<div dir="auto">Dear All,<div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I had forwarded this to the GPCA General Discussion list and so I will forward it here, as well. This should confirm that I had sent application on time, and according to instructions. Also note that Christopher Cruz also had applied for male seat, and is not listed, either. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">-Nicole Castor</div><div dir="auto">GP Sacramento County</div></div><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: "Nicole Castor" <<a href="mailto:nmcastorsilva@gmail.com">nmcastorsilva@gmail.com</a>><br>Date: Aug 10, 2017 5:07 PM<br>Subject: Coordinating Committee Application<br>To: <<a href="mailto:applications@cagreens.org">applications@cagreens.org</a>><br>Cc: <br><br type="attribution"><blockquote class="quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal">My name is Nicole Castor. Coming from the “#demexit” wave, I
joined the Green Party in July 2016. Having been registered Democrat for over
seventeen years, my dissatisfaction and disappointment with the
supposedly-progressive Democratic Party led me to finally realize that the
needs of common people, the planet and future generations will neither be
addressed nor met from within the corrupt and corporately-run two-party
'system'.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was born and raised in Lakewood, New Jersey, a
culturally-diverse community which helped to shape my perspective and
worldview. I had moved to California as a teen, spent a few years on each
coast, and eventually settled down in California because of its affordable
public colleges. I attended a community
college and transferred to California State University Sacramento, earning my
BA in Sociology in 2008. My studies helped me recognize and address key issues
affecting the marginalized in our society. Throughout college, I was active in
my community, and often participated in various demonstrations and protests.
Once I started a family, after college, my involvement toned down a bit as I
dedicated my time as a stay-at-home-mom, focusing my activism on raising a
couple of little radicals who will shape the system in their time!<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As my children are growing, I am now afforded more time to
come back to the community involvement I’ve missed so much. After registering
Green last year, I have been fortunate to meet others with a common deep
concern for society. I quickly became involved in re-activating the Green Party
of Sacramento County. Because of our hard work, we became a recognized County
Council and are establishing a Green presence and visibility in the Sacramento
area by joining committees, coalitions, and participating in events, actions
and demonstrations. We have been vocal
about Homeless Rights issues when attending City Council meetings, had been
mentioned in the local news for our participation in a recent “Reclaim MLK Day”
march. As an individual, I had also had
the opportunity to speak in support of the Green Party on the local Fox News
and in an online Bloomberg View article [<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-09-23/two-parties-aren-t-enough-for-all-u-s-voters" target="_blank">https://www.bloomberg.com/<wbr>view/articles/2016-09-23/two-<wbr>parties-aren-t-enough-for-all-<wbr>u-s-voters</a>]. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I currently hold a seat on the steering committee of the
Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights, am on Student Career
Options Committee (countering military recruiters in high schools), an adjunct
of Sacramento Area Peace Action. I had
given marginal help on the organizing committee for the Sacramento May Day
March and provided supplemental support on the organizing committee for March
on Monsanto Sacramento. As well as my
own involvement, I strongly urge others in the County Council to collaborate
with other coalitions. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In addition to the policy side, I was chosen as our County
Council Co-Coordinator by the other Sacramento County Council members. That has
helped me to gain an appreciation of how the party itself needs to be run,
which was then further expanded when I attended the March 2017 GPCA General
Assembly in Bakersfield, where I met similarly-committed Greens from around the
state – contacts I hope to work with in the years to come.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Most recently, I was honored to host, with my county, the
most recent GPCA General Assembly in Sacramento. The tremendous amount of work involved was
worth every minute to see such a large turn-out of our state Greens. It had been expressed by some that it was an
incredibly productive and positive meeting.
The council and I were incredibly proud of the results of our work, and
to see everyone attend, working in harmony.
Maybe it was too hot to argue, or maybe it was a great mix of people who
felt the love and care which went into making that meeting possible. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What do I wish to accomplish on the Coordinating Committee?<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The single-most important thing to me, in my work with my
county Green Party, always comes down to integrity: integrity of the party and
integrity of principles. I want to make
it clear, my intention to serve at the state level is not based on petty
factional politics, but rather to a commitment, which is bigger than Green
Party, but of course, Green Party is part of this. This commitment is to make the world a better
and more equitable place for future generations. This will only happen through social
movements, having political diversity in Congress, engaging disenchanted voters
and non-voters, strategic growth of the party with substance, rather than
bolting growth which favors quantity over quality. I possess a strong ideological theoretical
framework, from which I base my decisions, a mind of my own which does not take
sides. I feel that this is crucial to
our party’s survival- to value what is right over what is popular, and to refer
to our key values and the pillars which support our platform, to guide our
decisions. I did not come to GPCA for
recognition, personal gain or to be commissioned as an activist. I came to do my part in facilitating the
changes necessary for social justice, by deepening my involvement with the
party. <span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Green Party can be a truly transformative political
party -- if and only if it remains true to its principles. I
strongly believe in the Green Party's Ten Key Values and see those as the most
important basis of how we should operate.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I also understand the necessity of the basic administrative
work that the Coordinating Committee is responsible for, work that empowers the
rest of the party – from ensuring our state meetings happen in a timely manner
and are well-run, to appointing people to important committees, to recognizing
new county parties and more. I am ready to attend the monthly Coordinating
Committee teleconferences and do my share of those administrative tasks.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <span></span></p></div>
</blockquote></div><br>