{news} Article from Wethersfield Post On Mike DeRosa's Run for Sec. Of The State

[David Bedell]

I couldn't read the article in the format Mike posted, so I'm posting it 
again here.

Remember, we try to post all news at http://greens.org/elections (click on 
"Greens in the news" or look up specific candidate).

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16546161

04/27/2006
DeRosa runs for Secretary of State as Green Party candidate
By: G. C. Gould , Staff Writer

Tired of politics as usual? Wethersfield resident and Green Party candidate 
for secretary of the state Mike DeRosa is, too. According to DeRosa, 
Democrats and Republicans are mirror images of one another that coalesce on 
the global economy.

"They don't pay attention to sustainability," he said. "The global economy 
dilemma is that instead of looking locally to see what we can grow, we buy 
from 20,000 miles away," he added.

DeRosa used Wethersfield as an example. "There's no land left to develop, no 
industries, and no major financial operations." He suggested Wethersfield 
should look into alternative power, such as windmills, as well as producing 
new robotics technology. "We have the intellectual resources to put that 
into place," he said.

Another impact of the problem with sustainability is global warming, 
according to DeRosa. He said there is an increase of type four, five, and 
six hurricanes due to global warming. The damage done by such hurricanes, as 
was seen with Katrina, can be extreme, he said.

As secretary of the state, DeRosa would become directly involved in the 
voting process - something that has caused bitter controversy in national 
elections over the past few years. DeRosa, therefore, got involved with 
Voter Opportunity through Election Reform, or V.O.T.E.R. One of the 
initiatives of V.O.T.E.R. is to ensure as safe a voting process as possible.

In Connecticut, the legislature and Governor M. Jodi Rell passed a method of 
voting which involves producing a paper trail of each vote that takes place, 
according to DeRosa.

DeRosa is in favor of the voter-verified paper trail. In his description of 
the process, a voting machine would allow the voter to see his or her vote 
through a window. The machine would ask the voter if this is their vote. If 
the voter answers yes, the vote would then fall into a secure lock box, 
ensuring that the vote is correct and fairly accounted for.

He said that 25 states have passed voter verified paper trail legislation.

Complaining about current Secretary of the State of Connecticut Susan 
Bysiewicz, DeRosa said she has publicly supported a voter verified paper 
trail, but "she has been talking out of both sides of her mouth."

Speaking on the process of incorporating in the state, DeRosa said that if 
he was elected secretary of the state, he would ensure that the corporations 
operate in a socially responsible way.

"Corporations need to protect the environment and not engage in union 
busting. They need to be responsible and good neighbors," he said.

DeRosa added that as secretary of the state, he would try to open up the 
system so that individuals can gain power without getting 51 percent of the 
vote. He gave the example of Wethersfield and other districts, where there 
must be at least three members of the council out of the total nine council 
members from parties other than the majority party.

"I think we need to have major voices represented," said DeRosa. "The laws 
that govern election law are fixed so that two parties win. Minority parties 
that get 1 or 2 percent of the vote should get 1 or 2 at large seats in the 
house," he said.

"This has been practiced in Europe all over the place. Having everybody 
represented in the legislature is a good idea," he added.

There are currently about 2,500 Green Party members in Connecticut. At the 
recent Green Party convention, there were 60 persons present to decide who 
is running for which office.

In the past, third party candidates have made lasting impacts on the 
American system of government. Eugene Debs brought up the issue of Social 
Security as early as 1912, and it was not finally passed until President 
Roosevelt adopted the legislation in the 1930s. The idea for the plan, said 
DeRosa, was all third party.

The Green Party is an international party with members in Africa, Asia, 
Australia, South America, Europe and North America. The 10 key values of the 
party are: grassroots democracy, ecological wisdom, non-violence, 
decentralization, community- based economics, feminism, diversity, 
responsibility, and focus.

©Wethersfield Post 2006