Election Biographies: GPCA Coordinating Committee, July 2017 - June 2019

Election Biographies: GPCA Coordinating Committee elections for twelve two-year terms, each running July 2017 - June 2019: The top six vote getters, elected by ranked choice voting, will be elected to two-year terms.

Ten candidates for six female seats:  Victoria Ashley, Sanda Everette, Nicole Castor, Deatra Cohen, Maxine Daniel, Angelica Dueñas, Sue Emery, Sadie Fulton, Mimi Newton, Karinna Zarate

Seven candidates for six male seats: Doug Barnett, Eric Brooks, Tarik Kanaana, Paul Larudee, Eric Luna, Mark Miller, Erik Rydberg

To email the individual candidates, click on their name below.

Ten candidates for six female seats (listed in the order of their submission):

Sanda Everette, San Mateo (San Mateo County County) - incumbent
(application received April 9, 2017)

1) Please list any prior or current positions, related experience, and/or personal and professional skills within of the Green Party that you have, that apply to this position: I am applying for reelection to a two year position for the GPCA Coordinating Committee. I have been a Green Party member for about 208 years. I have served five-2 year terms as an elected county council member in San Mateo and have attended​ more than​ two dozen state meetings as a delegate from my county and have served on the state credential committee twice and participated in delegate election committees four times.  I have been on the Coordinating Committee for the past four years and was elected as the female co-coordinator shortly after my election.

I have also been very active at the GPUS level, and have been on the GPCA delegation for ​13 years and ​9 years as its co-chair.  I have attended national meetings and presidential conventions every year since 2003.  I am active on several GPUS committees.  There are some inaccurate perceptions about GPCA on the national level and I work hard and painfully to try to make them more accurate. I also feel a need to see our state party grow to be the giant that it is sometimes perceived as being at the national level, but also to be the party we want to see it become, a model of the imperative of an alternative political party.  I also believe it is important for there to be more of a bridge between GPUS and GPCA and can function in that role.

Politically, some of my particular passions that lead me to want to get Greens in office are single payer health care, electoral reform (including proportional representation, ranked choice voting, and publicly financed fair elections--get the corporate money out of the government), ending war and imperialism that passes as war,  fair taxation (tax the wealthy and corporations), climate change issues (I attended the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun), and almost any environmental issues you could name.

I also have become quite involved with on-line networking. I became the CC liaison to the GPCA Media Committee and actively participate with the committee. I helped create our current web presence and work to keep it up-to-date, I support our greater participation in social networking sites (I am one of three people who tweet on behalf of GPCA), and would like to see a GPCA Livestream show.  I have helped with Livestream video and production  while working on the GPUS Media Committee.

2) Please list any prior or current positions, related experience, and/or personal and professional skills outside of the Green Party that you have, that apply to this position: In the rest of my life, I retired from teaching in 2009, permaculture designer, political/social activist since the 70's, and co-creator of the San Mateo Ecovillage. See www.greensolutions.org for more about me. I think of myself as a planetary citizen, love to travel, and am fortunate that my husband worked for United Airlines.  He​ is now retire​e​ and we​ ​really take advantage of those flight benefits.

Nicole Castor, Sacramento (Sacramento County)
(application received April 18, 2017)

My name is Nicole Castor. I am an enthusiastic part of the “#demexit” wave, who decided to join the Green Party in July 2016. Having been registered Democrat for over seventeen years, my dissatisfaction and disappointment with the supposedly-progressive Democratic Party led me to finally realize that the needs of common people, the planet and future generations will neither be addressed nor met from within the corrupt and corporately-run two-party 'system'.

I was born and raised in Lakewood, New Jersey, a culturally-diverse community which helped to shape my perspective and worldview. I had moved to California as a young teen, moved back east for a few years and then came back as a young adult.

Being drawn back to California for its affordable public colleges, I attended a community college and transferred to California State University Sacramento, earning my BA in Sociology in 2008. My studies helped me recognize and address key issues affecting the marginalized in our society. Throughout college, I was active in my community, and often participated in various demonstrations and protests. Once I started a family, after college, my involvement toned down a bit as I dedicated my time as a stay-at-home-mom, focusing my activism on raising a couple of little radicals who will shape the system in their time!

As my children are growing, I am now afforded more time to come back to the community involvement I’ve missed so much. After registering Green last summer, I have been fortunate to meet others with a common deep concern for society. I quickly became involved in re-activating the Green Party of Sacramento County. Because of our hard work, we became a recognized County Council and are establishing a Green presence and visibility in the Sacramento area by joining committees, coalitions, and showing up at events, actions and demonstrations.  We have been vocal about Homeless Rights issues when attending City Council meetings, had been mentioned in the local news for our participation in a recent “Reclaim MLK Day” march.  As an individual, I had also had the opportunity to speak in support of the Green Party on the local Fox News and in an online Bloomberg View article [https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-09-23/two-parties-aren-t-enough-for-all-u-s-voters].

I currently hold a seat on the steering committee of the Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights, am on Student Career Options Committee (countering military recruiters in high schools), an adjunct of Sacramento Area Peace Action.  I had given marginal help on the organizing committee for the Sacramento May Day March and am currently giving supplemental support on the organizing committee for March on Monsanto Sacramento.  As well as my own involvement, I strongly urge others in the County Council to collaborate with other coalitions.

In addition to the policy side, I was chosen as our County Council Co-Coordinator by the other Sacramento County Council members. That has helped me to gain an appreciation of how the party itself needs to be run, which was then further expanded when I attended the March 2017 GPCA General Assembly in Bakersfield, where I got to meet similarly-committed Greens from around the state – contacts I hope to work with in the years to come.

What do I wish to accomplish on the Coordinating Committee?

I want to serve on the Coordinating Committee to deepen my involvement in the party. I hope to bring the perspective of the recent #demexit wave to the Coordinating Committee – a perspective which has as much to do with integrity in politics as it does with progressive stances on issues.

The Green Party can be a truly transformative political party -- if and only if it remains true to its principles.   I strongly believe in the Green Party's Ten Key Values and see those as basic guidelines on how we should operate.

I also understand the necessity of the basic administrative work that the Coordinating Committee is responsible for, work that empowers the rest of the party – from ensuring our state meetings happen in a timely manner and are well-run, to appointing people to important committees, to recognizing new county parties and more. I am ready to attend the monthly Coordinating Committee teleconferences and do my share of those administrative tasks.

Victoria Ashley, Vallejo (Solano County) - incumbent
(application received April 23, 2017)

1) Please list any prior or current positions, related experience, and/or personal and professional skills within of the Green Party that you have, that apply to this position.

I have served on the Green Party of California State Coordinating Committee for several years, have been a County Councilor on the Alameda Green Party County Council from 2004-2013 and the Solano County Green Party Council since 2014, and have been an active Green in the Bay Area since 2000.  I currently am a member of the CC, Finance, Bylaws and Media Committees.  Locally, I maintain the website for the Alameda Green Party County Council, www.acgreens.org and Solano Greens, and am responsible for posting meeting and event notices to the sites and social media.

I am excited by the growth of the party with new members and am hopeful we can find ways to integrate new methods to communicate both within our party and to the public, given the constantly changing landscape of technology, social media and new media.  Additionally, transferring our existing structures for how we function, or wiping the slate clean, to some extent, and replacing our existing structures with new ones, will be a challenge going forward.

2) Please list any prior or current positions, related experience, and/or personal and professional skills outside of the Green Party that you have, that apply to this position.

I have degrees in architecture and psychology and am working at Veterans Affairs where our lab does cognitive testing of veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury in order to better understand how the brain works.

Mimi Newton, Faifax (Marin County) - incumbent
(application received April 23, 2017)

I have been continuously registered with the Green Party since the late 1980's and have been a member of the GPCA Coordinating Committee for approximately one year, after running for an unexpired term in the spring of 2016.  I joined the GPCA Bylaws Committee last fall and am currently the Coordinating Committee liaison to the Bylaws Committee.

I live in Fairfax, California, in Marin County, where I am Co-Chair of the Marin Green Party.  I have been an environmental attorney for almost 30 years, and now work as a hazardous waste attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco.  During my free time, I’m a Planning Commissioner for the Town of Fairfax.  Prior to becoming a Planning Commissioner in 2015, I was the chair of the Fairfax Open Space Committee for many years.

GPCA State Coordinating Committee Seat - Female

I am applying to fill one of the Female two-year Coordinating Committee Seats for the term running from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019.  After working to better understand the Party’s functions over the past year, I now believe I can continue to be of assistance to the State Party both in my role as a member of the Coordinating Committee and on the Bylaws Committee.  I’d be honored to do everything within my power to help strengthen and grow the Green Party in California.

Sue Emery, Nevada City (Nevada County)
(application received April 23, 2017)

The Ten Key Values !! Who doesn’t fall in love such poetic justice! I have been a Green since 2009, and was the campaign manager for my husband, Ben Emery, in 2010 when he ran for the US Congressional 4th District of California, against a D and an R. I saw the importance of reaching out to High School students, to give a voice to third parties and the Greens. I helped re-activate the Greens in Nevada County in 2010 and again in 2016. I am currently a County Council member Nevada County. I have been an activists for the environment most of my adult life. Due to serious family health issues I had to take a step back from the political scene in 2014. I have been a business owner and I am currently self employed as an equine and Human Massage therapist.

My vision for the Coordinating Committee would be to keep the Revolution moving forward by opening doors of the Green Party, to the new young voters who are looking for a party that represents’ their ideals, as well as the 90 million voters who stay home and do not vote. I hope that the Green Party will be the branch of the movement that will stand up to the corporate powers and go the extra mile for all our relatives. Serving as the legislative arm while electing Greens to seats in every county and district in the state. I would be honored to work with the dedicated members of the California Green Party as a Coordinating Committee Member. I am passionate about growing the Greens!

Maxine Daniel, Castro Valley (Alameda County)
(application received April 23, 2017)

My name is Maxine H. Mica Daniel. I’ve previously served two terms on the Coordinating Committee and am currently serving on my local county councils. I had downgraded my participation due to self-care(health) and f family issues. Those mostly resolved, with renewed energy I am running for the Green Party of California Coordinating Committee.

I’ve been active in the state and county level parties since 2005 even though I drank the kool-aid in 1992. The 10 key values are my motivating force. My life has been filled with struggled against racism, sexism, domestic violence. As a black feminist lesbian I have always advocated for Reproductive Health Care, social justice, equal rights, As for as the environment, I was an advocate of the Environment and Environmental protections long before the Green Party.

I consider myself a thoughtful listener, critical thinker, calm, honest and willing to do my share of then work to strengthen and grow the Green Party of California into the Voting arm of the 99%.

Deatra Cohen, Davis (Yolo County)
(application received April 23, 2017)

I was a public librarian for over twenty years. I saw daily, through my work with patrons of all ages, ethnic and economic backgrounds, that we all want to be listened to, to be understood, that we all need a basic level of compassion. I believe compassion is the unspoken value at the heart of the Green Party and I believe this core value is key to the Green Party’s success.

As a librarian, I was fortunate to work in several urban and rural systems: Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento and Yolo County.  My unwavering commitment to public service was always focused on making sure that all patrons had equal access to information, technology and community services. In addition, I specialized in teen services and for many years provided leadership opportunities to community youth to help build their social literacy skills while having fun in a nonacademic environment. At the risk of stating the obvious, I consistently used my organizational abilities to: foster and coordinate complex partnerships with other municipal departments; dream up, plan and implement regular programming; facilitate meetings; maintain annual budgets; speak publicly; fund raise; supervise and mentor library graduate students; gather data and generate reports; provide information services to all patrons at a public service desk; regularly outreach to the community.

I’m a new Green Party member. Prior, I had been No Party Preference since first registering to vote.  For a brief moment in time, I reregistered to campaign for Bernie Sanders. While I learned a lot from that experience and met many incredible people who wanted to see changes in our government, becoming a Green Party member seemed like the next logical step and I hoped others would and could follow. To that end, in the past few months, I’ve been part of a very dedicated group of new Green Party members who’ve worked hard to see our county council be successfully reactivated. I’ve never felt as politically empowered as I have during this time and I am committed to helping build on the momentum the Green Party already has to create a viable third party alternative.

Karinna Zarate, Temecula (Riverside County) - incumbent
(application received April 23, 2017)

I've been a Green since 2014, because it reflects my views about the environment, justice and peace -- and as a single mom of twins +1 — it reflects my hopes for my children.

In the past year I've served for a one year term on the GPCA Coordinating Committee (filling a one year mid-term vacancy) and am in the first year of a two-year term as a GPCA GPUS Delegation alternate. I am also a member of the Green Party County Council in Riverside County, working to mobilize the greens in this community and help motivate like - minded community members to get involved and register Green.  With this knowledge of how the Green Party works on multiple levels, I feel I can contribute lot of organizational insight and skills to the Coordinating Committee if elected to a full two-year term.

 I bring a mix of activism and business expertise to the Green Party. For several years I have served as a Boardmember at the Women’s Transitional Living Center, a non-profit organization in Orange County, dedicated to helping victims of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking. WTLC is the oldest domestic violence program in Orange County and the third oldest in the nation. I have appeared on CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront as well as CNN's Café en Español.

As a Vegan Latina, I work to promote healthy living, a healthy environment, a peaceful planet and protecting animals through educating about a plant-based vegan lifestyle --  including at events I help organize as a volunteer and a professional (see below). I also serve as a GPCA appointed member of the GPUS Animal Rights Committee.

Professionally I work as a a business development and marketing consultant in the luxury brands, green and sustainable markets. I'm a member of the Irvine and Newport Beach,Chambers of Commerce as well as the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  As an Ambassador for the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, I connect business owners with target customers and business associates; and I also work as a corporate event planner and wedding coordinator for several venues in Southern California. I can bring these organizational talents - and Green values - to the GPCA Coordinating Committee.

I look forward to the full term opportunity to bring my best skills to the GPCA CC. Thank you for this opportunity.

#Sadie Fulton, Davis (Yolo County)
(Application received April 24, 2017)

I am a 28-year-old with a decade's worth of experience as a left wing activist and organizer. I have campaigned for people's interests on a global scale.

In 2010, I worked with a team of grade-school students to organize a protest in Belfast, Northern Ireland which ultimately prevented university tuition fees from trebling. In 2011, I helped socialist Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit Ireland launch a campaign which, historically, canvassed both sides of Belfast's notorious sectarian divide. In 2012, I got involved in the Occupy movement. Around the same time I also unionized a call center. Subsequently, I took a job as a trade union organizer in Cambridge, England, where I worked to protect the British National Health Service. I also started a campaign to extend practical solidarity with refugees being held up at the French border to the UK, which led to several successful protests and food-aid deliveries.

In 2016 I moved to California to be closer to my family, and additionally, because I was inspired by the mobilization of masses of young people around the campaign of Bernie Sanders. To be clear, I am substantially to the left of Bernie. At the same time, his campaign marked a sharp emergence of class politics, desire for socialism, and broad discussion of left-wing economic issues, all of which had long been suppressed in the United States. I was inspired by the effectiveness with which Jill Stein's campaign reached out and embraced Bernie's supporters. I feel that the Green Party is the natural home for these people.

I am running for the Coordinating Committee of the GPCA because I hope to be a voice for the next generation; I wish to do my part to ensure the Green Party is as effective and potent as a political force as it can be. With the right strategy and structure I believe the Green Party is now poised to grow even more than it has recently, and that the Green Party will soon take its place as the "electoral arm of the movement".

I am already a member of the IT committee and intend to open the channels between that committee and the state party as a whole, to empower local counties to effectively take ownership of their own webspace and ensure that our communications are optimized both internally and externally. I have also submitted a proposal to GROW regarding a strategic approach to activating new counties. I would also like to establish stronger links between veteran Greens and new activists, possibly through a mentoring arrangement or equivalent, and build a tool-kit to encourage local Greens to replicate effective structures at their county level, thereby maximizing the avenues through which an interested individual can become active in the Green Party.

#Angelica Dueñas, Sun Valley (Los Angeles County)
(application received April 24, 2016)

My hope is to help make the Green Party a more inclusive and vocal on social justice issues. It is time for the Green Party to prepare and become ready to accept the millions of disillusioned Americans. It is clear that our system is a 2 party Duopoly and it's time to change that! As an alternate I want to ensure that we have the maximum participation in our Party to make decisions and take position on issues.   

I was a Bernie Sanders Delegate a the DNC (was a registered Dem for 6 months in 2016), Regional Campaign Coordinator the Jill Stein for President 2016 Campaign, a Global Young Greens Delegate at the Global Greens Conference 2017 in Liverpool representing the United States

I have a BA in Political Science and a MA in Organizational Leadership. I have been active in my community for over eight years.

I have been a member of my Neighborhood Council in the City of Los Angeles for over five years, have held two terms as President and one term as 1st Vice President.

I am one of the founding members of the new San Fernando Valley Greens in the Los Angeles area. We participate in local actions to benefit the homeless, undocumented, people of youth, environment, peace and other local matters of concern.

I am fluent in English and Spanish.

Seven candidates for six male seats (listed in the order of their submission):

#Erik Rydberg, Chico (Butte County)
(application received April 23, 2017)

My vision for the Green Party of the United States is the same as it is for the Green Party of California. To grow! As a State Coordinator for the Stein/Baraka campaign I had great success in bringing Bernie Sanders supporters over to the Green Party, as well as Independents who regularly don't vote. As the Progressive Party in America the Green Party truly represents the values of the 99%. The Green New Deal is a long over due solution to America's economic crisis. The Green Party's social justice platform sets us apart from all other parties in the United States with a clear stance on the 500 broken treaties with the Native Americans, reparations for our African-American brothers and sisters and equality/equity for Women, LGBTQ, oppressed religious groups and immigrants.

EXPERIENCE

Dirstrict Delegate for Bernie Sanders, CA Dirstrict 1 — Social media expert for the Bernie Sanders campaign CA
April 15, 2016 - July 27th, 2016

Ran for District Delegate in CA District 1 for Bernie Sanders, Organized Voter Registrations in CA District 1, Worked on National, State and Local Social Media including Facebook Groups, Events, Memes, Pages and Polls, Organized Delegate travel and Contested Convention study groups, circulated petitions including Kshama Sawant’s 150,000 signature petition for Bernie to join the Green Party and the 200,ooo signature petition to remove Debbie Wasserman Shultz as DNC Chair for violating the DNC Bylaws and showing favoritism to Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. This petition resulted in the removal of DWS as DNC Chair at the DNC Convention in Philadelphia.

Stein Baraka 2016 State Coordinator, California — Jill2016.com Volunteer Organizer

August 19th, 2016 - November 8th, 2016

Led the #DemExit movement in California with interviews on Fox40 News, Action News Now and multiple radio appearances, Organized 7000+ California Volunteers on Jill2016.com, Formed Butte, Siskiyou, Kern, Nevada, Sacramento, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin County Green Parties, Organized #NoDAPL events in Chico and Sacramento, CA. Led the Green Party Float in the Constitution Day Parade in Grass Valley, CA, Organized Jill2016 Rallies in Butte, Mendocino and Humboldt with David Cobb and Yahne Ndgo. Gave Speeches with Jill Stein, Ajamu Baraka and David Cobb in San Fransisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Davis, Willits and Arcata, California.

Green Party Standing Rock Liaison, North Dakota — International Indigenous Youth Council/Standing Rock and Occupy Inauguration Organizer

November 12th, 2016 - Current

Arrived at Oceti Sakowin November 12th, Acquired Press Pass on behalf of the Green Party with a Liaison Email from David Cobb, Guided Chris Hedges through camp on interviews with Elders, Camps and Kitchens for RT’s On Contact, Assisted the International Indigenous Youth Council on FreeRedFawn.com Action November 18th, Assisted Medics, IIYC(International Indigenous Youth Council) and Water Protectors at The Backwater Bridge Incident November 20th, Assisted IIYC at Turtle Island Action November 23rd, Gave multiple interviews with Independent Media and Radio Stations, Organized an Interview with Adam Elfers(DefundDAPL.org) and Jordan Chariton(The Young Turks) resulting in immediate $18 million dollars of divestment from the banks funding the (DAPL)Dakota Access Pipeline and a current total of $50 million dollars of divestment, Organized Interviews with the IIYC and Standing Rock Medics for the Documentary “War of North Dakota”,

Occupy Inauguration Organizer, Washington D.C. - Standing Rock/DefundDAPL.org Speakers

Organized Young Greens Youth Conference in Washington D.C. with IIYC, Jacob Falzone and James Andrews on January 18th, Organized Occupy Inauguration January 20th with Evan Duke III and Araquel Bloss, Arranged travel, housing and scheduling for speakers at O.I. including Red Dawn Foster (FreeRedFawn.com), Matene Strikes First(Winona La’Duke’s Nephew), IIYC, Chase Iron Eyes, Steven Good Man, Adam Elfers(DefundDAPL.org) and Sarah Matuszak (Standing Rock Medic). Hosted “Indigenous Struggle” on the Green News Network’s Inaugurate the Resistance January 21st featuring Adam Elfers (DefundDAPL.org) and Sarah Matuszak (Standing Rock Medic).

Standing Rock Environmental Impact Statement Coordinator, New York City - Media Contact, Event Organizer

Organized  interviews with Steve Martin (Standing Rock Environmental Impact Statement Author) with Dr.Jill Stein on the Green News Network, New York Times, InsideClimate and Real Progressives. Organized #NoDAPL Rally with Steve Martin and Matene Strikes First (Winona LaDuke’s nephew) in New York City.

Reporter for Native News Online #NoLNG Stop the Jordan Cove LNG project, Klamath Falls, Oregon - Media Contact, Event Organizer, Reporter

Reported for Native News Online on the Jordan Cove LNG Open Houses March 21-24, 2017. Multiple interviews with Klamath Tribal Chairman, Hoopa, Karuk, Yurok and Modoc Tribal members. Interviewed Liuna Labor Union, Jordan Cove LNG and Veresen representatives.

PROJECTS

#NoLNG Boycott the Jordan Cove LNG project — Grassroots Organizer

Organizing Statewide and National protest and boycott of the Jordan Cove LNG project. The first proposed fracked gas export station on the west coast and 230 mile pressurized Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) pipeline through Northern California and Southern Oregon. The Jordan Cove LNG pipeline is scheduled to run underneath the Klamath River, Rogue River and under Coos Bay, Oregon to a fracked gas export terminal to ship LNG to Japan

Green Party Album: 10 Key Values — Musician, Audio Engineer

Working with Grammy winning Musician and Producer Selon on a Green Party Album based on the 10 Key Values. Musicians include 2016 Green Party Candidate Shamako Nobel, Adam Elfers (DefundDAPL.org), Supaman, Matene Strikes First and Kor Element (Jill Stein Song Writer and MC)

Eric Brooks, San Francisco (San Francisco County) - incumbent
(application received April 18, 2017)

Biography: My name is Eric Brooks. I have been a registered California and San Francisco Green since 1994, and have been an active San Francisco and California Green volunteer since 2005. I have been serving as a GPCA Coordinating Committee member from spring of 2016 to the present.

I have been a professional grassroots environmental, social justice and consumer organizer since 1985 specializing in coalition building, media and public messaging, grassroots lobbying, and fundraising. My main contributions to Green progress have been 1) extensive work in the past year helping to get the party better streamlined to grow and thrive with all of the new volunteers that are now coming into the party, and 2) representing the SF Green Party in coalition building with other organizations, and leveraging city and state government to achieve policy changes that advance Green Party objectives. Examples of successful campaigns in which I have organized as a California and SF Green are; winning a major clean energy program launch in San Francisco, stopping state level bills that would kill local community based clean energy programs in California, preventing further privatization of San Francisco’s internet communications network and working to establish public broadband, stopping harmful development projects by Wall Street real estate developers, stopping and shutting down fossil fuel power plants, preventing the weakening of the protections of the California Environmental Quality Act, and helping the San Francisco Green Party’s mayoral candidate to gain 33% of vote in the 2015 mayoral election against the incumbent mayor.

I am currently the Coordinating Committee liaison to the newly formed GPCA Fundraising Committee, and am a member of the GPCA Media Committee, and the GPCA Electoral Reform Working Group.

Objective: My primary objective as a Coordinating Committee member is to encourage the committee to aggressively work for a major shift in the electoral process in local municipalities, California, and the U.S. that would establish Proportional Representation for all legislative seats, and ranked choice voting for all elected executive and judicial branch seats. Until proportional representation is firmly established for legislative elections, the Green Party will have almost no real influence in politics and policy; therefore I see this objective as a necessary first step to achieving all other objectives of the Party.

Tarik Kanaana, Santa Rosa (Sonoma County) - incumbent
(application received April 23, 2017)

I have been on the County Council of the Green Party of Sonoma County for several years and am actively engaged in local grassroots activism including rent control, labour and immigrant rights, law enforcement misconduct and other social justice issues. I have also been an active member on the California delegation to the GPUS since 2014.

I joined the Coordinating Committee in May 2016 and have taken on work and responsibilities to ensure the continued functioning of the GPCA. I have been working on the planning team for the March GPCA General Assembly in Bakersfield and the upcoming June GA in Sacramento. And I am the CC liaison to the Platform Committee.

Working with all other members of the Coordinating Committee, I hope to move towards a more open, accepting and diverse Green Party.

Mark Miller, Tracy (San Joaquin County)
(application received April 23, 2017)

Biography: Originally from Oakland, California, I obtained a degree in Political Science and a masters degree in Public Administration from California State University, East Bay.  My work history is that I served in a variety of mid-level management positions in city governments and at UC Berkeley. As a public service professional, I tended to specialize in policy development and program management.  After retirement from public service, I operated a business for six years.  Now I devote my time to political activity and to personal pursuits.

Politically, my views have been generally progressive.  I favor a medicare for all-style public health system, the breakup of large banks and monopolistic corporations, more political power for working & middle-class citizens, tuition-free public higher education, criminal justice system reform, regulations that require businesses to operate in an environmentally sound manner, and a less corporate-driven American foreign policy.  As you can see, my views align closely to those of the Green Party.

I was very active in the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.  When it became clear that the Sanders campaign was being successfully sabotaged by the Democratic Party, I worked with other people in my area for form a Jill Stein for President group and to campaign on her behalf and, in June 2006 registered with the Green Party. In November 2006 I worked with other local Greens to create the San Joaquin County Council.

What I Hope to Accomplish: I am applying for a position on the Coordinating Committee because I wish to participate in redefining the image and message and outreach strategies of the Green Party in ways that make the Green Party more attractive to voters in California.  There are, literally, millions of disaffected Democrats and progressive-minded decline-to-state voters in California. I want to work with other members of the Coordinating Committee to make our Party more visible and appealing to these disaffected voters.

While Green Party registrations have increased somewhat, after the 2006 election cycle, we are still very far away from becoming one of the two major parties in California. I think that we can find ways to chip away at the current two parties that dominate the political system in this State and make the Green Party a more viable alternative in the minds of voters. To make a real impact on public policy and for our candidates to be serious contenders in statewide elections, we need a lot more voters backing us.  Hopefully, the Coordinating Committee can be more of a catalyst to continue building the Party in California.

Eric Luna, Manteca (San Joaquin County)
(application received April 23, 2017)

I have been a grassroots organizer in San Joaquin County.  I was a member of the Democratic Party who registered as a Green Party Member during the 2016 Democratic National Convention.  I campaigned for Senator Bernie Sanders and did not agree with the way that whole primary was handled. Our team put its “blood, sweat and tears” into every event, every booth we worked, every speech we gave, and we did it with raw dedication and passion. The time we invested was time spent away from work, school and our loved ones. Yet, we continued to push ourselves over the limit; dedicating every spare moment to the cause.  By joining the Green Party I have become a part of an organization that treats it members as valuable citizens.  Since then, it has been my personal goal to help build the Green Party, because I believe the Green Party is the only organization that will truly represent the values and beliefs of the American People.

I co-founded the San Joaquin County Green Party in October of 2016 serving as Co-Coordinator for the organization. I have worked to facilitate our meetings assuring that all has been organized for the membership.  I have been serving on the Board of Tri-Valley CAREs (Citizens Against Radioactive Environments), performing Technology Outreach for this non-profit organization.

My progressive vision has been and continues to be to bring the Green Party and other progressive organizations to their full potential, accepting new members, assisting progressive candidates, and continuing to push a platform that represents government for all people.

Dr. Paul Larudee, El Cerrito (Contra Costa County)
(application received April 24, 2017)

Paul Larudee is a former Ford Foundation project supervisor and Fulbright-Hays lecturer in Lebanon, and US government advisor to Saudi Arabia.  He has been on the faculty of several universities in the San Francisco Bay Area, an organizer with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine and co-founder of the movement to break the Israeli naval siege of Gaza.  He was aboard the boats that entered in 2008 and the 2010 Flotilla attacked by Israel.  He was shot by an Israeli soldier in 2002.  He co-founded the Global March to Jerusalem, the Free Palestine Movement and the Syria Solidarity Movement, and went to Syria with delegations led by Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire in 2013 and 2014.  He was one of six US observers of the Syrian presidential elections in June, 2014.

Only the General Assembly makes policy, but the most creative part of the Coordinating Committee is that of collecting, providing and guiding proposals to the GA.  All my life, I have found creative and practical ways of making things happen, so this is a skill that I would like to add to those of my colleagues in strengthening the GP.

#Doug Barnett, Los Angeles (Los Angeles County)
(application received April 24, 2017)

Served on the Local Advisory Board for Pacifica Radio station KPFK (90.7FM) in Los Angeles, of the most powerful FM radio station in America (110k watts) from late 1999 until mid 2003. Served for four of these last ten years as station Board Secretary. In 1998 we were locked out of the station, and prevailed in four lawsuits against the Pacifica National Board of Directors in December 2001. Current member, KPFK finance Committee.

Treasurer, Green Party of Los Angeles County since 2002. Current County Councilmember, voter-elected, (26th Assembly district) Green Party County Council since 2012.

Served two elected terms on the Acton, California Town Council in rural Los Angeles County. Lived off-the-grid for those four years.

Clerk, Los Angeles Monthly Meeting of The Religious Society Of Friends. I am "Warden" of this Quaker meeting house in south central Los Angeles, have been therbout 25 years. The meetinghouse has solar panels on the roof.

Board member, Secretary, Pacific Ackworth Foundation, a four acre $6,000,000 pre-school.

My paper: Carbon Free liquid fuel for tomorrow’s piston and turbine generators. NH3 Fuel Conference, UCLA Los Angeles, September 19, 2016 https://nh3fuelassociation.org/2016/08/24/carbon-free-liquid-fuel-for-todays-piston-and-turbine-generators/

Owner, The Plant, a factory to build one-a-month electric limousines from 1994 through the end of 1996. Designed for four couples and their chauffeur, the entire uni-body design was fabricated from 350 similar stainless steel square tubes, to be oven-brazed in one single melt in a Hydrogen atmosphere oven. All running gear and motor-control was from existing OEMs. When the movie WaterWorld tanked, I was out of business.
In the late 1980's I conceptualized and engineered a magnetically elevated overhead "lightest rail" transportation system for Los Angeles (pre-MTA) using DWP right-of-ways, and a hand-layup polypropylene-cloth & polyester-resin golf cart powered with eight wheels at it's four corners & driven by a quickly replaced CO2 cylinder.

Sole owner, POVscreenworks, a television commercial & special effects film company from 1978-84. Made shots that were in Timex, Hallmark, USAF training films et.al. and in Tron-I, Ghost Busters and brought Mr. Schwarzenegger back to life in Conan: The Barbarian.
Film credits for the first StarWars, StarTrek-I, MetalStorm, et.al.
Ran, in my home garage, an in-patient clinic for the only actual (built in the studios in England) R2D2, C3P0 et.al. during 1977-79. http://www.rsof.org/ourclerk35yearsago.html
At ILM, we built "robot" camera systems in-house because of a micro-Radian intolerance that industrial equipment could not match.

Three years, jobs in aerospace, my last position was as the senior optical technician at Photosonics.
Two years unloading boxcars for Ralphs grocery.

I have owned a personal machine shop, Tree vertical mill, 20"x 48"& 8"x36"engine lathes and extensive quality control measuring instruments most of my life. I have built hundreds of devices for clients; specialized modifications of motion picture cameras, rotoscopes & built an in-house overhead robotic system with an orthogonal excursion envelope of 20x5x3 feet & two axis (pan & tilt) within the cameras lens nodal-point.
I seldom built more than one or two permutations of the same device.

I built a 31ft tall "eggbeater" type (omnidirectional) one moving part parmanent magnet AC wind generator with stationary windings and coupled to forty 1,200AH lead-calcium wet-cell batteries. Positioned at the mouth of a small canyon, the project was terminated by a fire before erection.

Volunteered for the draft in 1969-71. In the US Army I was a Combat Medic, Illustrator and eye, ear, nose and throat (EENT) specialist, graduated second in my class in a field of 80.

I have essentially no education.

My father invented the patent numbers 2,852,727 2,909,096 2,933,008 2,988,953 3,010,024 3,049,588 3,397,859 3,049,588 3,157,882 4,164,677.
I lost two acres of my equipment, records and warehouses to a forest fire in 1999.