{news} Register coverage of Green for Hamden's 5th District

[Kelly McCarthy]

Surprised and delighted that the NH Register is taking our little campaign
for the 5th District Legislative Council so seriously this early!
Cheers, Kelly
 <http://www.Vote4Kelly.com>  
  
Greens make bid in Hamden 
Michael Gannon, Register Staff
07/18/2005

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HAMDEN - The Hamden Green Party has put forth the town's first official
nomination for local office this fall, tapping Kelly McCarthy to run for the
Legislative Council in the 5th District. 


"I know we're the third party, that we're the underdogs," McCarthy said
recently at the party convention. "I know we get blamed for everything from
(Ralph) Nader to (President) Bush. But I'm serious about the issues."

Some blamed Nader's Green Party candidacy in 2000 for drawing votes from
Democrat Al Gore and giving Bush the presidency. 
 
McCarthy, 27, has a personal tutoring business and is a graduate of the Yale
Divinity School. An Oregon native, she has lived in Hamden for nearly four
years.
She and her husband, Aaron Gustafson, are two of the three co-chairmen of
the Connecticut Green Party. 

McCarthy said the issues she would fight for are little different from those
she is active with in the Whitneyville Civic Association. She said there are
numerous things such as road improvements, sidewalks and other
quality-of-life issues that are very real ones for the district's residents.

Mark Sanders, her campaign manager, said the district is a diverse one, with
the contamination cleanup in the Newhall section, lower and middle working
class, middle class and pockets of fairly wealthy residents.

"It is those wealthy streets that sometimes hurt us," Sanders said. "Other
areas that don't have those qualify for some types of state and federal
funds (for improvement projects) that we don't get."

At last week's convention, the town party had six of its committee members
present, enough for a quorum. 

They left their local chairman and secretary positions vacant. McCarthy
remains as Hamden party treasurer, and Gustafson will stay on as Hamden
liaison to the state central committee.

Gustafson said there are about 2,000 registered Green members in the state.
Sanders said there are 57 in Hamden.

Without an automatic slot on the November ballot, McCarthy will need 15
signatures - 1 percent of the 1,500 district voters who turned out in the
last municipal election - by Aug. 10 to place her name on the ballot. It
would take 25 to allow her to claim a Green Party line.

"This is going to be a grass-roots campaign," McCarthy said. Sanders said
they would like to court liberal and moderate Democrats as well as
Republicans who have seen McCarthy in action in regard to neighborhood
affairs.

Sanders said the breakdown of registered voters in the 5th District is
roughly 45 percent Democratic, 10 percent Republican and 45 percent
unaffiliated.

"If I were to change my party affiliation to Democratic, I'm sure it would
be easier," McCarthy said.


  _____  

Michael Gannon can be reached at mgannon at nhregister.com
<mailto:%20mgannon at nhregister.com>  or at 789-5710. 




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