PRINT
Slating a Congressional Candidate
We will be meeting with Dr. Francis Boyle this Thursday, 6:30, at Mandarin Wok. Gene Vanderport attended our meeting to discuss his possible candidacy for State Representative. Discussion with Gene
Gene is from Westville, IL. His family are coalminers, union members, hardworking, intelligent people. He is active in the civil rights movement, and considers himself a part of the radical new left. He is a Democratic Socialist, a feminist, and supports unions.
Gene doesn't know if his organization will let him run for office, but he is going to talk with them. He wants to take the steps necessary to make the movement and the Green Party what "it's supposed to be."
Joe said his perspective is that one of the ways that the Green Party is "forcing issues" is by getting people actively engaged in the electoral process. We need a "grassroots coalition" that communicates with various "issue groups."
Tom gave Gene some advice on running against Naomi Jakobsson, and discussed trying to break the control that Mike Madigan has over the Democratic Party.
Joe also mentioned Greens' support of the labor movement.
Slating
We need to convene the county committee. On February 5, we'll be electing our precinct committee people. On March 5, the county committee is legally required to meet. We discussed:
- Time, place, and public notice
- Electing a Chair for the county party
- Electing a delegate for the state convention
- Holding a series of special meetings where we will appoint other PCP
- The slating process
- approving bylaws
Primary
Walter stressed the importance of getting press. We should have a presence at voting areas. Candidates should be there to talk with the media when the votes are being counted.
State Party
The State meeting is March 28 in Peoria. We'll be electing all of the delegates for the national convention in Chicago (July).
Cliff Thornton
We are going to try to bring Cliff Thornton (co-chair of the National Green Party; expert on drug policy reform) to campus. He has said that he's interested in coming here, and would like to visit the second week of March. He'll be here for 3-4 days, so we should find him accommodations. The Campus Greens will be interested in this too. We hope to have a community event. Tom has been in contact with Mr. Thornton, and Mark and Tracy have volunteered to help. We discussed ideas on locations for his address, with Douglass Branch Library being a preference.
Steven Kinser
Kinser will be here for an Anti-Iran war event. We agreed to co-sponsor this event.
Fund Raising
We need an office for the campaign. We need to fund raise for this. Tom mentioned that Lincoln Square Mall might be affordable. We'll check with them.
The meeting was adjured at 8:50.
