SF GREEN PARTY WEEKLY 12/18/05 - 12/25/05 NEWS: - 12/12: Green Party Denounces the Governor's "Unwise" Decision EVENTS: - 12/19: Hearing and Party for Public Financing Campaign - 1/5: Animal Advocacy Working Group - 1/9: Campaigns and Issues Working Group - 1/10: Housing and Land Use Working Group - 1/26: SAVE THE DATE: Annual Gala San Francisco Green Party Event, Studio Z ANNOUNCEMENTS & ACTION ALERTS: - Public Financing for the Mayor's Race: We Need Your Help! - How to Run For the SF Green Party County Council - Become a Green Party Sustainer! JOKE OF THE WEEK: - Sad News for Christmas ************************************************************ NEWS: 12/12 Green Party Denounces the Governor's "Unwise" Decision The Green Party of California Monday denounced Gov. Schwarzenegger's decision today to not grant clemency to Stan Tookie Williams. "It is with profound sadness that we denounce the Governor for his unwise decision today. We strongly feel that his decision will not, in any constructive way, serve the cause of justice or community, in either the short or long term," said the Green Party of California in a prepared statement. "The campaign to save Stan Williams was particularly urgent, and the Green Party platform, unlike that of the Democratic and Republican parties, is clear on this issue: the death penalty is wrong, under any circumstances," the statement concluded. For more information contact: Susan King 415.823-5524 funking@mindspring.com Pat Driscoll 916.320-6430 pat@sonicfrog.com Beth Moore Haines 530.277-0610 beth@ncws.com ============================== EVENTS: 12/19: Hearing and Party for Public Campaign Financing! WHEN: Monday, December 19 5:30 pm hearing, followed by celebration WHERE: City Hall Room #408 for the hearing Soluna Cafe on McAllister (Across from Asian Art Museum) for the celebration Please join us! You can help San Francisco join the national movement to take the pernicious influence of money out of politics and breath new life into our democracy! On October 25, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, representing a broad-based coalition, introduced legislation that could bring public financing to the San Francisco Mayor’s race. By publicly funding the campaigns of candidates for public office, politicians don't need to rely on wealthy donors to wage competitive campaigns. And that means that politicians are freed up to make decisions in the best interests of the public, rather than campaign contributors. In order to ensure this critical reform, we need you in the evening of Dec. 19! Starting at around 6pm, in room 408 of City Hall, there will be a hearing on the legislation. We need to turn out dozens of our supporters in order to make sure that the city knows that the public supports this legislation. Afterwards, we will all head over to Soluna Lounge for drinks and music and celebration. --------- 1/5: Animal Advocacy Working Group WHEN: Thursday, January 6 7:00PM-9:00PM WHERE: San Francisco Green Party office, 1028 A Howard St (between 6th St. and 7th St.), San Francisco DETAILS: Monthly meeting of the Animal Working Group. We will discuss animal issues in San Francisco. For more information, email Rosalind Lord at rclord@seaserpent.com --------- 1/9: Campaigns and Issues Working Group WHEN: Monday, January 9 7:00PM-9:00PM WHERE: San Francisco Green Party office, 1028 A Howard St (between 6th St. and 7th St.), San Francisco DETAILS: Monthly meeting of the Candidates and Campaigns Working Group, a forum for reviewing candidates, ballot initiatives and measures and generating recommendations for endorsement to the General Membership; identifyng and recommending "key" campaigns and how to allocate SFGP resources accordingly; and recruiting Green candidates to run for local elected office. --------- 1/10: Housing and Land Use Working Group WHEN: Tuesday, January 10 7:00PM-9:00PM WHERE: San Francisco Green Party office, 1028 A Howard St (between 6th St. and 7th St.), San Francisco DETAILS: This month's agenda includes a presentation by Sarah Dennis of the SF Planning Department about a current project to determine the nexus impact of high-end housing in San Francisco and proposed developer mitigation fees. She'll also discuss Supervisors Daly's and McGoldrick's proposals to make changes to the currrent inclusionary housing ordinace. We'll also talk about the 2006 agenda to become more active in legislation issues, and we'll revisit proposed seminars for the upcoming year. --------- 1/26: SAVE THE DATE: Annual Gala San Francisco Green Party Event, Studio Z WHEN: Thursday, January 26 8:00PM-11:30PM WHERE: Z Gallery (11th and Folsom), San Francisco DETAILS: Join Green Party activists and friends as we celebrate 2006 in our usual style- our annual fundraiser and party. Enjoy live music, spoken word, theater and interesting performances. Green Party Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and other progressive leaders are confirmed speakers. Other special guests TBA. ============================== ANNOUNCEMENTS & ACTION ALERTS: Public Financing for the Mayor's Race: We Need Your Help! On Tuesday October 25, Green Party Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, representing a broad-based coalition, introduced legislation that could forever change the way politics is done in San Francisco: With public financing, the public helps fund the campaigns of candidates who can demonstrate a wide base of community support by collecting a large number of small donations. In exchange candidates agree to a strict spending cap, and to limit their private fundraising. The idea is to make politicians accountable only to the public, rather than private campaign donors, and to ensure that all serious candidates, regardless of access to money, have enough resources to get their message out to the voters. To make this legislation happen, please do two things: 1. Write or call the Supervisors to encourage their support (they need hear this from as many people as possible); and 2. Ask your friends to do the same. Sample letters and contact information for the Supervisors can be found at http://www.voterownedelections.org/contact_supervisors.html To learn more about the campaign visit www.voterownedelections.org or call 415-596-5808. --------- How to Run For the SF Green Party County Council County Council Candidates will be elected in June of 2006. For details on how to run, see http://www.sfgreenparty.org/events/events-itemfromhome.gem?idx=1435 --------- Become a Green Party Sustainer! As you may know, the SFGP is supported by our wonderful sustaining donors -- 175 and growing. In the next 12 months we hope to double that figure, and you can help us achieve our goal by signing up to make a regular contribution to the Green Party. Our sustainer program nearly pays all of our basic monthly operating expenses, including rent and utilities on the office, and drastically reduces the amount of work needed to raise money. Our sustainers free us up to do what we're really here for - to pursue Green values through the democratic system. Sustainers also ensure that we are able to keep our office, which has hosted numerous campaigns' headquarters including the successful Prop A, Instant Runoff Voting initiative. Becoming a Green Party sustainer is easy, fun, and secure! ============================== JOKE OF THE WEEK: Sad News for Christmas Sadly for lovers of the Holiday Season and all its decorations, there will be no Nativity Scene in Washington DC this year! After much deliberation, the Supreme Court has ruled there cannot be a Nativity Scene in Washington DC this Christmas season. While right-wingers will likely try to blame this on the Democrats with their whole "Christmas Under Attack" strategy, this isn't for any religious, or shockingly, even a political reason. They simply have not been able to find three wise men and a virgin in the Nation's capitol. There was no problem however, finding enough asses to fill the stable. ************************************************************ For more info on our activities, please see our website, http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions at info@sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email news@sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through.