Green party is a good third option
Paul Mallory
Issue date: 10/19/04 Section: Student Life
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With all the talk about Bush and Kerry this year, perhaps we have forgotten about our local elections.
Although this year's presidential election is important to progressives who want to see positive change and to stanch conservatives, who think Bush is a godsend, there are indeed other interesting things going on in electoral politics this year.
In 2000, we heard a lot about Ralph Nader and his run for the presidency under the Green Party ticket, specifically with reference to how many people believed he was a "spoiler," giving the election to Bush. Although one could argue that votes that would have gone to Al Gore in 2000 went to Nader, it would not have made a difference except in Florida. However, that's another subject. The point of this article is to introduce to the students and staff of UM-D another Green Party candidate. Her name is Lisa Weltman and she is running for the House seat of Michigan's 14 Congressional District.
To those who are not aware, this is the Congressional seat occupied by Representative John Conyers. The district includes parts of Detroit and Dearborn, and the communities of Hamtramck, Highland Park, Melvindale, Southgate, Riverview, Trenton, Gibraltar and Grosse Ile. Township.
The Green Party offers an alternative to those individuals who believe that the "duopoly" of the Democratic and Republican parties aren't really different and actually agree with one another on most issues. The Green Party has a party platform that includes non-violence, economic decentralization, grassroots democracy, social justice and ecological sustainability, among others.
Running on the Green Party ticket this year for the presidency is David Cobb and his running mate Pat Lamarche. More information on their national campaign can be found at www.gp.org.
Weltman graduated from UM-D in 2002, earning her degree in sociology, and then went on to earn an M.A. at the University of Windsor. Currently, she is an instructor at Mott Community College in Flint.
Growing up poor in California, she has known first-hand what oppressive capitalism can do. From her junior high school days organizing to support the Equal Rights Amendment (which never became law, by the way), to founding the Detroit Socialist Party in 2004, she has had decades of experience in political activism.
I had an opportunity to meet Lisa Weltman. She is very intelligent, very knowledgeable and offers an alternative who truly practices what she preaches. When I asked her why people should vote their values even if that particular candidate has little chance of winning, she replied that every little action towards change matters, echoing the words of Gandhi.
If any student at UM-D wants more information on Lisa Weltman and her candidacy, her website is www.weltman2004.org.
Although this year's presidential election is important to progressives who want to see positive change and to stanch conservatives, who think Bush is a godsend, there are indeed other interesting things going on in electoral politics this year.
In 2000, we heard a lot about Ralph Nader and his run for the presidency under the Green Party ticket, specifically with reference to how many people believed he was a "spoiler," giving the election to Bush. Although one could argue that votes that would have gone to Al Gore in 2000 went to Nader, it would not have made a difference except in Florida. However, that's another subject. The point of this article is to introduce to the students and staff of UM-D another Green Party candidate. Her name is Lisa Weltman and she is running for the House seat of Michigan's 14 Congressional District.
To those who are not aware, this is the Congressional seat occupied by Representative John Conyers. The district includes parts of Detroit and Dearborn, and the communities of Hamtramck, Highland Park, Melvindale, Southgate, Riverview, Trenton, Gibraltar and Grosse Ile. Township.
The Green Party offers an alternative to those individuals who believe that the "duopoly" of the Democratic and Republican parties aren't really different and actually agree with one another on most issues. The Green Party has a party platform that includes non-violence, economic decentralization, grassroots democracy, social justice and ecological sustainability, among others.
Running on the Green Party ticket this year for the presidency is David Cobb and his running mate Pat Lamarche. More information on their national campaign can be found at www.gp.org.
Weltman graduated from UM-D in 2002, earning her degree in sociology, and then went on to earn an M.A. at the University of Windsor. Currently, she is an instructor at Mott Community College in Flint.
Growing up poor in California, she has known first-hand what oppressive capitalism can do. From her junior high school days organizing to support the Equal Rights Amendment (which never became law, by the way), to founding the Detroit Socialist Party in 2004, she has had decades of experience in political activism.
I had an opportunity to meet Lisa Weltman. She is very intelligent, very knowledgeable and offers an alternative who truly practices what she preaches. When I asked her why people should vote their values even if that particular candidate has little chance of winning, she replied that every little action towards change matters, echoing the words of Gandhi.
If any student at UM-D wants more information on Lisa Weltman and her candidacy, her website is www.weltman2004.org.