Green News
Matt Gonzalez
From a Green listserv
Matt Gonzalez, a former public defender, current President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and one of the leading elected Greens in the country, is running for Mayor of San Francisco. The election is this Tuesday, November 4th, and we need your help.
New polls out Wednesday, Oct 29 show that Matt has climbed into a slim lead for second place and a coveted spot in the upcoming runoff election, which will feature the top two finishers from the November 4th contest. This is HUGE.
Even better, our own polling from a few weeks back showed that, should he make it into the runoff, Matt’s poll numbers starting out are statistically tied with those of the leading candidate (Gavin Newsom, a neo-conservative anti-homeless candidate backed by downtown business interests), with each candidate receiving 41-42% support. In other words, Matt has a very strong chance to become the first Green mayor of a major international city – not just in the U.S., but in the world!
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader has declined to be a candiate on the California Green Party Presidential ticket in 2004, citing exploratory committee rules that would make it difficult for him to be a listed candidate now. He did the same thing in 2000, and didn’t decide to run until April 2000. He can still get on the California ballot by doing a signature campaign. Speculation is he is waiting to see if Kucinich or Dean get the Democratic nomination. Also, he will be 72 and a Presidential campaign would tax anyone, 72 or not.
The four Greens currently on the California ballot are, basically, nonentities, except for David Cobb, who has some visibility among GP activists. Nader, love him or hate him, gave the Green Party international attention in the 2000 race. If he doesn’t run, Greens have no one even remotely approaching his name recognition as a candidate in 2004.