State Politics

Democracy, Green Party, New York, State Politics, Third Party November 17, 2013

From a Green perspective, another disappointing election

by Ursula Rozum syracuse.com November 17, 2013 Ursula Rozum is a guest columnist who writes monthly for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. She ran for Congress on the Green Party line in 2012, is an officer in the local Green Party organization and managed Howie Hawkins’ campaign for Syracuse Common Council this year. Another election has gone by and little has changed. The local power structure kept its people in office. The Democrats still hold every elected office in the city and the problems that have grown worse under their one-party rule remain the same – high poverty, high unemployment, low…

Economy, Green Party, New York, political corruption, Public Campaign Finance Reform, State Politics May 21, 2013

Public campaign finance reform: clean money or throwing good money after bad?

by Howie Hawkins syracuse.com May 14, 2013 New York needs a Clean Money system of full public campaign funding. That’s how we end the privatized “public” elections funded by the 1% that make Albany a feeding trough for wealthy special interests. The so-called Fair Elections Act (A4980C-2013), which passed the Assembly and was delivered to the Senate on May 7, merely supplements the existing system of unlimited private campaign financing with partial public funding. This bill throws good public money after bad private money. The cesspool of pay-to-play influence peddling by wealthy private donors remains alive and well. The bill…

campaign reform, State Politics January 29, 2013

No More Shell Games: Time for Real Campaign Reform

by Mark A. Dunlea The type of public campaign finance model that Governor Cuomo allegedly supports – the NYC 6-to-1 match of small qualified contributions – will do little to curb the influence of special interest funders in dominating the State Capitol. The Clean Money Clean Election system of public financing – which provides equal public funding grants for candidates who qualify with a reasonable number of nominal private donations – is much stronger in reducing the role of special interests in buying politicians. A more fundamental reform would be for NY – and the US – to finally join the…

Green Party, National Politics, State Politics, Third Party January 27, 2012

AB1413 “Gut and Amend” Abuse Would Gut Voter Voice

by Michael Feinstein Fox and Hounds Monday, January 23rd, 2012 A bill about to be passed by the Legislature – AB 1413 – would rob us of our right to vote for write-in candidates, a right we’ve enjoyed and exercised since California statehood in 1850. With such a major change, one would assume it’s imminent passage is the culmination of a long public process, where the proposed change has been publicly vetted, with broad participation by civic and good government groups in debates, public forums, op/eds and talk shows. But AB1413 hasn’t gone through such a process. Instead it’s come…

Death Penalty, State Politics September 26, 2011

Davis case indicts death penalty

Columbus Georgia Ledger Enquirer September 25, 2011 by Theresa El-Amin All of the prayers for Troy Davis have been answered. And the answer is: “Troy Davis is a martyr in the struggle to end the death penalty in Georgia.” As a veteran of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, I will do all that I can to honor Troy and the millions around the world who worked to save his life. Troy Davis understood that he is not the first innocent man to be killed at the hands of the state. His last words forgave his killers. Can DA Chisolm and…