{news} Media advisory: Two vie for Green nomination; caucus convenes January 13

[David Bedell]

Fairfield County Chapter, CT Green Partywww.ctgreens.org/fairfield MEDIA ADVISORYJanuary 2, 2008 
Two Vie for Green Nomination
Party Caucus Convenes January 13 What: Green Party nominating meeting for CT’s 4th Congressional DistrictWhen: Sunday, January 13, 2008, 1:00 PM Where: Norwalk Public Library (2nd floor auditorium), 1 Belden Ave., Norwalk, CTWho: David Bedell, Fairfield Count Green Party Secretary, (203)581-3193, dbedell at greens.org Richard Duffee, Congressional candidate, (203)588-0161, richard.duffee at gmail.comGerry Falbel, Congressional candidate, (203)357-0626, gfalbel at optonline.net The Green Party nominating meeting for the Fourth Congressional District, originally scheduled for January 5, will instead take place on Sunday, January 13, at 1:00 PM.  The date was changed to accommodate a second candidate seeking the nomination. The two announced candidates are Richard Duffee of Stamford, a retired lawyer and impeachment activist, and Gerald Falbel of Stamford, a solar energy engineer/designer and president of Optical Energy Technologies. In an earlier statement, Mr. Duffee said, "I believe the current Congress has not taken seriously the oath of office to defend the Constitution. We are in a constitutional crisis that cannot end until we repudiate empire and imperial presidencies and return to our Republic." In a letter sent to the Stamford Advocate, Mr. Falbel wrote, "With the realization that catastrophic global warming is rapidly approaching, I have decided to apply for the nomination of the Connecticut Green Party to run against Christopher Shays in the 2008 election."   --------------------------(Earlier press release)-------------------------------------NEWSGreen Party Considers Run for Congress in 4th District
 
For immediate release: December 10, 2007 (revised December 19)Contact:David Bedell, (203)581-3193, dbedell at greens.orgRichard Duffee, (203)588-0161, richard.duffee at gmail.com
 
RICHARD DUFFEE TO SEEK NOMINATION
 
NORWALK, CT — On Saturday, January 5, the Connecticut Green Party will hold a nominating meeting to select a candidate for Congress from the 4th District. Richard Duffee of Stamford, a retired lawyer and impeachment activist, has announced his intention to seek the nomination. The meeting will take place at the Norwalk Public Library beginning at 10:00 AM on Saturday. 
  
The meeting is open to the public. All Green Party members residing in the 4th District are encouraged to attend and vote on the nomination, while other interested voters are welcome to attend as observers. 
  
When asked his reasons for running, Duffee cited the need to reverse the current Iraq war policies, to prevent war against Iran, and to counter the Bush administration's environmental legacy and failure to address global warming or public safety threats such as the nearby Indian Point nuclear power plant. 
  
Congress Has Failed to Impeach 
  
Above all, however, Duffee decided to run because Congress has not used its power of impeachment to end what he describes as the criminal activities of George Bush and Dick Cheney. "I believe the current Congress has not taken seriously the oath of office to defend the Constitution. We are in a constitutional crisis that cannot end until we repudiate empire and imperial presidencies and return to our Republic. 
  
"We need a government based on trust, openness, honesty, and disinterested public action. It is clear that Bush and Cheney regard us not as citizens, but as subjects, using all the techniques of ruling an empire—secrecy, deceit, betrayal, fraud, mystification, and violence. These are inherently incompatible with the moral prerequisites for maintaining a Republic based on the rule of law." 
  
Duffee has started a campaign blog at http://richardduffee.blogspot.com. 
  
He ran in 2006 for the same seat, but withdrew two weeks before Election Day, citing an agreement with the local Greens to endorse Democrat Diane Farrell because they felt she had a better chance of defeating Republican Christopher Shays in a close race. 
  
The same scenario will not be considered in the next election, according to David Bedell, Secretary of the Fairfield County chapter of the Green Party. "Richard has offered to run, and we will entertain other nominations from the floor, including None of the Above. But whatever we decide, if we put a candidate on the ballot in 2008, we expect it to be binding this time, not conditional as in 2006." 
  
Bedell explained that minor parties such as the Green Party have to petition their way onto the ballot, and if they do not run a candidate in any given year, then they lose their ballot line for that office. 
  
For the Congressional seat, the Green Party will have to collect at least 2100 signatures of voters in the 4th District. 

 
# # #
_________________________________________________________________
The best games are on Xbox 360.  Click here for a special offer on an Xbox 360 Console.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/wheretobuy/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20080102/e155ab3e/attachment.html>