Senate Candidates

I have tried to make this site a discussion venue. Only a few have really participated. Still, I will continue laying out my opinions for what it is worth.

Here is number one.

I will not vote to Todd Chretien for Senator. While he is running around acting the candidate, he does not communicate. Even his mentor, Peter Camejo, does a far better job and is willing to spend a little time when asked. When I asked Todd questions about his candidacy, directly or later through the Cal Forum email list, he has been silent. Oh, he sends out his press release messages, but has not engaged in any sort of conversation.

On the other hand, both Kent Mesplay and Tian Harter have given me good reasons to vote for them.

I would want a Green Candidate in this election to take on the issue of energy use in the united states. That is one issue that affects every one of us. In fact, if one were to decide which issues to emphasize based on public polling, then energy and gasoline prices would be at the top of the list.

Tian has long been associated with the campaign to "mend our fuelish ways." This terminoligy has been so identified with Tian from his long association with energy issues that you can not separate them. He makes his position clear on his profile at smartvoter.org. Among his priorities is the determination "To draw connections between good citizenship in daily life and doing political acts. We need to stop voting for oil companies at the gas pump." The facts of this case argue the Tian is right.

Another issue that is hanging over all of us is the specter of global warming. We may not want to think about it, it is too big, too abstratct, there is little that we perceive that we can do, and, besides big oil and the Bush administration tell us that there is not enough data on which to make any sound policy judegements so just keep on doing what you are doing. (Isn't that a poicy judgement?)

Kent Mespaly has identified this as a key priority for him.

that national government would do better to promote REAL physical security, including steps to mitigate the nightmarish consequences of global climate change. Absent leadership from Washington, D.C. we must do what we can within our state to become self-reliant down to the county level. When we do this we will grow the economy through job creation in vital sectors such as energy and small-scale agribusiness. We can have a physical security that is built-in, allowing the populace to feel more secure and reducing our reliance on the federal government in the advent of real terror.

While Todd is running a campaign from the left, both Tian and Kent are running for office based on a sense of the truth of all 10 key values. I can support either Tian or Kent and would work hard to get them as many votes as possible. I do not have the sense that Todd represents the Green Values that I am interested in.

This campaign is about more than a catchy phrase like "A Million Votes for Peace." All three Green Party Senate Candidates are in opposition to the War in Iraq but there is more to this camapign and Kent and Tian know that. If we are to make headway as a party in California, we need someone to make sure that our candidates are grounded in the principles of being Green, are capable of making the case that the environment is not something we visit but is where we live.