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21st Century Green's Meeting
© 2001 The Gobbler
by Roy Harvey
We had a good meeting Sunday, January 14, 2:30,
at the Prendergast Library, at 509 Cherry St. in Jamestown.
The Jamestown Post Journal reported that there 24 present. We
counted 30.
A few Greens from the early 1990's organization
showed up. Among them, Wayne Anderson (bless him), Vickey &
Sam Kaiser, and Bill & Rachel Boerst.
Also on hand was Nancy Brown, Faith Woolson
& sonJeremy, Chris & Judy Rammacher and Russ Pascatore,
nephew of Gobbler editor Linda Pascatore.
Where are we today politically? In an email
from Hawaii, Juan Wilson used the metaphor:
"Standing on the deck of the Titanic, running
flat out, in the dark!"
Let me add, we're in the thick of it. Where
are we today?
"Germany around 1927. Will Rosa Luxemburg be
killed again?"
Our agenda at the meeting covered the following:
1) The election of two county representatives,
as required by state election laws, to establish ourselves as
the legitimate Green Party for Chautauqua County.
2) One or both of the representatives will
chair the meeting, which should take about an hour in length,
maybe a little more, this first meeting.
3) The election of a sergeant-of-arms (or facilitator,
if the militaristic-sounding term is a problem), to keep the
meeting on track.
4) The election of a third individual, an at
large Green Party representative, so this group of three could
act as a coordinating committee.
5) New business will consist, at this first
meeting, of the establishment of committees.
Five proposed committees will be suggested:
Election law reform, voter registration, and
electoral candidacies
Labor
Environment
Criminal Justice
Education and fundraising
Any organizational work will take place in
the committees, which will meet as rarely or as often as desired.
In effect, the monthly Green Party meetings
will be progress reports, and a chance to bring up issues that
the various committees would like discussed in a larger context.
The role of the coordinating committee (the
2 Green Party representatives and the third member) would be
to work with the committees in the interim (between monthly
meetings), and try to ensure minimizing of unnecessary overlap
(e.g., does NRG Energy tax extortion fit into environmental,
or electoral committees?)
There probably won't be any affiliation, for
a time, with any state or national organization (other than
having established ourselves as the Green Party in Chautauqua
County).
Members of the Green Party will be encouraged
to work on a committee.
For those interested in participating in Greens
Meetings:
email to Roy harvey (harvey@cecomet.net) or call (716) 753-7062
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