Check Out Potential Voting Machines

In case you didn't know it, we will be getting new voting machines for the November election. The State Board of Elections will choose 3 machines to give the County BOE's to choose from. But YOU can have some say in that.

Monroe County Board of Elections Voting Machine Demonstration
Thur. Jan 5, noon - 6pm
Dome Arena, Minett Hall
2695 East Henrietta Rd

Groups call ahead 428-5884
Preregistration forms available
Free and Open to the Public

Many local groups have come together in the Every Vote Counts Monroe Coalition to insure basic principles are met in choosing our new voting system. We encourage every citizen to become familar with the issues surrounding the choices.

PRINCIPLES

• Secure- the machines need to be tamper proof


• Accessible to the disabled- the machines must allow the disabled to use the machines independently


• Reliable with mature technology- We are not guinea pigs- the machines need to have a proven track record and be free from voter verification problems


• Transparent and auditable- Each voter needs to be able to verify their vote with a paper record


• Cost effective

This decision has issues going beyond the ease of use. Below is a link to information before seeing the machines and one to take action after. The Board of Elections will be seeking feedback from the public at this demonstration.

http://www.nyvv.org/demoqueries.shtml
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mcnyfvv/

Another Step towards Democracy

Please take a moment to support Congressman & Black Caucus leader John Conyers Jr. in his fight to form a committee to investigate possible impeachable offenses committed by our goverment usurpers / leaders. He is one of the "good" Democrats that fought with Green presidential candidate David Cobb in Ohio to count all votes and investigate voter fraud .
Please go to his site and help him out by signing the petition if you support this action.
Thank You!

http://www.conyersforcongress.com

GreenLine TV Re-Airs FairTrade show by Request !

"GreenLine TV" will have it's second airing of it's FairTrade (edition #3) on Dec. 26 Monday eve at 8pm. Greece Cable West Channel 12. Tune in and tell your friends & family. E-mail or call and tell us what you think. No barbs about the host please. It's a volunteer position and she's very sensitive during the holiday season ! :-)
Happy Ho! Ho! to All, and to ALL, FairTrade !

Republicans in Democrats' Clothing

[The following is just one person's observations. Feel free to comment.]

Mike Caputo recently talked about Mayor-elect Duffy's appointing of Republicans to his administration. This isn't a big surprise if you paid the least bit of attention during the campaign. He specifically said he wants to make the city government as business-friendly as possible. This was/is alarming on two fronts. First of all, if you believe Duffy has the entire city's interest at heart, that would mean he's counting on trickle-down economics to help the poor here. Well, we progressives know how well that works. (and isn't that a Republican theory?) Second, if he doesn't give a hoot about poverty, that will mean he's advocating for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. It's pretty much the same outcome no matter what Duffy's intentions are.

During the campaign, Duffy was on Bob Smith's radio show. He kept talking about creating jobs to alleviate poverty, but when you asked him to be specific, he would talk about biotech jobs at the UofR...jobs that would not be available to the people stuck in the poverty cycle. I called the show and tried to make that point, but was hung up on. (thanks, Bobbo)

This illustrates a bigger political problem we have in Rochester. Voters in the city blindly vote Democrat. As a candidate and campaign manager I've heard too many times the phrase "too bad he/you're not a Democrat". Why? You like what the candidate stands for, but you won't vote for him or her because of party? You're not betting on a football game, you're voting for what you believe in...allegedly.

I don't know if this is a plan of the Republican Party or just something being done by individuals within the party, but a number of Republicans in the city have switched to the Democratic Party, waited a bit and run for office just because they know people in the city don't pay attention to anything other than that stupid Donkey. Then when they get in office and act like Republicans, people are amazed.

Then you have people on the left who have joined the Democrats to change them "from the inside". Well, that's a post for another time, but for right now, I'll just say that I haven't seen anything like that work yet.

In the meantime, the Green Party is still the only party who consistently advocates for true progressive values. Think about it. The Democratic Party in this town (or at the state or national levels for that matter), what does it currently stand for? And when I say "stand for" I mean by it's actions, not by it's rhetoric. But I guess you can ask the same of the other corporate sponsored party as well.

What's that called when you do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome?

NYC Transit Strike

This was posted ealier this morning by Gloria Mattera:

Green Party walks with men and women of New York City's Transit Workers Union 100.

Green Party leaders express support of transit workers coupled with
strong criticism for the MTA, Governor Pataki, and Mayor Bloomberg
in their disregard for union members, calling for repeal of unjust
Taylor laws.

The Green Party of New York (GPNY) supports the Transit Worker Union 100 (TWU100) members in a request for reasonable compensation for their valuable work and the right to protect the welfare of themselves and their families. The TWU100's recent strike, called against a Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) "final offer" in
which the MTA puts less money into the pension fund than the nominal pay increase offered, was wrongfully portrayed as a greedy attempt at a pay raise and attack on the New York economy. Governor Pataki and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg furthered the assertions, labeling union leaders "thuggish'' and "selfish.'' Green Party leaders call on a need to recognize the MTA's attempt at cuts which they believe could also set a precedent threatening compensation to all public service workers.

"It is a huge disrespect to the people who offer us this obviously valuable and irreplaceable service while working under undesirable conditions. All public services workers should consider this a threat, from school teachers to police and fire department workers. The union members do not need to be labeled as villains in the eyes of their neighbors" said Gloria Mattera, Co-chair of the New York State Green Party. "Perhaps we should have Pataki and Bloomberg to get out of their limousines for a day and spend it working in our subways. We are talking about people who live here and contribute to our economy on a daily basis, not steal from it. All New Yorkers, should be more than happy to show appreciation for our people in uniform and shop in their own neighborhoods and ignore Pataki and Bloomberg."

GPNY also condemn Taylor Laws which take away worker's rights to refuse to work without reasonable and fairly negotiated compensation. "While the Taylor laws puts heavy penalties on public service working people it does nothing to penalize government-appointed representatives, namely the Metropolitan Transit Authority," explained Mattera "In effect, those representatives, the MTA, can act without accountability to the public nor to the working people at the negotiating table. The Taylor Law must be repealed if public service workers are to have a fair voice in contract negotiations. The fines imposed upon TWU100 only serve to further demonize people who only want what is just."

The Green Party also expressed support on a national level, sharing leaflets and information on strike locations via the internet to members of their National Committee and Peace Action Committee which also recognized TWU100's participation in anti-war efforts. "The requests by the workers of TWU100 and their action is a beacon to working people everywhere. Their requests are reasonable and should be a model for what any working person might expect from an employer no matter where they are. We agree with TWU100 President Roger Toussaint when he says "our battle is your battle," stated Rebbecca Rotzler, co-Chair of the Green Party of the Untied States.

City Council Passes a Good Lead Law!

I will be sending e-mails to individual council members, but I wanted to publicly congratulate and thank all 9 members of the Rochester City Council for amending and unanimously approving a lead paint law that insists dust wipes are used in places in "the crescent" to get Certificates of Occupation.

I'm glad to see Tim Maines, Wade Norwood and Brian Curran going out on a very high note. This law will do a lot to getting rid of lead paint in our housing. When that is done, we should start seeing reduction in special education students, violence and crime overall. I know that sounds like a reach, but look at the statistics. Many of our city kids who need help educationally or behaviorally are lead poisoned. And those kids become adults.

There's still a ton of work to do to alieviate poverty in Rochester, but this is a great step.

What Would You Do For Your Cause?

Personally, I've done a lot for issues I believe in. I've run for office, walked picket lines, spoken in front of countless groups...but I don't know if I would dress up as a giant turd. But that's just me.

http://www.greatervictoriagreenparty.com/treatwastenow/treatwastenow.asp

(You have to watch the video to get the full effect)

GreenLine TV Dec 19

The 3rd edition of GreenLine TV , "Fair Trade " will be shown Monday Dec. 19 at 8pm eastern in Greece, NY on Greece Cable West Chan 12. Get some great ideas for gift giving that keep your dollars "fair & local " .
Some parts of Gates, & Hilton may also be able to view it.

Happy HOLyDays , and plenty of FairTrade holiday shopping !

Deborah Magone-Fragale
Producer / Host
GreenLine TV

New Voting Machines in New York State

Below is my testimony to the New York State Board of Elections Public Hearing on Voting System Standards on Tuesday December 13, 2005. These draft Standards can be found at http://www.elections.state.ny.us/hava/machine-cert-6209.pdf

Over 2 dozen people testified, my testimony over covered a small portion of the concerns raised.

Send your own comments to the NYS BOE before January 21, 2006.
Email: ldaghlian@elections.state.ny.us.
Phone: 518-474-1953
US Mail: NYS BOE, 40 Stuben ST, Albany NY 12207


Good Morning, my name is Jason Nabewaniec, I am here today both as the Co-Chair of the Green Party of Monroe County and as a representative of Metro Justice to the Every Vote Counts / Monroe coalition.

Our goal today is to provide the NYS BOE with public input to consider when determining the final requirements for certification of new voting machines to be used here in New York State.

The Help America Vote Act allows NYS to receive Federal funds if we update our vote process by doing away with the lever machines and replace them with a method that provides equal access for people with disabilities. The Federal Government is not empowered to mandate voting methods used by a State, however, meeting this Federal Act was put into action by our NYS Legislature so that we could receive he Federal money to improve our voting system.

My concern is the time frame in which we are currently working in. To receive these Federal funds we need to write and approve certification standards, test and certify machines (that are not currently complete in there design), have the machines manufactured and delivered in time for November 7th Federal Election.

I don't know why it has taken this long to get to this point, but this is the time table we are currently working in. In a good democracy the people determine the best voting process in which they wish to select their representatives. Here in New York State we have slowed down the process and bought into a timeline that puts us in a position where are electoral options are being held hostage by the Federal Government, and the 3 corporate vendors that have determined what machines they will choose to put up for certification.

Why is it that the corporate vendors and the DRE sales departments get a choice in how New Yorkers select there representatives, but 'We The People' only get asked which of these 2 or 3 is the lesser of two evils at the tail end of the process. Why are we being asked how to write certification requirements for these 3 corporate vendors rather than being asked three years ago what specifications should we write for the manufacturing of our new voting machines.

At this point we've seen that none of the machines brought before us meet our voting needs as outlined by our coalition. We could choose to do hand counted paper ballots that will improve the accuracy and integrity of our democracy, combined with the availability of optional electronic marking, for individuals with limited mobility or dexterity, and optical scan technology to provide voter verification for visually impaired individuals in every polling station. However, it seems likely that the NYS BOE will continue to rush through the process, continuing the claim that hand counted ballots takes too much time or too much effort. Yes, machines will accelerate the counting process, however, expedient does not mean democratic.

We need to instill integrity into the election process to build voter confidence.

We need to ensure that all machines no matter what format must be Full Face by Race, and not zoomed in where some candidates get cut out of view as some of the machines we have seen do.

We need the people to dictate democracy, the corporate sales department can be trusted to promote the vendors most profitable options.

We need the NYS BOE to be committed to not certifying any machine that fails to meet our standards of Secure, Accessible, Reliable / Mature, Transparent / Auditable, and cost effective. NYS BOE has not implemented HAVA in a manner appropriate for Democracy, please listen to the people, we can do better and we must do better. Thank You for Your Time.

City Council's Priorities

Let me get this straight...one committee of the Rochester City Council approves bonds for $11.5 million for the Ferry to get out of debt and operate next year, but the housing committee won't pass legislation that makes dust wipes part of the law because it'll cost the city $500,000? Well, I guess we can see where their priorities are.

This is what happens to kids who have lead poisoning...and it's permanent. There is no cure. We would save more than the $500,000 it would cost for the dust wipes in special education, medicaid, police and other social service costs and everyone on the City Council knows it. We cannot forget who voted for this sorry excuse for a bill. Lois Giess, Wade Norwood, Bill Pritchard and Ben Douglass. What makes this even sadder is Norwood is gone in a few weeks and Giess probably won't run again in 2007 now that she's eligible for her pension from the City. I wouldn't be surprised if she leaves next year so the Democrats can install an "incumbent".

Folks, you have to be at the City Council meeting this Tuesday (12/20). Call 428-7421 to speak or just come and show these people that our children mean more than a boat. And check out the post before this one to see how you can contact all the City Council Members.

Unbelievable.

Contact City Council Members ASAP!

• Last year over 900 children in Monroe County were poisoned by lead in their homes.


• Most of these children live in the City of Rochester.


• The one most effective preventive step we can take is to adopt a strong City ordinance that requires that lead hazards be found and fixed.


• City Council is considering alternatives, and plans to vote at its December 20 meeting.


• City Council needs to hear from you, passage of a strong ordinance IS NOT GUARANTEED!

TODAY we need YOUR help to do at least one of these things to protect our children:
1. Call or e-mail at least one City Council member BEFORE DECEMBER 20 with the following message:

"Please vote in favor of a City lead poisoning prevention ordinance to protect our community’s children from lead poisoning. Please make sure that the ordinance includes a dust wipe test to detect lead hazards as part of the initial inspection, when there is no visible peeling paint, at least in the highest risk neighborhoods. We need your support on this important community issue. Thank you."

[We suggest that you add information about your interest—your work with City residents, neighborhoods, etc. You do not need to be a City resident to make this call. If you are not, point out your interest in the City, its health, and the health of its children.]

City Council Contact Information
Lois J. Giess 428-7538 giessl@cityofrochester.gov
Brian F. Curran 428-7538 curranb@cityofrochester.gov
Benjamin L. Douglas 428-7538 bendouglas@frontiernet.net
Tim O. Mains 428-7538 mainst@cityofrochester.gov
Adam C. McFadden 428-7538 mcfadda@cityofrochester.gov
Wade S. Norwood 428-7538 wadesean@prodigy.net
William F. Pritchard 428-7538 pritchaw@cityofrochester.gov
Gladys Santiago 428-7538 santiagg@cityofrochester.gov
Robert J. Stevenson 428-7538 stevensr@cityofrochester.gov


2. Attend the City Council Meeting on Tuesday evening, December 20th

- Sign up to speak at the "Speak to Council Session" 7 – 8 p.m. Make a statement similar to the message above. (call 428-7421 to sign up to speak)
- Be there to support City Council taking a historic step to protect our children. The meeting begins at 8 p.m.

For more information on lead poisoning go to the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning.

An 8 yr old can hack computerized voting machines

http://michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5185

Statewide Candidates NYS GP SC

The nominations for statewide candidates in 2006 (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, and US Senate) will be done this spring by New York State Green Party (NYSGP) State Committee (SC) members. Since the Green Party's candidate for Governor failed to receive 50,000 votes in the 2002 election the Green Party can not hold a primary to decide who will be on the ballot, Thus, the NYSGPSC will choose all of these candidates.

Greens wishing to be on the SC to have a vote in the selection of candidates have only until December 21, 2005 to collect signatures.

The SC seats are filled by collecting signatures of registered Greens. People have until December 21, 30 days before the next SC meeting on January 21, 2006 in Binghamton to collect signatures. You need 5% of the registered Greens in your assembly district to sign a petition for your. For most districts this is 10-20 signatures. You can get the current list from me or any of the other GPOMC officers.

I urge people to collect signatures to fill these seats. The state
committee will be deciding whom to run for governor and US Senate at the May state committee meeting. Join the state committee and help guide our state party forward at this important time. There are three state committee meetings each year. SC meetings can be held either in Albany, New Paltz or Binghamton. We are getting ready to implement web-based voting so that decisions can be made between face-to-face meetings.

All of the Assembly Districts in Monroe County have at least one opening on the SC, we have been under represented on this body for a long time. The Assembly districts in Monroe County are: (130/139, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135)

Please contact GPNYS co-chair Ian Wilder at wmblake7@yahoo.com>wmblake7@yahoo.com or 631-422-4702 to obtain a petition and signature requirements for your district.

-Jason Nabewaniec

Welcome to the Green Party of Monroe County's Blog

Welcome to the Green Party of Monroe County's Blog.

Members of the GPoMC's steering committee will be posting:

*descriptions of recent events the Green Party has sponsored.
*descriptions of recent events members of the Greens have participated in.
*opinions, editorials and comments.
*descriptions of upcoming events.
*links to online resources, articles and information related to the Green's 10 Key Values.
*special guest posts.

This blog does not take the place of the best local political website around, www.gpomc.org. That site will continue to be your resource for Green information, brochures, voter registration forms and more. This blog is intended to be a "living newsletter".

With the entire steering committee participating, we hope to have daily additions to the blog so visit us often. And your comments are welcome as well!

Go Green!