Green Party of New York
Media Release
www.gpnys.org

For Immediate Release: May 1, 2013
For More Info: Gloria Mattera, 917 886-4538, chair@gpny.org
Michael O’Neil, chair2@gpny.org, 917-825-3562

Green Party Accuses Cuomo of Unconstitutional Attacks on Political Parties

The Green Party said today that the proposals by Governor Cuomo and the IDC to allow non-party members to petition their way into other parties’ primaries is unconstitutional, a violation of their first amendment rights.

The Green party pointed out that Cuomo’s proposal is similar to the existing opportunity to ballot law, which the Greens and other ballot law experts contend is unconstitutional. The existing law allows non-party members to force a primary with the opportunity for party members to write in any candidate they want by collecting signatures. Apparently what Cuomo and the IDC wants to do is make it even easier for major parties to raid third parties by allowing the usurper’s name to actually appear on the ballot without the need to write it in.

Green Party rules do not allow candidates of other ballot qualified parties to run on their ballot line. The Board of Elections in the last election failed to enforce the rule, and allowed two Senate Democrats to appropriate the Green Party line through an opportunity to ballot petition.

“The Green Party and our members have a first amendment right to say that our candidates support our platform and refuse to accept contributions from corporate interests. Cuomo and the IDC aren’t interested in preventing corruption. They just want to further weaken political parties and make it easier for the candidates with the most money to buy elections,” stated Gloria Mattera, Green Party Co-Chairperson.

Allowing candidates to run on the ballot line of parties that they don’t belong to just confuses voters.

The Green Party asserts that both laws (the existing opportunity to ballot and the new proposal) violates their constitutional first amendment right to freedom of association to determine who represents their party. Prior court decisions strongly support the right of the Green Party to determine who represents them on the ballot (e.g., California Democratic Party v Jones (2000) and New York State Board of Elections v Lopez Torres (2008).

Cuomo and the IDC are pretending that they are responding to the present Wilson-Pakula line that allows party leaders to sanction non-party candidates to receive the nomination of their party. Senator Malcolm Smith, a member of the IDC, has been indicted for attempting to bribe Republican party leaders in NYC to grant him a Wilson-Pakula. Rather than eliminating the ability of candidates to run in parties they don’t belong to, Cuomo and the IDC want to allow candidates to raid as many parties as they want.

GPNY State Committee Meeting On May 18, Deadline to Submit Agenda Items to the Secretary is May 3

Your State Committee will convene in Rensselaer, NY on May 18 for our spring meeting. Registered Greens and committees can sponsor items for the agenda through a process described in our state rules. If you are unsure of who your SC representatives are, or if your county has representatives, please email the Secretary with your questions.

Save $40 On Your Weekend Left Forum Ticket By Joining the GPNYS Group Purchase! Pay Online for the $25 Group Rate

Don’t miss Greens from all over the country who will be presenting at the Left Forum from June 7-9 at Pace University in NYC. Dr. Jill Stein will be there, along with members from her newly-launched Green Shadow Cabinet.

Register and pay online securely through WePay to join the GPNYS Group Ticket Purchase and qualify for the $25 group rate.

Please share the WePay link with fellow Greens and allies to spread the word. We’ll have a table at Left Forum, with plenty of ways to help out and connect with fellow Greens. Email LFtickets@gpny.org with questions.

GPNYS-Endorsed Forum on the Dangers of Radon in Natural Gas – Tuesday, May 14 at Cooper Union In NYC. Free Event!

Radon is an invisible, but dangerous substance that is found in natural gas. It is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Greater levels of radon in our homes and workplaces could become a major public health disaster.

The Bloomberg administration and Con Edison are promoting increased use of natural gas in New York City. This additional gas, fracked from the Marcellus Shale fields appears to be unusually high in radon. In addition to the danger that fracking poses to water supplies, the high radon content poses a risk to NYC residents and workers in restaurants, gas utilities, and building maintenance.

Tuesday May 14 2013 | 7:00pm | The Great Hall, 7 E. 7th Street in Manhattan
Register online | Presented by The Institute for Sustainable Design

Join the Greens at the State Capitol in Albany to Call for a Single Payer Healthcare System – Tuesday, May 21

The New York Health Bill (Assembly/Senate) now has 74 cosponsors in the Assembly (76 to pass), and 17 cosponsors in the Senate (32 to pass). If passed, this legislation would create a universal health care system in New York State, saving lives and money. The bill recently passed in the Assembly Health Committee.

Please sign up now to join us in Albany On Tuesday May 21 and help pass the Single Payer Bill.

Make health a right! Last year, with 100 participants and over 50 physicians and medical students, we doubled the number of Senate cosponsors for the New York Health bill. Join us this year to keep the momentum going!

Carpooling options: Vans will leave from Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Cars will leave from Westchester. Check the Physicians for a National Health Program Metro NY website for details.

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Resisting Drones, Global War & Empire: 4/26-4/28 Syracuse NY
Come to Syracuse this weekend to participate in three days of networking, movement building and resistance!

Syracuse, NY is the home of Hancock Field and the 174th attack wing, an Airforce base from which drones are piloted over Afghanistan and Pakistan. Activists with Upstate Drone Action have been educating and agitating to expose the presence of the Reaper Drone in Syracuse since 2009.

Friday and Saturday there will be workshops culminating with a demonstration protest at Hancock Field coordinated by the Syracuse Peace Council.

Speakers and workshop leaders will include Kathy Kelly of Voice for Creative Nonviolence, Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers, and Ann Wright of Occupy DC and the Green Shadow cabinet and many many more.

• See the full schedule of events
• Register for the convergence
• If you’d like to volunteer to staff the Green Party table (it’s fun!), contact Ursula

Green Shadow Cabinet Members in Syracuse, NY for Anti-War Convergence!

Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, the 2012 Green Party presidential ticket, marked Earth Day by announcing a new Green Shadow Cabinet that will serve as an independent voice in U.S. politics, putting the needs of people and protection of the planet ahead of profits for big corporations. Many Green Shadow Cabinet members will be at the above-listed event in Syracuse this coming weekend.

The Green Shadow Cabinet members who are anticipated to attend are:

• Magaret Flowers, Secretary of Health
• Bruce Gagnon, Secretary of Space
• Howie Hawkins, Vice Chair Full Employment Council
• David Swanson, Secretary of Peace
• Ann Wright, Secretary of State
• Kevin Zeese, Attorney General

The Cabinet will operate in the tradition of shadow cabinets in other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Mexico, responding to actions of the government in office, and demonstrating that another government is possible.

Related articles

• Lee Camp: It’s Time To Build A Shadow Government
• Earth Day: “Another Government Is Possible” Green Shadow Cabinet Begins Operations This Week

The question before progressive advocates of public campaign financing in New York State is whether we push for full public campaign finance on the Clean Money model of equal and sufficient funding grants for all qualified candidates, or whether we settle for partial public campaign financing on the Matching Funds model used for presidential primaries since 1976 and for New York City local elections since 1989.  Read more »

Ursula serves on the GPNYS executive committee. She is a community columnist with syracuse.com. The article, along with video of Ursula at the shooting range, appeared online on April 4, 2013.

I think guns are scary. They can be used to kill people. Lots of people. Innocent people. Fast.

Whether it’s disturbed individuals who get their hands on an assault weapon, or brutal dictators and government-sponsored death squads who mow down entire villages, or assassins who take out political opponents or even rogue cops who shoot first and ask later, guns have the potential to terrorize and destroy lives.

Yet not all guns are equally lethal, and not all gun owners are reckless or blood thirsty.

Just to verify this assumption, I called up an NRA member, also a family friend, and asked him to take me shooting. If the average gun owner is anything like the guys I met at the shooting range, they take their “right to bear arms” and gun safety seriously. Read more »