Below are excerpts from my minutes of the November SCC meeting. Ralph Ferrucci said they accurately represent what he and Calvin Nicholson said at the meeting. I hope we in the CTGP can give a lot of thought and discussion to these ideas, and accept them as they are or modify them as we see fit.
Discussion of these ideas should not be done on this News listserve but can be done on the Forum listserve and/or the Elections listserve (for example). To join listserves go to www.ctgreens.org and click on "Listservs" on the homepage (on the left).
(The rest of my minutes should be ready within a few days.)
--Ed DuBrule
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1b. Presentation by Ralph Ferrucci and Calvin Nicholson. Ralph and Calvin distributed a handout, titled "Proposal for the Project for a Green American Connecticut" (Appendix 4). They said that the CTGP must go on the offensive and attack Democrats' and Republicans' positions. Specifically, we could run a candidate against Lieberman. Many non-Greens oppose Lieberman; these people could be brought into the CTGP. We should start raising money for this work; we should set up the New Elections Committee and the New Fundraising Committee described in the handout.
CT is a "blue" state (voted for Kerry) but has three Republican Congresspersons, plus Senator Lieberman (a Democrat whose positions appear to be those of a Republican).
We could run a complete slate of candidates for statewide and federal offices (non-presidential). These candidates must present a unified message. 7,500 signatures are needed to run a candidate against Lieberman; these same signatures would qualify the whole slate (other Congresspersons and governor).
The Elections Committee would find candidates. Peace groups, Muslims, African-Americans, and so on all oppose Lieberman. Lieberman is leading the charge against affirmative action.
The Elections Committee would have at most 25 members (large enough to encompass diverse opinions but small enough to reach consensus). Selecting preliminary statewide candidates via an Elections Committee would be a departure from the way the CTGP has selected statewide candidates until now (via chapters). Democrats and Republicans select their statewide candidates via such a committee; they begin work on campaigns two years in advance.
Our strategy has been to seek Greens who wish to run for statewide office (whichever office that be). Our strategy should, instead, be deciding which Democrats and Republicans should be opposed by a Green and seeking Greens who wish to run for those offices. For example, what Green will run against Lieberman? Our strategy should include deciding what statewide officeholders labor unions would like to see replaced; Greens would thereby gain labor support. The Elections committee would target races for party growth--for example, the Lieberman/Green race.
The Elections Committee will decide on primary and campaign guidelines, which will exceed state and federal standards--the major parties will attack us if we don't select candidates strictly according to CT election laws (such as filing paperwork with the Secretary of State's office).
The Elections Committee would decide on any proposed state level referendums (for example, legalizing medicinal uses of marijuana). Even if the referendum result were nonbinding, we could get the CTGP associated with an issue.
Elections Committee members could not belong to any other committee--the goal is to have these people focused on elections. Similarly, Fundraising Committee members could not belong to any other committee. The Fundraising Committee will receive stipend of the funds raised, that is, a percentage of the funds raised (for motivation).
The handout gives a proposed timeline. Thus in the period 1/15/05 - 11/15/05 (corrected dates) the focus would be on deciding a statewide platform and referendums for 2006. All Green candidates would emphasize the same issues (for example, better schools).
In "Phase One" there would be a one-month period (May 1, 2006 - June 1,2006) in which ballot access (collecting signatures) would be the focus. Perhaps each chapter would be responsible for "x" number of signatures. The period May 1, 2006 - October 15, 2006 would be focused on voter registration. A voter registration campaign would be a way of growing the CTGP. Democrats and Republicans don't focus on voter registration. We could reach out to groups including young people and people who have left prison. The period May 1, 2006 - August 30, 2006 would be focused on community forums (in collaboration with local Greens' efforts). Note that the three time periods described in Phase One are overlapping.
Phase Two includes op-ed pieces and phone banking. Hundreds of op-ed pieces could be written annually by Greens. August 1, 2006 - November 1, 2006 would be a period in which to focus on writing op-ed pieces. Our platform could be publicized through these pieces, and Lieberman and other candidates could be challenged to participate in debates.
Discussion of Ralph's and Calvin's ideas began. Mike expressed support for their work. David Adams pointed out that a later agenda item for tonight's meeting is "planning/strategizing session for the state party in January". Ralph said that he'd be interested in coming to such a session. David said that many Greens may not agree with all the details of the plan, and that there should be dialogue within the CTGP. The end result might be a modified plan. Ralph said that chapters should discuss this plan, add ideas, and ultimately vote on the plan. Calvin said that he would be willing to put the plan onto listserves for comments/suggested revisions.
Justine pointed out that the SCC had approved an Action Plan which contains directives or suggestions on committee functioning; Calvin/Ralph's plan may have ideas (such as "members cannot belong to any other committee", perhaps) which may be in conflict with the Action Plan. Lindsay said that we need to study how Carl Rove works (apparently meaning that we Greens need to learn how the Democrats and Republicans plan campaign strategies). John said that we need to have a unified direction for the CTGP; Rove shaped the Republicans into one cohesive, unified unit.
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Appendix 4. Handout "Proposal for the Project for a Green American Connecticut".
Authored by Calvin L. Nicholson and Ralph A. Ferrucci; 11/29/04
Proposed Two Year Campaign Strategy for the 2006 State and Federal Elections
Introduction: To better prepare for the 2006 election and subsequent state and federal elections, the following proposal is presented to organize a two-year effort to prepare for statewide and federal elections. The following proposal consists of three main components:
**An Election Committee who oversee the initial selection of candidates and propose the campaign and nomination guidelines for all candidates.
**A Fundraising Committee who will be solely focused on raising capital for the State Party.
**A Two-Year Guideline for preparing and executing a successful Green Party slate for the 2006 elections.
[I.] New Election Committee
A. Focus on Statewide and Federal Offices (non-Presidential)
B. Composition and Size
1) No greater than 25
2) Chairman and Structure
i. 5-7 Greens (1 chair)
ii. 7-15 Greens (2 co-chairs)
iii. 15+ Greens (3 co-chairs)
3) Chairpersons voted annually by committee
C. Committee will decide Preliminary Slate of state and federal candidates for the nominees
D. Decide on Primary and Campaign Guidelines, which will exceed state and federal standards.
E. Decide on any proposed state level referendums.
F. Members cannot belong to any other committee.
G. Decide target races for party growth.
[II.] New Fundraising Committee
A. No more than five Greens, one chairperson.
B. Cannot belong to any other committee within the State Party.
C. Will submit monthly reports to the State Party.
D. Decide Fundraising strategies beyond phone banking and street canvassing. All strategies approved by the State Party.
E. Will receive stipend of the funds raised.
[III.] Proposed timeline (January 2, 2005 - November 1, 2006)
A. 1/15/05 - 11/15/05: Decide statewide platform and referendums for 2006.
B. 1/15/05 - 3/15/06: Potential candidates selected for state and federal races.
C. Last Saturday of April 2006: State Party Convention.
D. 5/1/06 - 10/31/06: Main Campaign Thrust
1. Phase One:
i. Ballot Access--May 1, 2006 - June 1, 2006
ii. Voter Registration--May 1, 2006 - October 15, 2006
iii. Community Forums (correlate with local Greens) -- May 1, 2006-August 30, 2006
2. Phase Two:
i. Op-ed pieces (in conjunction with media committee) -- August 1, 2006-November 1, 2006
ii. Phone banking -- October 1, 2006-November 1, 2006
E. Election Day -- November 6, 2006
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