News

November 2008 Election results are in.

For full election coverage of California results, visit the Smart Voter website.

For nationwide results, you can find general results at a number of sites.  Green and other so-called third-party tallies are harder to come by.  CBS' website has a full listing.

Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente--a historic campaign

In July, at the Chicago nominating convention, Green Party delegates nominated former Georgia US Representative Cynthia McKinney to be the party's presidential candidate.  Ms. McKinney selected community activist Rosa Clemente to be her running mate, becoming the first ticket in American history to feature two women.  Find out more about their historic campaign at http://votetruth08.com.

Barry Hermanson's run for Congress

Our very own Green Party member Barry Hermanson ran for US Representative of the CA12 district (most of San Mateo County is in CA12; the remainder in CA14).  Barry ran a tireless campaign, spending tremendous time, energy and his own money to address individual voters, in true grassroots fashion.  The Green Party of San Mateo County is honored to have such a candidate.  Thank you, Barry.

Barry is challened not only the other candidates, but the entire Democratic Party to end the war and reverse the enormous spending on militarism, so that needs of ordinary Americans can be addressed.  Barry challenged the Democratic Party's support of the most massive corporate bailout in history.  Barry spoke out about things you don't hear on the corporate-sponsored Presidential debates.

See video of Barry debating the other candidates and hold their feet to the fire on their support for massive military budgets.  Read about his history as a businessman who puts people over profits successfully . You can still support Barry with a contribution of a few dollars to cover his expenses.  He's pledged to take no contribution larger than $100, and only from individuals, as is the Green Party way.

Visit Barry Hermanson's web site and see what's going on!

Statewide and Local propositions

The Green Party of San Mateo County met to debate the merits of the propositions and measures, and compiled a voting guide.  Regrettably, our website erroneously listed our position on Proposition 3 as 'YES', when the voting guide should have said 'NO'.  This proposition was one of many that were difficult choices, and we apologize for any confusion.

Upcoming Events

All are invited and welcome

Friday November 21st, 7-9 pm. County Council GAM Meeting.  At Gloria Purcell's house in Belmont.  The monthly General Administrative Meeting of the GPSMC County Council will be held on Friday the 21st at 7PM. A carpool from Millbrae BART will be available.  Call 408.218.6114 for more information.

Other calendars of events:


GPSMC Office

Our office space is in transition!

Our old office on 2nd Ave in San Mateo is now closed.  We are currently seeking office space in San Mateo County.  If you know of an office space for rent in San Mateo county, let us know.  We're looking for a 1st-floor space (upper-story space with handicapped access) that's close to public transportation.  Sharing space with an organization which uses office space during the day on weekdays would be beneficial.

 

The Four Pillars of the Green Party

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Democracy • Ecology • Economic Justice • Nonviolence

The Four Pillars grew out of the two fundamental principles of the German Green Party as formulated by its founders, Petra Kelly, Joseph Beuys and Heinrich Böll.

The two principles are Democracy and Ecology, or Ecology and Democracy. They are equal and the order is not important; what is important is that each imposes limits on the other.

A totalitarian state could be built on an ecological platform. If the primary ecological problem is perceived to be overpopulation, then the state could solve the problem by killing large numbers of people. This is not a Green solution because a totalitarian state is by definition undemocratic.

On the other hand, a society could decide by a democratic decision-making process to plunder the Earth for the benefit of the present generation and let the future take care of itself. This might be democratic, but it is not ecological, and therefore also not Green.

But what if a democratic decision was made to murder large numbers of people for the good of the environment? What if a decision was made to keep large numbers of people in abject poverty because the really poor use less of the Earth's resources? For these reasons the two principles were expanded to the Four Pillars.

Economic Justice was added because without some level of material well-being individuals do not have the time, education, or peace of mind to take part in society, and without such participation no real democracy is possible.

Nonviolence was added as a very broad concept. It is not simply the absence of war. Our commitment to nonviolence doesn't mean only that we should stop killing, maiming, and torturing each other (although that would be a good idea), but also that we should stop the violence that we commit on the world around us, on the biosphere, on all the forms of life on our planet. Atomic weapons are wrong not just because they kill people, but also because of the general mess they create even if never used, from the mining of uranium to the disposal of the waste, and all the steps in between.

—George McGuire, New York, September 2002