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Green party leaders from the UO to the national level were upbeat about both the past and the future at a Sunday morning session in the EMU. Panelist Xander Patterson from the Pacific Green party of Oregon called the last campaign cycle a "phenomenal success." Deborah Howes from the association of State Green Parties, also a panelist, said this federation of state Green parties is already putting together a presidential exploratory committee and is "not committed to having Nader as a candidate." Nader received about three million votes in November. A UO student in the audience, Natalie White, said the campus Greens have decided to work for campaign finance reform and against the Free Trade of the Americas agreement, the latest expansion of NAFTA. They also are working with the student human rights alliance against sweat shop labor. Campaign finance reform and instant run-off elections top the agenda of the Greens at all levels. The national federation also is urging diversification and grassroots organizing. Howes admitted that she was grateful that the Greens did not qualify for the $20 million in federal funding at this time because the party does not have the structure to use it. Howes is a planner with the city of Portland. She said the Multnomah county Greens are a dynamic group of under-30s, while they were older and grayer in the past. It's a national strategy to organize more students and form coalitions with existing groups. Howes said the Democrats seem"most reluctant" to work with the Greens and that the "spoiler" issue provokes continual discussion. Panelist Christian Alexander, a community college teacher who ran for the Oregon Legislature in November, said the Greens on the south coast are working initially to form coalitions by offering monthly events to the broader community on such non-threatening topics as The Natural Step. Alexander won nearly 30 percent of the vote in her district, although she said there is a perception in Coos county that "if you're a Green, you're a weirdo". Patterson offered some upbeat numbers: 8,500 Greens are now registered in Oregoncompared to 1,000 at the beginning of the 2000 campaign. He estimates non-registered participants would bring the total number ofGreens to12,000 to 14,000. The Pacific Greens are the third largest party in Oregon, active now in 17 counties, compared to sixcounties before the campaign. In 1996, Nader raised $18,000 in Oregon; in 2000, he raised $150,000. -- Anita Johnson Back to Environmental Law Conference Index Eugene
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