On Thu, May 24, 2007 at 01:08:30PM -0700, Ray Tobey wrote:
I think there are Greens out there who believe the SFGP is proud, obstructionist, and unwilling to listen.
I would expect that our last CC delegation (Bruce and Marc) would come across to Greens around the state as obstructionist, because that's what we sent them there to do. I think we were quite clear on that in May 2006 when they were elected, as we spent many hours in discussion of the situation at the time, and decided obstruction was the appropriate response. However, most Greens who have been involved in state politics for more than the last year would recognize the long history of constructive engagement by many SFGP members, including Susan, Erika, Don, and others. Our recent obstructionist phase didn't come about in a vacuum--it's a response to increasing abuse of authority (and of volunteers such as myself) on the part of the GPCA CC. I was in the middle of it all from 2001-2006, so I'm familiar with most of the relevant history and the failure of all attempts to solve the problems during that time and since.
I am not impressed with the two agendas I've seen, but constructive input is possible.
My input was meant to be constructive. I think that the GPCA cannot survive as an organization without structural changes, and therefore it would be crazy to spend rare face time on things like updating our platform while there are much more serious issues to discuss. That would be fiddling while Rome burns. Coming to consensus on a solution will require a lot of thought, and the input of as many dedicated activists as possible. I'll try to draft some specific suggestions, but this will require much broader input. Vicki and others will be able to contribute even if they don't know the whole story of the current conflict. I'd also like to hear if you have any constructive, specific ideas for how to solve the GPCA's problems? JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc@sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/