<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10>Hello Fellow Greens,
<BR>
<BR>Congratulations to our own Ross Mirkarimi, who won a national award from Campaigns and Elections magazine! Read more below in the news section.
<BR>
<BR>In other important news, Green Party Congressional candidate Terry Baum will finally get her day in court on June 15, and the Campaigns and Issues Working Group is looking for new co-chairs. Details are below.
<BR>
<BR>The agenda for our next SFGP general meeting, to be held Wednesday June 16, is posted at the bottom of this email. It is recommend that members read the agenda before coming to the meeting.
<BR>
<BR>Don't forget the party tonight at 848 Community Space! Details in event section.
<BR>
<BR>In this update:
<BR>1. News
<BR>2. Job Opportunity: Green Party of California Seeks Press Secretary
<BR>3. Events
<BR>4. SFGP General Meeting Agenda
<BR>
<BR>NEWS:
<BR>In the US, Greens have won 44% of elections in which they have run so far this year; the party has grown by 30% since 2000; Greens hold more than 200 elected offices across the country.
<BR>
<BR>Our own Ross Mirkarimi, Co-Founder of the Green Party of California and current candidate for District 5 Supervisor, was named one of 15 national "rising stars", and won an award for "General Excellence" from the Campaigns & Elections magazine.
<BR>
<BR>The Campaigns and Issues Working Group is seeking co-chairs. All Greens are welcome to inquire about this position. Responsibilities include collaborating with working group members to do the following:
<BR>*Develop and distribute questionnaires for local candidates
<BR>*Research candidate and initiative information and report to the membership
<BR>*Organize candidate and issue forums.
<BR>Those interested need to come to the July 12 Campaigns and Issues Working Group meeting at the SFGP headquarters, 1028 Howard Street, at 7 PM. For more information email Kimberley Knox at kimberleyknox@hotmail.com.
<BR>
<BR>The Green Party of California met last the weekend to discuss issues regarding the Presidential Nominating Convention. Read about it at www.sfgreenparty.org.
<BR>
<BR>GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA SEEKS PRESS SECRETARY
<BR>The Green Party is the fastest growing third party in the United States, with California being the largest member state. The Green Party of California seeks a Media Relations Staff Member with a history in progressive politics, good writing, editing, and speaking skills, as well as a keen entrepreneurial ability to increase media exposure for the Green Party of California. The ideal candidate should be well organized and detail-oriented, comfortable with tight deadline pressure, possess strong computer skills and have a minimum of 3 years of experience working
<BR>primarily in the news media, but those working in publicity or media relations also are urged to apply. Due to the potentially sensitive nature of this position, the Green Party of California's personnel policy requires that the eventual hire be a member of the Green Party of California.
<BR>
<BR>This is a paid part-time contract position.
<BR>Please submit your completed responses to the requested information below to highdesertgreens@verizon.net. Deadline for applications is June 16, 2004.
<BR>Duties include, but are not limited to, the following:
<BR>-- Writing and sending press releases and other media advisories in a timely manner.
<BR>-- Organizing and implementing press conferences on behalf of the party.
<BR>-- Maintaining a positive working relationship between the party and the media.
<BR>-- Maintenance and upkeep of the party's media lists.
<BR>-- Offer media assistance to local groups on a case-by-case basis, when needed.
<BR>-- Perform media tasks and duties assigned by the party's Media Work Group.
<BR>-- Work closely with and under the supervision of the Media Committee.
<BR>
<BR>In your application, please outline the following:
<BR>
<BR>1. Please describe your past and current experiences in working with the media.
<BR>2. Provide up to three references familiar with your media relations work.
<BR>3. Provide at least three writing samples such as press releases, press clips resulting from press releases, or published stories.
<BR>4. Describe your experience in formulating an organizational budget plan, in particular for media operations.
<BR>5. Describe your political or non-profit advocacy work -- and any associated media experience.
<BR>6. Suggest any ideas or actions to further the media exposure of the Green Party.
<BR>7. Describe your ability in maintaining a media database -- and your rapport with the media.
<BR>8. This paid, part-time contract position pays $6,000 per year, in monthly payments of $500, and a work place available in Sacramento if needed.
<BR>
<BR>EVENTS:
<BR>Saturday, June 12
<BR>Join Matt Gonzalez and the Green Party for a party at the 848 Community Space, located at 848 Divisadero Street near Fulton in San Francisco. (For MUNI riders, take either the 24 Divisadero or the 5 Fulton bus lines.) The party will be held from 8 - 11:30 PM, and will include food, wine, music, beer and fun, with a $5 suggested donation at the door, but no one turned away for lack of funds.
<BR>Matt will discuss his latest perspective, "The American City: A Tool for Progressive Change in the 21st Century", which will be featured at a future Housing and Land Use seminar workshop. Dave Snyder will give a short talk about the relationship of land use and bicycling. DJ's mx:d(Tranquility Base, Opel, 26 Mix) and Platypus(Greensparty) spin the tunes, and we hope to have a few other surprises.
<BR>If you'd like to volunteer to work on the party, contact Tanja Pink at tpink@gmx.net.
<BR>
<BR>Sunday, June 13
<BR>Join us for the Haight Street Fair: 11 AM - 5:30 PM!
<BR>The Green Party will have a booth on Haight between Cole and Belvedere. We will be getting the word out for Baum for Congress. We also need to register voters, promote our endorsements and obtain signatures on Housing Preservation Initiative to protect rent-controlled housing. Come and help us out for a couple of hours and then enjoy the fair. We need volunteer to help with setup at 10 AM. Contact mark@terrybaum.com for more information. Check with your preferred Green candidate for supervisor in D5 regarding their needs.
<BR>www.haightstreetfair.org
<BR>
<BR>Tuesday, June 15
<BR>At 9:30 AM in Superior Court, Room 302, 400 McAllister at Polk, Terry Baum will finally get her day in court.
<BR>Judge Quidachay is scheduled to preside, and Terry is inviting her supporters to show up in court to show support. Please get there early; we need observers there at 8:45 AM. Terry Baum is the Green Party's Congressional candidate for District 8, the seat currently held by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. After winning a historic write-in campaign, Terry is still fighting to get on the ballot. Read the news release about the court date at www.sfgreenparty.org.
<BR>
<BR>Wednesday, June 16
<BR>SFGP General Meeting will be held at the SFGP office at 1028 A Howard Street, between 6th and 7th Streets in San Francisco. Meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Please see agenda below.
<BR>
<BR>Saturday, June 19
<BR>Mark Sanchez, incumbent Green Party candidate for school board, is having his fundraiser kick-off. It will be held at the Mint Kareoke Lounge at 1942 Market Street at 2 PM.
<BR>
<BR>SFGP GENERAL MEETING AGENDA FOR JUNE 16, 2004
<BR>Please read the procedures and written proposals immediately following the agenda!
<BR>
<BR>Facilitators: Susan King, Marc Salomon (all but item 5),
<BR>Erika McDonald (item 5)
<BR>Minutes: John-Marc Chandonia
<BR>
<BR>1) Intros, agenda approval, accredidation - Susan, Marc (5 minutes)
<BR>2) Presentation from Mixed Greens on non-citizen voting, Berta Hernandez and Ana Maria Loya presenting (15 minutes, no decision)
<BR>3) Consent calendar, 1 minute.
<BR>a) Endorse non citizens voting legislation (Matt Gonzalez initiative)
<BR>b) Endorse NO on Wesley initiative (a description follows agenda)
<BR>4) Endorsement of letter from Mixed Greens (letter follows agenda) on commission appointments affecting communities of color. Kimm Killebrew presenting (5 min)
<BR>5) Decision on early endorsement of Green Candidates in D9 (60 minutes)
<BR>a) Presentation of process - JMC (5 minutes, no decision)
<BR>b) Early endorsement decision - Erika and Susan facilitating, Kim Knox presenting (55 minutes total:
<BR>5 minutes for straw poll, 45 minute consensus process, 5 minutes on vote if needed)
<BR>During the discussion, facilitators are asked to limit people to a total of 1.5 minutes each until everybody who wants to speak gets a chance. DETAILED PROCESS FOLLOWS AGENDA!
<BR>6) Confirmation of CC nominees to Mediation and Arbitration board: Erika McDonald, Nancy Marmol, Sujung Kim (process follows agenda). Michael Alterman (5 minutes)
<BR>7) Campaigns and Issues: Co chair election announcement (1 minute, no decision)
<BR>8) Mixed Greens: new co chair announcement (1 minute, no decision)
<BR>9) Transportation: Presentation of proposed transportation plank for SFGP platform (13 minutes, no decision)
<BR>10) Announcements
<BR>
<BR>Processes:
<BR>
<BR>1) Agenda changes require consensus or 2/3 vote.
<BR>
<BR>Accredidation will be handled by same team as last month; get your voting card as you come in. Anybody who's not on the active member list but thinks they should be can make a brief statement followed by a vote of the active members - 2/3 required to be added to active list.
<BR>
<BR>3) Consent calendar items are given below. There is no time allocated for questions. Concerns mean the item is pulled and rescheduled at a future meeting.
<BR>
<BR>4) Consensus or an 80% threshold is required to send the letter. Text of the letter is given at the end.
<BR>
<BR>5) Early endorsement process: we will only consider early endorsement of ONE Green candidate in D9 at this meeting. D5 endorsements and strategy will not be considered at this meeting! We will first take a straw poll to see which candidate to consider. Only Green candidates who have filed, answered or questionnaire, and asked for
<BR>our endorsement qualify. So far, that's just Lucrecia Bermudez and Renee Saucedo. If another candidate qualifies by Wednesday, the straw poll will include a runoff if no candidate gets 50%+1. We'll poll active members which of the 2 candidates to consider endorsing. You can vote only for one candidate, or not at all; abstentions do
<BR>not count in this straw poll.
<BR>
<BR>We'll then go into a full consensus proposal on the leading candidate. (Clarifying questions, Concerns & Affirmations, Concerns may propose friendly amendments or be asked to stand aside, possible vote).
<BR>If we vote, the threshold for endorsements is 75% of the yes and no votes. People can also abstain, but the proposal fails if the number of abstentions is greater than 25% of the total yes and no votes. People can also choose not to vote or abstain, in which case they aren't counted.
<BR>
<BR>Clarification of what an early endorsement means: The endorsement will allow for use of GP resources, including: non-fundraising lists, use of website, access to office and equipment (rent for use of office as campaign office), inclusion in all outreach to voters (slate cards, phonebanking, etc.). We will do another consideration of D9
<BR>candidates including non-Greens and do IRV ranking following the August 6th filing deadline.
<BR>
<BR>6) We'll consider all 3 at once, with consensus or a 2/3 vote required to confirm. If this fails, all 3 will be considered individually.
<BR>
<BR>9) Transportation will present a plank; concerns may be raised over the next month, but the decision will be made at the next GM.
<BR>
<BR>Consent calendar items (item 3):
<BR>
<BR>a) This would allow non-citizens with parents in the SF schools to vote in school board elections. Mixed Greens recommends endorsing this.
<BR>
<BR>b) This legislation would create an "open primary" for all statewide offices. Only the top 2 candidates, regardless of party, would advance to the general election. This would effectively prevent Greens from running candidates in these races, and it's the same system by which David Duke made a runoff in Louisiana. The GPCA
<BR>CC and Electoral Reform WG recommend endorsing NO on this.
<BR>
<BR>Letter from Mixed Greens (item 4):
<BR>
<BR>To: San Francisco Board of Supervisors
<BR>From: Mixed Greens
<BR>RE: Appointments to Commissions
<BR>
<BR>Given the controversy of recent appointments to City Commissions, the Mixed Greens, the people of color
<BR>caucus of the San Francisco Green Party, urges the Board of Supervisors to adopt the following procedures
<BR>for appointments affecting communities of color and immigrants:
<BR>
<BR>1. When appointments for City Commissions impacting the lives and interests of communities of color and immigrants are up for discussion and vote the BOS will do everything in its power to consult and receive
<BR>input from the communities affected by the appointments.
<BR>
<BR>2. We strongly support the BOS convening public hearings and town hall meetings in communities of color and immigrant communities to discuss and receive the input of those affected communities.
<BR>
<BR>3. Public hearings and town hall meetings should be organized with sufficient outreach to community
<BR>organizations, churches, etc., to guarantee full participation from the community. Community-based
<BR>and faith-based organizations that already have established relationships in the community and other
<BR>outreach tools should be used to ensure attendance at these events. These hearings should be organized at
<BR>times and dates to allow for full public participation, i.e. not during typical work day hours.
<BR>Budgets for these meetings should include child care providers, translation services and audio-visual
<BR>recording.
<BR>
<BR>4. Supervisors should make every effort to attend meetings the community has already established.
<BR>This is an opportunity to reach voters who may otherwise not participate in any political forum.
<BR>Meetings are organized by various groups throughout each district and afford an opportunity to discuss
<BR>open seats and possible appointments.
<BR>
<BR>We hope these suggestions are earnestly considered and implemented in a timely manner. We acknowledge
<BR>there are existing time and budget constraints; however, we believe engaging the community in
<BR>determining its civic leadership is a significant responsibility of a district supervisor.
<BR>
<BR>We appreciate the service you are providing to our beautiful city and are available to provide any
<BR>assistance should it be needed or requested.
<BR>
<BR>Sincerely,
<BR>Berta Hernandez Kimm Killebrew
<BR>Co-Chairs, Mixed Greens
<BR>
<BR>Thanks to all of our members for your continued support!
<BR>
<BR>Warm Regards,
<BR>Erika McDonald
<BR>To have an item included in this newsletter, send email to erikasf@aol.com. No attachments please.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR></FONT></HTML>