Election 2000 left a bad taste in the mouths of many Americans, and some called the aftermath a failure of democracy. Mirroring public dissatisfaction with the election, the Pacific Green Party announced this weekend that the party’s plan for the next two years will focus on campaign finance reform.
The statewide quarterly convention, held Saturday and Sunday at the University’s Agate Hall, drew an estimated 80 party members from regional chapters of the Pacific Green Party.
Represented at the convention was a mix of members nearly as diverse as the state’s population itself. The Pacific Green Party has long termed itself “The People’s Party,” and the variety of people in attendance seemed to verify that aspect of the party.
From the young to the old, newly political to politically frustrated, members attending the convention were optimistic for the party’s future.
“If I felt that any other party offered a truly democratic process, I’d probably be involved with them,” Multnomah County Pacific Green Party co-chairman Lysha Wasser said. “Show me another party that could make a 23-year-old a co-chair of one of it’s biggest chapters.”
Recent events held by the campus chapter of the Green Party have mirrored the focus determined at the convention.
“Just last week we held a teach-in on campaign finance reform,” campus party member Michelle Averbeck said. “Right now we’re trying to do a lot to educate students.”
Lane County Pacific Green Party members shared some of the attempts they have made toward campaign finance reform in Lane County. Their efforts have focused on campaign finance reform pertaining to the Eugene City Council and mayoral races by working with the Lane County Charter Review Committee.
“We’ve been reviewing election rules for Lane County and initiating conversation with committee members,” Lane County Pacific Green Party official Mark Baldwin said. “We’ve been working on that because the cost of City Council races has risen 600 percent over the past four years.”
Lane County Green Party, which hosted the convention, will endorse the statewide party focus while putting local efforts toward energy issues and the development of self-sustaining energy sources. Party member Tim O’Shea said the local chapter sees a real need to find more viable energy sources.
“With respect to the environment,” he said. “These are the most cost-efficient options available.”
With a gasoline-electric hybrid Honda Insight parked in front of the hall and Izabella, a large friendly dog, wondering about inside, this convention didn’t resemble your typical political convention.
“We really try to put the ‘party’ in Green Party,” party co-founder Deborah Howes said. “At each event we hold we try to have some sort of festivities, have some sort of fun.”
Near the end of the convention Sunday, party members gathered in the center of the performance hall, formed a circle while holding hands and told others what they had gained from the conference and how they benefited from attending.
Some members expressed their displeasure with the recent elections, while others expressed their gratification with the opportunity to learn about other chapters and local issues across the state.
“I do very much like the energy and the ideas this party holds,” one party member told the group.
“I really appreciate the sincere attempt toward consensus gathering and the truly democratic process this party allows for,” another member from a newly formed chapter said.
The next Pacific Green Party convention will be held June 8-10 at Camp Myrtlewood near Coos Bay. More information on the Pacific Green Party and the next convention can be found at www.pacificgreens.org.