Green party endorses three candidates

Alternative political parties are a virtually ignored by a majority of California's political scene. Receiving only a small fragment of the funding that the Democratic and Republican parties get, smaller parties struggle by on idealism and elbow grease.

One of the "third" parties that has increased in California is the Green Party.

Founded in Germany in the 1960s, where it garners about 7 percent of the national vote, the Green Party is a global network of parties with centers in 73 countries and throughout the United States.

CSULB political science Professor Christian Soe said he has seen Green party members, called "Greens," in action in Germany.

"It is highly unlikely they will come to power here," Soe said, but "they can be influential on the Democrats and Republicans by influencing public opinion."

The Greens promote 10 key values: social justice; decentralization; personal and global responsibility; respect for diversity; post-patriarchal values; non-violence; community-based economics; ecology; a sustainable future; and grassroots democracy.

In the upcoming California election, Green candidates are running for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and U.S. senator.

Green candidate for secretary of state, Margaret Garcia, a 25- year-old Cal State Fullerton graduate, advocates proportional representation - a system of allocating seats in the Legislature by a percentage of votes. For example, if the Green Party won 5 percent of the total votes, it would gain 5 percent of the seats in the Legislature.

"I will support the democratization of the UC Board of Regents and the CSU Board of Trustees," Garcia said. "It's time to let go of appointment by the governor; it's time to let the public university community be run publicly."

The Green candidate for lieutenant governor, Daniel Moses, is an editor and publisher of books on ecological politics. He was editorial director of Sierra Club Books from 1979 to 1991 and is now director of Earth Island Press.

"Publishing books was satisfying professionally," Moses said. "However, I became increasingly frustrated by the refusal of most candidates to give serious consideration to the suggestions put forward by these writers. I decided that one sure way to change this situation was to become a candidate myself."

Moses also faulted the state's fiscal priorities with regards to higher education.

"Other than cutting the bloated salaries of many university administrators, I am not sure how we can increase the UC and CSU budgets," he said. "But, there is no justification for impoverishment of the public sector, while corporations and individuals in the highincome brackets continue to accumulate extravagant wealth."

Green candidate for U.S. senator, Barbara Blong, said she sees the two major party candidates, Dianne Feinstein and Michael Huffington, as "look-a-likes who are competing to see who can spend the most money and sound toughest on crime and immigration."

Blong said she opposes propositions 184 and 187, the so-called "Three Strikes" and "Save Our State" initiatives, and favors Proposition 186, California's health-security initiative. She also said she favors opening vacant buildings to the homeless.

Blong works as a gardener, massage therapist and educator. She is currently completing her master's degree in Women's Studies at San Francisco State.