tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497138.post4704084527959187900..comments2024-01-22T03:02:52.051-08:00Comments on California Greening: Report from Monterey CountyWeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15684763427526399228noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18497138.post-29709339845241251062007-02-10T16:25:00.000-08:002007-02-10T16:25:00.000-08:00Hi Wes and CG bloggers... Here's some additional...Hi Wes and CG bloggers...<BR/><BR/> Here's some additional thoughts and info in reponse to Wes's comments :<BR/><BR/> i've been registering voters in conjunction with ballot initiatives, referenda, other political campaigns, festivals and events, for about 16 years now, and for the last 10 years have been perfecting methods of presenting voters with the option of registering Green... Making that option consistent with the values of average voters (for Peace, Better Wages, Equal Rights for All, and Preserving our Environment) has been the key...<BR/> With all due respect to Wes, the contentiousness of the Monterey issue, probably had little to do with our success... <BR/> Also, where we gather signatures, ie in front of supermarkets and department stores,<BR/>we tend to encounter all kinds of folks, but mostly what would be characterized as "mainstream citizens...<BR/> Some background - i began keeping precise records of how people registered with me, right after the November, 2000, Presidential elections... i was enthused because, during that Pres. campaign in Sonoma county, dozens of Green activists had succeeded in registering more Greens, 1,900+, (from the March primary to the Nov election) than the Dems and Repubs COMBINED !! 1,800 +....<BR/><BR/> Here's the figures from all the campaigns i've worked on in California since November, 2000...<BR/><BR/> Grand Total Registrations......(11/7/00 - 1/18/7) <BR/><BR/>Total Registered...3,645<BR/>Green..............2,331 (64.0%)<BR/>Dem..................683 (18.7%)<BR/>Decline to State.....313 (8.6%)<BR/>Repub................254 (7.0%)<BR/>Other/misc............34 (0.9%)<BR/>Libertarian...........23 (0.6%)<BR/>American Independ......5 (0.1%)<BR/>Natural Law............1 (0.0%)<BR/><BR/> The rates of Green Registration vary from about 40% - 80% depending on the location of the campaign, the more conservative areas like LA, Butte, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, San Diego, etc having a lower rate... But almost always, i've been able to register more Greens than any other party regardless of the location...<BR/> There are a variety of reasons for this, but it would take a lengthy explanation, which may not be appropriate here... So i'll just say that i consider the PPIC report on voter dissatisfaction with the 2 major parties, which Wes has referenced above, to be extremely illustrative...<BR/> One final note - we've worked in Monterey the last 3 years, and this year, for me, the rate of Green registration was actually lower than previously... i'm uncertain as to why...<BR/><BR/>tim smith<BR/>rioryon@aol.comtim smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07787049208914143833noreply@blogger.com