L.A. "Briefing" on Special Election

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is hosting a "briefing" on the May 19th Special Election.

BRIEFING ON THE SPECIAL ELECTION AND THE CALIFORNIA BUDGET CRISIS
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
6:00 p.m. -- 8:30 p.m.
(Registration at 5:30 p.m)

CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER
Wallis Annenberg Building
Muses Conference Room
700 Exposition Park Drive
Los Angeles, California

RSVP to:
rbarbosa@bos.lacounty.gov
or 213-743-7200

It will be very interesting to see how Ridley-Thomas "plays" this.

On the one hand, he is very close to Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, who endorsed him in his bitter fight with Bernard Parks in last year's supervisor election.

On the other hand, he is also very close to the leadership of S.E.I.U. and some of the other Labor Boys who mostly don't like these propositions.

I personally, think this would be a wonderful opportunity for our inner-city Greens to turnout in force and underscore how the "Green Brand" means something very different from "liberal-Democrats-in-a-hurry."




The Democrats are all over the map and the top leadership is completely out of step with the rank and file on this one. The Los Angeles Democratic Party Machine Bosses, including Speaker Bass, who helped negotiate the ill-fated budget deal, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are holding their noses and urging voters to vote "YES."

Meanwhile, after painstakingly polling each county, the Green Party of California issued a statement urging a "NO" vote.

GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS RELEASE

Green Party Turns Thumbs-Down to Propositions on May 19 ballot, Charge Plan is 'Rotten Deal' That Only Gives Voters 'Choice' of Being Shot in Arm or Leg

SACRAMENTO (May 4, 2009) -- The Green Party of California today -- after polling its members and county councils statewide for the past month -- strongly urged state voters to vote "no" on all propositions on the May 19 special ballot, calling the plan a "rotten deal."

"We oppose the cuts in transportation, education, social services and other humane services, and we oppose this deal even though we were told that great hardship would result if (this) rotten deal failed to pass," said Michael Rubin, who analyzed the measures for the Green Party of Alameda County.

"Even more we oppose the process which offers us a 'choice' of being shot in the leg or shot in the arm, but did not offer us the choice of using our collective wealth to meet human needs," added Rubin.

The Greens agreed with the California Nurses Association (CNA) -- which also opposed the entire package, and League of Women Voters that Prop. 1A should be defeated, saying it would create new problems and mandate more billions in cuts to needed social concerns.

And although some Greens polled believed that Prop. 1B looked good at first glance, they discarded it -- as did the CNA -- because it was only the "sweetener" for the rotten deal, especially Prop.1A. They rejected Prop. 1C for much the same reasons.

Prop. 1D and Prop. 1E were turned down because they steal money from two previous propositions meant to benefit children and families, as well as from mental services.

Finally, Greens voted to oppose Prop.1F because it is deceptive, and doesn't really prevent the politicians from receiving their normal salaries, per diem and other perks (like free use of automobiles, etc.). It only bars "increases" in budget deficit years."

-30-

Contacts:
Susan King, Spokesperson, 415.823.5524, sking@cagreens.org
Cres Vellucci, Press Secretary, 916.996.9170, cvellucci@cagreens.org

The Green Party of California
PO Box 2828
Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
Web: http://www.cagreens.org
EMail: gpca@greens.org

I cannot count how many times a few of us have pleaded with our Green brothers and sisters not to devote all to foreign affairs, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gosh, whatever happened to "Think Globally, Act Locally?"

I mean, if our current situation right here doesn't make our case that the current two-party system of "liberal" Democrats versus "conservative" Republicans is totally dysfunctional and not remotely capable of dealing with the challenges of global climate change specifically as this global catastrophe will impact the delicate and complex ecology and society of California, then I don't know what will. "Liberal" and "conservative" populists can rant and foam all day about the evils of "Washington" but the awful truth is that our dysfunctional Sacramento politics is worse than the dysfunctional politics of Washington.