[GNC] Petition to speak, and other matters

[Mike Heichman]

Hi Dave,

Without using your name or your first paragraph, I sent your message to "my"
candidate, Kent Mesplay and asked for his reactions.

I recommend that the other MA delegates similarly communicate with their
candidates.

Mike Heichman


on 6/16/04 11:01 AM, DvEngland at aol.com at DvEngland at aol.com wrote:

Thanks for your timely e-mails.  As soon as I receive Matt's e-mail address,
I'll send him my petition.  I expect to be in Milwaukee Wednesday evening,
so perhaps there is time for some of us to sign a petition there, if we know
where to find it.

Another matter: you realize by now that your Massachusetts delegates are
committed to you by rule to vote for you as long as you running.  Also, that
we are, by state party rule, obliged to vote as you instruct us if you are
eliminated.  This rule was intended to give a candidate leverage to
negotiate with other candidates either for a vice-presidential spot, or for
concessions on campaign-related matters.  The candidate would be able to
give assurance that they could deliver the delegate votes being bargained
for.  Some of our delegates are chaffing under this rule, but it's the rule
we voted ourselves to and most, I think, will abide by it.  (There's no
penalty if they don't.)

So, you have my vote until you release me.  However, there is one exception.
Our State Committee specifically voted not to include a no candidate option
on our primary ballot.  We felt it was a slap in the face to candidates who
were offering themselves as potential nominees and presenting platforms on
issues affecting the country to have to debate -- in fourms like the Harvard
debate -- whether to we should be running a candidate at all!  We wanted to
focus voters' attention on our candidates and their issues, rather than this
largely internal strategy issue.  As recently as May, our state convention
informally affirmed this position.

Therefore, if you instruct me to vote for the no candidate option, I must
refuse, and I hope you will then release my obligation to you.
Massachusetts intends to run a candidate, and hopes it will be a candidate
with national reach.  Otherwise, we seriously jeprodize our ballot status,
which is the principal political asset we have that differentiates us from
all other third parties except the Libertarians.

I hope you understand our position here, and that we can only go so far with
you.  It is an honor for me to represent someone who has done so much to
raise the consciousness of Americans to the environmental issues facing us
and I look forward to working with you in Milwaukee.

Dave England 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.green-rainbow.org/pipermail/gnc/attachments/20040616/cf143edc/attachment.htm