Green Party of Ohio Newsletter, Vol. I, No. 13, July 28, 2001

Green Party of Ohio Main Page
Newsletter Archive Index

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Weekly Newsletter of the Green Party of Ohio
Vol. I, No. 13 -- July 28, 2001
(This newsletter distributed to 2,947)
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F E A T U R E D I N T H I S I S S U E
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1) DESIGNING THE GREEN ECONOMY
2) SANTA MONICA PASSES LIVING WAGE ORDINANCE
3) NADER/LADUKE TO REUNITE AT CAMPUS GREENS RALLY
4) INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING ACROSS THE NATION
5) ASGP MEETS IN SANTA BARBARA CA THIS WEEKEND
6) OHIO LEGISLATION ONLINE SEARCH
7) EXCELLENT BOOK FOR LOCAL CAMPAIGN MANAGERS
8) SEMINARS ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE
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1) DESIGNING THE GREEN ECONOMY
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Designing the Green Economy: The Postindustrial
Alternative to Corporate Globalization by Brian Milani
brings together the ideas and issues related to sus-
tainability with information on technologies and
policies needed to achieve this. The author focuses
on local economies as the key to building a sustain-
able society.

For a review of the book, see:
http://www.greeneconomics.net/Book3.htm

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2) SANTA MONICA PASSES LIVING WAGE ORDINANCE
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After a campaign waged by labor, civic and religious
groups, a living wage ordinance was passed 5-2 by the
Santa Monica City Council on May 24 requiring all city
departments and contractors and private downtown and
beach area businesses downtown to pay at least $12.25
an hour to their workers or $10.50 if they provide
health care benefits. Employers that do not provide
health insurance must pay their workers an additional
$1.75 per hour rising to $2.50 in the second year. The
current minimum wage in California is $6.25. This is
the first living wage law passed in the United States
that affects private businesses regardless of their
business dealings with the City. More than 2,500 low-
wage workers will get a raise after July 1, 2002, when
the ordinance goes into effect.

The struggle for a living wage in Santa Monica has
been a long battle fought by Santa Monicans Allied
for Responsible Tourism and the Los Angeles Alliance
for a New Economy. These organizations mounted an
impressive public education and get-out-the-vote
campaign last fall to defeat a business-backed ballot
initiative that would have precluded the city council
from adopting the ordinance. Santa Monica joins more
than 60 other cities in the U.S. that have enacted
living wage requirements.

The Santa Monica City Council is chaired by Green
Party Mayor Michael Feinstein (http://www.feinstein.org)
and includes Green Party City Council member Kevin McKeown
(http://www.mckeown.net).

To view the Living Wage Ordinance, visit:
http://www.mckeown.net/lvngwage.html

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3) NADER/LADUKE TO REUNITE AT CAMPUS GREENS RALLY
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Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke, last year's Green
Party presidential and vice-presidential candidates,
will reunite in Chicago at The Campus Greens Super
Rally for Radical Change at the Congress Theatre on
the night of August 10. The night-long rally will in-
clude progressive speakers and musical acts, including
Global Exchange founder Medea Benjamin, Dead Kennedy's
front man and independent media activist Jello Biafra,
rock-'n-roller Patti Smith, and Kensington Welfare
Rights Union's Cheri Honkala. Robert Miranda of the
Green Party of Milwaukee, a member of the Milwaukee
Social Development Commission, will emcee the event.

The Super Rally for Radical Change is the keystone
event of the Campus Greens founding convention, a
four-day event filled with speakers and workshops
expected to draw around 500 student activists to the
University of Illinois at Chicago from over 45 states
and the District of Columbia.

"The rally event will be one of the strongest show-
ings of support for independent progressive politics
since the November 2000 election. The goal of the
Campus Greens is to energize high-school and college
campuses and empower students around the country for
progressive change," said Shelley Fite (New College,
'02) Chairperson of the Campus Greens Steering
Committee.

The Super Rally is open to all members of the public.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. A
list of locations in Chicago where tickets may be
purchased is available at www.campusgreens.org. All
profits will benefit Campus Greens. Doors open at
6:00 PM and the Rally will begin at 7:30 PM. The
Congress Theater is located at the corner of
N. Milwaukee and N. Rockwell.

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4) INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING ACROSS THE NATION
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From the Center for Voting & Democracy:
"Earlier this month, the San Francisco Board of Super-
visors voted 10-1 to place on the March 2002 ballot a
charter amendment to implement instant runoff voting
for all citywide elections, including mayor, and for
the Board of Supervisors. San Francisco currently uses
November elections followed by December runoff elec-
tions for these races. Campaign costs to candidates
and the city are very high. Voter turnout often drops
precipitously.

"Elsewhere, at least 13 state legislatures have con-
sidered instant runoff voting legislation this year,
including bills backed by California's speaker of the
house and state chapters of Common Cause, PIRG and
the League of Women Voters .... Next month the Utah
Republican Party likely will become the first state-
wide major party in the United States to implement
instant runoff voting in its convention and other
internal elections.... The leading "third choice"
candidates in this year's two gubernatorial races --
Republican state senator Bill Schluter, running as an
independent in New Jersey, and Libertarian Party nomi-
nee William Redpath in Virginia -- are both touting
IRV in their campaigns.... The Eugene city council has
voted to place a charter amendment on the September
ballot that would allow use of IRV for city elections
-- voters have adopted similar measures recently in
San Leandro (CA), Santa Clara County (CA) and Vancouver
(WA), while Oakland (CA) voters passed a charter amend-
ment that will result in use of IRV in special elec-
tions to fill vacancies as soon as new voting equipment
is in place.... Alaska IRV backers are gearing up for
their campaign to adopt IRV for all federal and most
state offices, already qualified for the November 2002
ballot.... Both Public Campaign and Common Cause have
joined U.S. PIRG in urging consideration of IRV for
major elections."

For more information on IRV, visit:
http://fairvote.org/irv/

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5) ASGP MEETS IN SANTA BARBARA CA THIS WEEKEND
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The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) is
having a national meeting this weekend in Santa
Barbara CA. Business includes the creation of the
Green Party of the United States as the national
Green Party and filing with the Federal Election
Commission (FEC). News from this weekend's meeting
will be in next week's newsletter.

For more information on the ASGP, see:
http://www.green-party.org

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6) OHIO LEGISLATION ONLINE SEARCH
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The 124th General Assembly Online provides a search
engine that will take you to the text of a bill or
a bill analysis. Whether you are interested in learn-
ing more about a certain bill, or looking for legis-
lation introduced during a past general assembly or
by a certain legislator, you may find this site useful.

Visit the 124th General Assembly Online at:
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/search.cfm

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7) EXCELLENT BOOK FOR LOCAL CAMPAIGN MANAGERS
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The Campaign Manager: Running and Winning Local Elections
by Catherine M. Shaw

This book is a practical guide on how to run for local
political office. Catherine Shaw wrote this after 10
years' experience in campaigns including a successful
run for Mayor of Ashland, OR. The book covers every
aspect of a well-managed local campaign including
organizing volunteers, fundraising, precinct analysis,
canvassing, use of the media, and more. The book in-
cludes samples of many useful forms designed to help
the first-time candidate work more effectively.

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8) SEMINARS ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE
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The Office of the Secretary of State is conducting
seminars on campaign finance for candidates, party
committees, PAC managers, and treasurers at a cost
of $15 as follows:

Aug. 15: Athens
Aug. 22: Akron
Aug. 29: Columbus
Sept. 12: Findlay
Sept. 19: Dayton

There are morning sessions for candidates and party
committees and afternoon sessions for PAC managers
and treasurers.

Contact Paul Dumouchelle, Treasurer, Green Party of
Ohio at pauld@columbus.rr.com or 614-766-4511 or
the Office of the Secretary of State at
http://www.state.oh.us/sos for more information.
Registration forms are available on the Web site of
the Secretary of State.

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Miss an issue of our newsletter? You can now read
past newsletters of the Green Party of Ohio by
visiting the newsletter archives at:
http://www.ohiogreens.org/newsletters/

Also, you can view the latest weekly segment of the
Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) News
Circulator by visiting the ASGP Web site
at http://www.green-party.org and selecting "ASGP
News Circulator" from the menu at the top of the
left column. Or, sign up to get it by email by
sending a blank email to ohiogreens-asgp@yahoogroups.com.

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activities, and news of interest to the Green Party
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Green Party of Ohio
PO Box 851, Kent OH 44240
Email: secretary@ohiogreens.org
Web: http://www.ohiogreens.org