In face of Republican Victories, Greens Make Steady Progress

Eureka, CA — Greens weren't especially pleased to see President Bush win a second term this week and Republicans increase their majority in Congress. But if there's a silver lining for the Greens, they also made some strides in Tuesday's election.

Nationwide, Greens picked up additional 40 seats on Tuesday. Greens now hold 240 seats nationwide — up from just 40 in 1996. In California, 15 Green Party candidates reported victories, including in Humboldt County.

The Arcata City Council could possibly have a Green majority once again with Green incumbent Dave Meserve and recently elected Green Harmony Groves. Paul Pitino, who won the third seat on the council, is also a Green. Until all provisional and absentee ballots are counted, however, it is still unknown if Pitino will take a seat on the council. Pitino received 107 more votes than Rob Amerman, the fourth runner-up. Amerman is separated from Jim Sorter, another Green, by just eight votes.

Party registration and the number of states allowing Greens to appear on the ballot also have grown substantially in recent years. Green presidential candidate David Cobb, a Eureka resident, wasn't a factor in Tuesday's presidential election. He failed even to keep pace with former Green Party torchbearer Ralph Nader, who ran as an independent and finished with 400,000 votes.

Still, Cobb on Friday said the inroads his party made at the local level, as well as boosts in registration and the number of states allowing Green candidates to be on the ballot, are encouraging signs that progressive politics will continue to flourish.

"For me it continues to underscore that we have to build real power at the local level and have it bubble upward," Cobb said. "To us this is a long-term movement, it is a movement for genuine democracy."

Cobb's partner, Kaitilin Sopoci-Belknap, was one of the Greens who did get elected Tuesday. Sopoci-Belknap was elected to the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District.

Sopoci-Belknap said she looks forward to bringing Green values, such as enhanced public participation and concern for the environment, to issues such as protecting water in the North Coast rivers from being exported.

"For me it's a chance to make sure we have a chance to have local control over our water," she said.

Meanwhile, Groves, who in December will take office in Arcata, said the strides she and other Greens have been making are a sign that the party's values resonate with voters.

"And I think it's great to be working for a city that has already called for the impeachment of Bush," she added.

But Groves added that since city council positions are supposed to be nonpartisan, she looks forward to working cooperatively with other city officials on issues such as getting the city's general plan up and running.

As for Cobb, he says he'll continue working to increase the number of registered Greens, as well as help Greens get elected, but at this point he's not sure if he'll run for president in 2008.

"I'm hoping we'll have a woman running by then," he said.

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