Welcome to the second issue of The Grapevine.
Contents of This Issue
1. Mark Your Calendar
2. On the Campaign Trail
3. Tim DeChristopher to Keynote GRP Convention
4. GRP Seeking Volunteers
5. Viewpoint
6. Webinar November 19: Debriefing Your Run
7. Worth Reading
8. Bookmark these sites!
1. Mark Your Calendar!
Oct 29 Fall River: Mayoral debate between Joe Carvalho and William Flanagan
Oct 30 Cambridge forum on Energy and the Environment (with Elie Yarden)
Nov 5 Election Day
Nov 9 Worcester: Green-Rainbow Party State Convention
Nov 19 Webinar for Green candidates "Debriefing Your Run"
2. On the Campaign Trail
Here are four GRP campaigns that are active and need your help.
CAMBRIDGE
Elie Yarden, GRP candidate for the Cambridge City Council will be speaking at a Candidate forum on Energy and the Environment this Wednesday evening. Oct 30, 7:00pm - 9:30p, at the Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge.
For more information see https://www.facebook.com/ElieYardenforCambridge
FALL RIVER
Joe Carvalho for Mayor
To donate, see website: votejoe2013.com
To volunteer, write [email protected] or [email protected]
The GRP has formed the Carvalho Campaign Support Team to coordinate party support for Joe Carvalho.
HOLYOKE
Rick Purcell is running for City Council, vying for 1 of 8 at-large seats.
For more information: https://www.facebook.com/RickPurcellForHolyoke
PITTSFIELD
Mark C. Miller is running for City Council.
Email: [email protected]
3. Tim DeChristopher to Keynote Nov 9 GRP Convention
Don't miss the GRP 2013 State Convention to be held on November 9, 2013 at 9:00am, First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St., Worcester, Massachusetts!
Key Speakers:
Tim DeChristopher, nationally renowned environmental activist, will deliver the keynote speech on Standing Up for People and the Planet. DeChristopher gained national attention when he submitted a bid for drilling rights on 22,500 acres of public land at a 2008 Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction. For this protest, he was arrested and served 21 months in prison. He His story is told in the documentary Bidder 70. (If you would like to borrow a CD of Bidder 70 for showing at your GRP event, write [email protected].)
Chuck Turner, Former Boston City Councilor and longtime human-rights organizer, will speak on Entering the Lion’s Den: Organizing white, male workers, 35—55, to fight back. Chuck has returned to Massachusetts after being held in prison for three years following a case in which an FBI informant was sent to Turner's office to hand Turner an unsolicited bundle of cash that the FBI then claimed represented a bribe. Prior to his arrest, Turner was an outspoken critic of the FBI and the Patriot Act, and was known for helping his community stand up to moneyed interests.
Jill Stein, 2012 Green Party Presidential Candidate, founder of the Green Shadow Cabinet, will report on the Green uprisings around the nation, and how the Green Party is increasingly becoming the vanguard of change.
Joe Carvalho, candidate for mayor of Fall River, will discuss his campaign and why GRP candidates offer voters real alternatives to politics-as-usual.
Convention Workshops:
• Voices & Choices – How to Increase Your Political Effectiveness
• GRP Electoral Action in 2014
• Creating and Strengthening GRP Local Chapters
• How to Write a Press Release
• Working in Small Groups or Committees
- - - - -
Register in advance $20/person - at the door $25/person
A choice of a delicious vegan lunch or pizza is included in the registration fee.
Register now - don't miss this chance !
To register, click here
4. GRP Seeking Volunteers
The Green-Rainbow Party is seeking volunteers to help power the independent politics needed to rescue people and the planet. Below are some of the opportunities to get involved.
At the November 9 State Convention, the GRP will elect its officers for the coming year. It's important to have at least one capable volunteer running for each office, and we welcome anyone who wishes to throw their hat in the ring. The offices that will be up for grabs are: Female Co-chair, Male Co-chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Director, Communications Director, and Fundraising Director, 4 delegates to the National Committee, and 4 alternates to the National Committee (2 of each gender). If you are willing to run, please send a note to AdCom via [email protected]. We'll let you know which positions are open and which have candidates.
The Administrative Committee will fill seats for diversity positions in January. And each GRP chapter will name one representative to AdCom. If you're interested, contact AdCom or your local chapter.
If State Convention approves the establishment of the Electoral Action Working Group, we will be looking for volunteers for that group.
In addition, our working committees are always looking for members. We'll feature them in future issues of The Grapevine. Go to the GRP website for more information on the working committees.
5. Viewpoint
[Bill McKibben finally seems to be understanding that Barack Obama is NOT his friend. He's echoing what Greens have been saying for years. See quotes below from an article McKibben wrote. Let's encourage Bill not to flip back. - Ed]
Bill McKibben on the Obama Presidency:
. . . His administration has okayed oil drilling in the dangerous waters of the Arctic and has emerged as the biggest backer of fracking. Even though he boasts about marginal U.S. cuts in carbon emissions, his green light to fracking means that he's probably given more of a boost to releases of methane -- another dangerous greenhouse gas -- than any man in history. And it's not just the environment. At this point, given what we know about everything from drone warfare to NSA surveillance, the dream of a progressive Obama has, like so many dreams, faded away.
6. Webinar November 19: Debriefing Your Run
On Tuesday, November 19 the Green Party is offering a teleconference/webinar designed especially for Greens who have just completed a run for office by the date of the call, and those for candidates considering a run in the near future. Debriefing and analyzing a recently completed run for office is often a great generator of campaign strategies that can be passed on within a party. The webinar will discuss
- Media and communications efforts
- Targeting and voter turn-out strategies
- Fundraising and expenses
- Campaign planning through all phases
This webinar will be facilitated by Perry Redd. Redd waged an unsuccessful bid for an At-Large Council seat in DC's Special Election of 2013 as the DC Statehood Green Party candidate. He also also managed the City Council At-Large campaign of Darryl Moch in 2010. While not running Green Party campaigns, Redd is the Executive Director and co-founder of the workers rights advocacy organization, Sincere Seven. Redd has been a longtime champion of Living Wages for low-income workers and anti-racism and anti police brutality campaigns. Redd graduated from Chicago's famed Midwest Academy as a community organizer in 2002.
The webinar is scheduled for 9pm-10pm EST on Tuesday, November 19. To RSVP, fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEhja2N1Q0tyR0dVSTZZMGtmR2Nibmc6MA#gid=0
7. Worth Reading
Our Invisible Revolution by Chris Hedges
"The battle of ideas is percolating below the surface. It is a battle the corporate state is steadily losing. An increasing number of Americans are getting it. They know that we have been stripped of political power."
Jill Stein Interview on GritTV with host Laura Flanders
Super-Sizing Welfare Costs: Low Wages at McDonald’s, Burger King Cost Taxpayers Billions
8. Bookmark these Sites!
Green-Rainbow Party website
Greater Boston Chapter - GRP (Facebook page)
Do you have notices or material that you'd like to see in a future issue of The Grapevine? If so, send them to [email protected] . Try to send complete blurbs and well-written text because the editor may not have time to research and polish incomplete submissions.
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