Green Party Candidates for Urbana Municipal Office to Hold Open Forum: Why Vote Green on April 7th?
CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
217.417.7118
press@prairiegreens.org
WHAT:
Why Vote Green on April 7th?
An open conversation with the Green Party candidates for Urbana Mayor and City Council: Durl Kruse, Mark Mallon, and Gary Storm.
The candidates will briefly describe their positions and visions for Urbana, followed by questions and discussion with the audience.
WHY:
To outline the positions of the Green Party candidates and receive input and questions from the public.
WHEN:
Monday, March 16, 2009 at 7:30 pm
WHERE:
Urbana Free Library Auditorium
210 W Green St.
Urbana, IL 61801
CANDIDATES IN ATTENDANCE:
Durl Kruse
Candidate, Mayor of Urbana
217.328.2789
jandurl@comcast.net
Mark Mallon
Candidate, Urbana City Council, Ward 2
618.972.7873
mark@electmallon.org
Gary Storm
Candidate, Urbana City Council, Ward 7
217.390.6576
gary@electstorm.org
MORE INFORMATION:
Durl Kruse
http://www.electkruse.org
Mark Mallon
http://www.electmallon.org
Gary Storm
http://www.electstorm.org
Prairie Greens of East Central Illinois
http://www.prairiegreens.org
Illinois Green Party
http://www.ilgp.org
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ARTICLE LINK
CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
217.417.7118
press@prairiegreens.org
Durl Kruse
Candidate, Mayor of Urbana
217.328.2789
jandurl@comcast.net
Mark Mallon
Candidate, Urbana Alderman, Ward 2
618.972.7873
mmallon2@yahoo.com
Gary Storm
Candidate, Urbana Alderman, Ward 7
217.390.6576
gary_jamie@hotmail.com
URBANA, IL - Three Green Party candidates for Urbana municipal office filed their paperwork today: Durl Kruse for mayor, Mark Mallon for alderman in Ward 2, and Gary Storm for alderman in Ward 7. This is the first time that the Green Party has placed candidates on the ballot for city office in Urbana, although the party has run candidates for Champaign County Board during the last three campaign cycles. The candidates will work to increase citizen participation and transparency in local government, improve social services, address criminal justice issues, and strengthen environmental policies.
READ MORE...
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
217.417.7118
press@prairiegreens.org
WHAT:
Election Night celebration for Green Party candidates for the Champaign County Board, friends, and supporters. Members of the media are encouraged to attend or call in for interviews. Wireless internet will be available.
WHY:
To watch the results of the election, particularly for Champaign County Board, and celebrate a successful campaign
WHEN:
Tuesday, November 4, 2008, 7pm - 12am
WHERE:
Mike Lehman's residence
608 E. Green St, Urbana
CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
217.417.7118
press@prairiegreens.org
Walter Pituc
Champaign Countye Board District 7
217.819.1591
votewalter@gmail.com
Joe Futrelle
Champaign County Board District 8
217.390.2971
futrelle@prairiegreens.org
Mike Lehman
Champaign County Board District 9
217.344.5609
lehmanforagreencounty@earthlink.net
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, IL - Green Party candidates for County Board touted endorsements and organizational support for their candidacies. The News-Gazette endorsed Joe Futrelle, AFSCME endorsed Mike Lehman and Joe Futrelle, and all three candidates received organizational support from the AFL-CIO, including Walter Pituc.
On October 30, the News-Gazette endorsed Joe Futrelle for County Board District 8, citing his independence from the two major parties and stance for transparency and accountability in county government.
CONTACT:
Tom Abram
Press Officer, Prairie Greens
217.417.7118
press@prairiegreens.org
Walter Pituc
Champaign Countye Board District 7
217.819.1591
votewalter@gmail.com
Joe Futrelle
Champaign County Board District 8
217.390.2971
futrelle@prairiegreens.org
Mike Lehman
Champaign County Board District 9
217.344.5609
lehmanforagreencounty@earthlink.net
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, IL - Last week, Green Party candidates for Champaign County Board released a joint campaign commercial. The commercial has been playing on cable and will show on broadcast television as well. The ad can also be found on the Prairie Greens website and YouTube. The ad shows each of the candidates describing their vision for a Champaign County that's transparent, resposible, and green. Specific issues addressed include the environment and land use, social justice in our courthouse, and support for the nursing home.
PRAIRIE GREEN PARTY CALLS FOR PUBLIC MANAGEMENT OF NURSING HOME
CONTACT:
Walter Pituc
Champaign County Board District 7
217.819.1591
votewalter@gmail.com
Kostas Yfantis
Champaign County Board District 7
217.840.6780
kostasyfantis@gmail.com
Joe Futrelle
Champaign County Board District 8
217.390.2971
futrelle@prairiegreens.org
Mike Lehman
Champaign County Board District 9
217.344.5609
lehmanforagreencounty@earthlink.net
URBANA, IL - The Prairie Green Party of East Central Illinois called for responsible, public management of the nursing home as the Champaign County Board prepared to vote on a proposal to contract out nursing home management with Management Performance Associates, a private management consulting firm.
"The Champaign County Nursing Home must be adequately funded in order to fulfill the public's commitment to care for our senior citizens," said Mike Lehman, the Green Party candidate for Champaign County Board, District 9. "We don't need a management consultant to tell us we need to fill beds and dramatically reduce attrition among full-time nurses," he said. "Making needed improvements to nursing home management will not address the problem that the home was underfunded by the 2002 referendum that set the tax rate at only 3 cents of a possible 10 cents." Lehman supports continued public management of the nursing home and a tax referendum to raise revenue to "break even" levels.
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.
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.