surprise to many people, as she was and is the first person in twelve years to run against Lee. Ms. Washington is also running as an independent, but was warmly received and endorsed by the greens. She commented that she and the Green Party "have a lot in common in the way of ideas." Dan Thompson is running in Plaquemines Parish for State Representative as a green, and is opposed by former sheriff Ernest Wooton. Dan is a former professional fisherman who, like many others, was forced out of business by both cheaper international competition and laws restricting the rights of small fisherman. He is also an advocate of coastal restoration, and wants to see it enacted by Louisiana instead of the federal government. He has proposed the building of levees and siphoning water from the Mississippi. The dissapearance of the coast is a serious concern in Plaquemines as well as other coastal areas, where vanishing wetlands make southern Louisiana the fastest shrinking part of the nation. He is also opposed to LEAP testing and is an advocate for small, locally owned businesses. Jason Neville is running in District 3 for state senate, a district that includes much of the 9th ward, the Marigny, Gentilly and New Orleans East as well as a strip of land along Esplanade avenue towards the lake. Jason's endorsement is not surprising, as he is the co-chair and a founding member of the Green Party of Louisiana, but he is also involved in a variety of other issues, such as helping write the city's transportation plan. He is running on an "education not incarceration ticket." This is Jason's first try for public office. In 2000 he was the campaign manager for Malik Rachim, a local Green and activist, in the city council elections. Jason is a proponent of public transit, more funding for schools, cyclist's rights, and raising the state minimum wage. Jason's opponent, Lamberg Bossier, is an incumbent who has upset many local progressives by voting for an iniative that cut funding for Charity Hospital. Les Evenchick, a former Green, was also endorsed for his race in State House District 89, which includes the French Quarter. He is a member of LEAN, The Louisiana Environmental Action Network, and has a history of involvement in local issues, such as working on the Bring Back the Benches Campaign in Jackson Square and working on wetlands restoration.
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