[Northampton-GP] Priorities, Building the Party, Local Electoral Work, Etc.

[Jim Bosman]

A few observations, etc., I would like to share with
you, as I begin to scale down my involvement in the
Northampton Green Party, and turn my local energy to
forming a South Deerfield local, which is where I have
lived since April.


This local as a local has worked on and off in various
fashion locally in support of electoral reform.

There is a statewide project underway for an historic
march to end poverty, of which the G-RP is a primary
sponsor, as decided by the state convention last
summer, which is going through Northampton next
spring:

March to End Poverty
3/20/04 – 4/03/04
Proposed route: from  Hyannis through New Bedford,
Fall River, Worcester, Southbridge, Ware, Springfield,
Holyoke, S. Berkshires, Pittsfield, North Adams,
Greenfield, Northhampton, Amherst, Orange/ Athol,
Gardner, Fitchburg, Lowell, Lawrence, Salem, Lynn,
Chelsea, Somerville, Cambridge, to Boston. 

This is a great project for the local to sink its
teeth into and gain significant visibility as Green
Rainbows. The coordinating committee's next meeting is
Tuesday 10/21/03 @ 6:30 - 8:30PM. in Fitchburg. For
more details, check the archives of the email list at:

http://www.green-rainbow.org/mailman/listinfo/abolishpoverty



If the membership of the Nothampton Green Party club,
or registered Greens in general in the city, want to
raise and spend money as a group in support of
candidates, they are going to have to form a city or
ward committee(s), and follow all of the rules and
regulations that go along with that. This will require
the efforts of a number of Northampton residents.

Neither of the two Northampton residents present at
the local meeting last night expressed the desire or
the availability for such a project. The first
deadline for nomination papers is November 7, 2003.
More information is availalble at:

http://www.massgreens.org/pipermail/locals/2003-July/000355.html



A number of members of this group have expressed
sentiments over the past year desiring greater
leadership and direction from the state party.

At the Forum on the 2004 Green Presidential Strategy
which I attended on Sunday in Fitchburg, Ebony - the
male co-chair of the G-RP, stated that he sees all
these state party working committees that are empty of
volunteers, and that any energy that our membership
spends on campaigning for Kucinich or others is energy
that is not availalble for these understaffed and
non-performing party-building committee functions. 

Massachusetts is a very safe state for Greens to
organize in. Northampton has as many registered
Green-Rainbows as all of Bershire county. Please
consider pledging your time, energy, and intellects to
the growth of the Northampton local.


Thank you.

Jim Bosman









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