{news} Fw: GREEN RELEASE Supreme Court ruling legalizes 'theft by takings', say Greens

[Tom Sevigny]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "DC Statehood Green Party" <dcsgp4 at hotmail.com>
To: <dcsgpnews at yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2005 10:40 AM
Subject: GREEN RELEASE Supreme Court ruling legalizes 'theft by takings',
say Greens


> GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
> http://www.gp.org
>
> For Immediate Release:
> Tuesday, June 28, 2005
>
> Contacts:
> Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org
> Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen at acadia.net
>
>
> GREENS CALL SUPREME COURT'S DECISION ON EMINENT DOMAIN 'LEGALIZATION OF
> THEFT'
>
> While Democratic and Republican officials side with developers, Greens vow
> to remain a bulwark against the condemnation of private homes.
>
>
> WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders sharply criticized the Supreme
> Court's June 23 decision in the Kelo v. City of New London case, calling
it
> a "legalization of theft."
>
> The decision expands the power of government to condemn private property
> ('eminent domain'), permitting officials to transfer property from one
> private owner to another.
>
> "Working class and low income homeowners will be at special risk, since
they
> provide less tax revenue, and the Court now gives permission for city
> councils and statehouses to evict and replace them with commercial and
> residential development for the sake of a wealthier tax base," said Steve
> Kramer, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.  "The Court has
> legalized theft -- theft from the poor for the rich."
>
> Green leaders say that the party will remain steadfast in its opposition
to
> the use of eminent domain to remove people from their homes under the
> license provided by the Kelo v. City of New London decision.
>
> "Republican and Democratic officials -- including many liberal and
> progressive Democrats -- accept huge gifts from real estate interests that
> want to clear out neighborhoods for new development.  Greens refuse all
> corporate contributions," said Peggy Lewis, who is also co-chair of the
> national Green Party.  "In the wake of the New London decision, the choice
> between voting for a Green and voting for a Democrat or Republican in some
> races might spell the difference between keeping and losing one's home."
>
> Greens around the U.S. are fighting predatory development plans in which
> residents and small businesses face mass removal under strengthened powers
> of eminent domain:
>
> . Brunswick, Georgia faces a massive redevelopment plan targeting 135
blocks
> of the heart of Brunswick, the population of which is 78% black, with 57%
in
> entrenched poverty.  Elaine Brown, Green candidate for Mayor of Burnswick,
> is defending African American residents threatened under the plan, which
has
> slated whole neighborhoods for brutal displacement through "takings by
> condemnation" and eminent domain.  Ms. Brown has offered an alternative
plan
> to make Brunswick a national model and a base for black economic
empowerment
> and progressive social and political change.  More information:
> <http://www.elainebrown.org/Brunswick%20Factsheet.php>.
>
> . In Brooklyn, New York, Park Slope Greens are working with other local
> activists in the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Coalition to head off an
> attempt by billionaire developer Bruce Ratner to seize homes and
businesses
> in Fort Greene and Prospect Heights.  Mr. Ratner, with the support of the
> current Borough President and other Democratic elected officials, wants to
> build an arena and 19 high-end residential skyscrapers.  Gloria Mattera,
> Green candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, is challenging the plan
and
> has publicly exposed the secret sweetheart deals behind it.  Ms. Mattera
> calls for a moratorium on big scale development of high rises and big box
> stores until developers agree to involve the community in decision-making
> and commit to maintaining the integrity of existing neighborhoods.  More
> information: "Mattera Campaign Calls On Brooklyn Borough Hall for
Restraint
> After Supreme Court Ruling"
> <http://www.electgloria.org/news/campaign/20050624.php>.
>
> "The decision proves that liberals may be as likely as conservatives to
side
> with wealthy and corporate interests, and sometimes even more likely,"
said
> Greg Gerritt, secretary of the Green Party of the United States.  "We now
> have reason to fear judicial appointments made by Democrats as much as the
> hard-right appointments of President Bush.  We clearly need a new spectrum
> to describe politics -- dedication to corporate power versus dedication to
> the rights of people and the health of the environment.  Let there be no
> doubt where Greens stand."
>
> Greens especially praised Justice O'Connor's dissenting opinion:
>
> "Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private
property,
> but the fallout from this decision will not be random.  The beneficiaries
> are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power
in
> the political process, including large corporations and development firms.
> As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property
from
> those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have
> intended this perverse result."
>
>
> MORE INFORMATION
>
> Green Party of the United States
> http://www.gp.org
> 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
> Washington, DC 20009.
> 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
> Fax 202-319-7193
>
>
> ~ END ~
>
>