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Green Party Wins Established Status in Illinois, Makes Historic Impact on Local Elections
Contact:Susan Rodgers, Volunteer Coordinator, 619-985-3553, susanraerodgers@gmail.com
Tom Abram, Candidate for 103rd State Representative, 217-417-7118, tom@tomabram.org
Kostas Yfantis, Candidate for County Board District 7, 217-840-6780, kostasyfantis@gmail.com
Joe Futrelle, Candidate for County Board District 8, 217-328-7853, futrelle@shout.net
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY - The Green Party achieved a historic victory yesterday when Illinois gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney won over 5% of the vote, establishing the Green Party in every district in Illinois and lowering ballot access requirements for the Green Party throughout the state. Local Green Party candidates Tom Abram, Joe Futrelle, Kostas Yfantis, and Nick Mann received a total of 5,996 votes in four closely contested races, making an unprecedented showing in the race for state representative in district 103 and coming within 8 points of winning a seat on the Champaign county board in district 8.
"The Green Party has done better than ever this election," said Tom Abram, who received 11.49% of the vote in the state representative race, "and winning established status means we can focus on campaigning instead of petitioning and defending our petition signatures against challenges by the Democrats." Abram's campaign, which focused on education funding reform and clean politics, made a big splash in a district where his Democratic opponent outspent him by a factor of 50. "Greens don't need big money to show the public we stand for politics that isn't driven by big money," Abram said. "I've talked to many voters who saw me at a forum or heard me debate my opponents, and were won over by my commitment to real, achievable reform in Illinois state politics."
Joe Futrelle, candidate for champaign county board in district 8, received 25.45% of the vote, trailing his nearest Democratic opponent by just 361 votes. "This is the best showing for a local Green Party candidate since Anna Lempart won her race for Champaign-Ford regional school board in 2005," Futrelle said, adding "This election has shown voters that the Green Party is a viable choice for local offices. We gave voters candidates who were serious about the issues, serious about winning, and capable of running effective campaigns."
Kostas Yfantis said he was pleased that the Green Party is making an impact at the local, regional, and state level. "I'm proud to have campaigned alongside Tom Abram and Rich Whitney, who ran clean, substantive campaigns on the issues people really care about in Illinois, like education funding reform." Yfantis, who received 21.37% of the vote in a three-way, three-party race for Champaign county board in distrct 7, said the results indicate that people want change. "I feel honored that so many people trusted their votes to me, and my experience campaigning means that I'm ready to run even more effective campaigns in future elections."
Nick Mann, who received 10.31% of the vote in a five-way race for Champaign county board in district 9, said he was pleasantly surprised by his showing. "Since I'm new to county politics and was running against the board leadership, I didn't know what to expect on November 7th. Thanks to me, voters in my district had an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans, and over a thousand of them chose that alternative."
Susan Rodgers, volunteer coordinator for the Prairie Greens, said that this year's volunteer efforts have strengthened Green Party organization locally and throughout the state. "Our local volunteers were tireless in helping get our message out," Rodgers said. "From the unprecedented petition drive to get Rich Whitney on the ballot, to the statewide effort to defend our signatures from challenges, to the all-out effort to build awareness of local campaigns through canvassing, organizing events, and advertising, our volunteers are the most committed and energized group I've ever worked with." Rodgers said that Rich Whitney's campaign has generated a surge of membership at the state level and that efforts are already underway to organize volunteers for future campaigns. "This is it," Rodgers said, "the Green Party is an established party in Illinois, and we're running to win."
The Prairie Green Party of East Central Illinois is an established political party committed to Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Nonviolence, Decentralization, Community-based Economics, Feminism, Respect for Diversity, Personal and Global Responsibility and Future Focus. For more information visit www.prairiegreens.org.
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