The Prairie Green Party is running four candidates for Champaign County Board this year, and we want to hear from you, the public, about what you would like to see from your county government. Join our candidates and members this coming Monday at 7:30 PM at the Urbana Free Library for an open, public exchange of ideas as we shape our local platform and develop policy priorities for our exciting campaigns.
READ MORE...
PRAIRIE GREEN PARTY DENOUNCES DEMOCRATIC OFFICIALS EFFORTS TO STIFLE THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE AT TOWNSHIP MEETING
CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
217.417.7118
press@prairiegreens.org
URBANA, IL - The Prairie Green Party denounces the efforts of current and former Democratic officials to stifle the voice of the people at the annual township meeting. Three non-binding referendums were attempted to be placed on the agenda to be discussed for placement on general election ballot. There was a concerted effort by prominent Democrats to prevent these items from even being discussed. The three advisory referendums were on the issues of instant runoff voting for municipal elections, transparency in local government, and the municipalization of our water system.
The Democratic establishment packed the room with current and former Democratic officials, including Mayor Laurel Prussing, City Council Member Robert Lewis, and County Board Members Tom Betz and Ralph Langenheim, precinct committeepersons, and party loyalists in an effort to prevent these items from being added to the agenda. Adding an item to the agenda takes 60% support, while voting to place the referendums on the ballot requires a simple majority.
MIKE LEHMAN SLATED AS GREEN CANDIDATE FOR CHAMPAIGN COUNTY BOARD DISTRICT 9
CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
217.417.7118
press@prairiegreens.org
Mike Lehman
Candidate, Champaign County Board District 9
217.344.5609
rebelmike@earthlink.net
Walter Pituc
Candidate, Champaign County Board District 7
847.962.8724
votewalter@gmail.com
Kostas Yfantis
Candidate, Champaign County Board District 7
217.840.6780
kostasyfantis@gmail.com
Joe Futrelle
Candidate, Champaign County Board District 8
217.390.2971
futrelle@prairiegreens.org
URBANA, IL - The Prairie Green Party has endorsed Urbana resident Mike Lehman for Champaign County Board, District 9. The Champaign County Green Party Central Committee placed Lehman on the general election ballot at a special meeting held on April 6th.
Lehman, a graduate student in history at the University of Illinois, has been a resident of Champaign County for the past three decades and has been active in many community organizations. He is a grievance officer with the Graduate Employees Organization and was the coordinator of the successful Champaign County Living Wage Campaign. Lehman has also been instrumental in the work of the Independent Media Center and the WRFU radio station.
All Illinois Green Party members from Champaign County and relevant districts are invited to attend. We will be endorsing candidates to run for office and then the relevant committees will convene in order to official slate the candidates. We can slate candidates for Congress, State Representative, County Board, States Attorney, Coroner, Auditor, Circuit Clerk, and Recorder. The membership will be meeting to endorse candidates and you are welcome to attend. If you are interested in running for office please contact info@prairiegreens.org.
Our current local candidates are in County Board Districts 7 (Walter Pituc and Kostas Yfantis) and District 8 (Joe Futrelle). There are seven other County Board districts that are currently uncontested. As of now, the Green Party is the only party providing a choice for these races in November.
We'd like to provide choices in the other districts as well. In addition to the County Board seats, there's Countywide races for the States Attorney, Coroner, Recorder, Auditor, and Circuit Clerk. State Representative and Congress are also up for election in November.
Running for office is not nearly as frightening as it may seem, and can be a very rewarding experience! We need Greens to run, keep our issues in the public eye, win some races, and start to make a change in our government.
If you're interested in running for any of these positions, or have any questions, please contact info@prairiegreens.org.
ARTICLE LINK
On the agenda are keynote speeches by congressional candidates, planning and choosing of delegates for the July GPUS convention in Chicago, and possible choosing of a U.S. Senate candidate, as well as the usual presentations by the ILGP standing committees (Platform, Bylaws, Government & Elections, etc.), with proposals for Membership approval.
Join us for this month's Green Tea, at 7:30 PM on Monday, March 17, 2008, at the Auditorium of the Urbana Free Library.
This month's topics include:
- Municipal ownership of utilities. With recent rate hikes and other concerns about private ownership, a coalition of citizens and local political leaders are beginning to look at municipal ownership of utilities. Hear about what local groups are doing to help make this much-needed reform a reality, and discuss how the Green Party can help.
- Open discussion of other issues including ongoing and upcoming campaigns.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY GREEN CENTRAL COMMITTEE ELECTS OFFICERS
CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
847-814-6947
tom.abram@ilgp.org
URBANA, IL - The elected Green precinct committee persons of Champaign County met and selected their officers on March 5th. Susan Rodgers was elected chair, Tracy Nectoux was elected secretary, and Joe Futrelle was elected delegate to the state convention. The Central Committee also passed bylaws that bound them to the decisions of the Illinois Green Party members in the county.
PRAIRIE GREEN PARTY RESPONDS TO ILLINOIS PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS
CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
847-814-6947
tom.abram@ilgp.org
Joe Futrelle
Candidate, County Board District 8
217-328-7853
futrelle@prairiegreens.org
Walter Pituc
Candidate, County Board District 7
847-962-8724
votewalter@gmail.com
Kostas Yfantis
Candidate, County Board District 7
217-840-6780
kostasyfantis@gmail.com
URBANA, IL - The local Green Party responded to election results in the first ever Green presidential primary held in Illinois. Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney received the majority of support, with 57%, followed by Ralph Nader's placeholder Howie Hawkins at 17%, and Kent Mesplay at 14%. Jared Ball, who dropped out to support Cynthia McKinney, received 12%. Though there have been uncontested local Green primaries previously, this is the first time Green voters have participated in a contested primary race. Delegates to the national convention will be allocated proportionally to the primary results and will be selected at the Illinois Green Party Membership Meeting and Convention in Peoria, March 28-30. The national convention will be held in Chicago from July 10-13.
"Cynthia McKinney has the experience and progressive agenda to lead the Green Party forward. Her courage and dedication would energize Green voters and candidates up and down the ballot. We anticipate a strong presidential campaign will attract attention to the party and help lead our local candidates to victory," said Susan Rodgers, Green Precinct Committeeperson in Cunningham 7.
LOCAL GREEN PARTY ENDORSES CHAMPAIGN AND URBANA REFERENDUMS
CONTACT:
Joe Futrelle
328-7853
futrelle@prairiegreens.org
Tom Abram
(847) 814-6947
tom.abram@ilgp.org
URBANA, IL - The Prairie Green Party endorsed the five referendums that will appear on the primary ballots of voters in Champaign and Urbana this Tuesday. The endorsed referendums include the Urbana Park District property tax rate increase, Champaign Township General Assistance, Cunningham Township Prevent War with Iran, Call Upon Congress To Repeal Or Amend The Military Commissions Act, and Call Upon Congress to Limit Military Funding in Iraq. The latter two referendums will appear on both City of Champaign and Cunningham Township ballots.