Green Party of California announces its recommendations for state ballot measures; Greens charge Prop. 62 most dangerous of all

GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 21, 2004

Contacts:
Cres Vellucci, State Press Office, 916-996-1970,
Beth Moore Haines, GPCA Spokesperson, 530-277-0610,
Sara Amir, GPCA Spokesperson, 310-270-7106,

SACRAMENTO – The Green Party of California Thursday announced its positions on all of the November 2 state ballot propositions, including a strong recommendation of "No" on Proposition 62, the "limited choice voting" initiative which would remove all smaller parties from the general election ballot.

The GPCA supports measures to provide public access to government information (Prop. 59), open primary elections (Prop. 60), assistance for mental health patients (Prop. 63), local government funding (Prop. 65), amending the three strikes law (Prop. 66) and employer-mandated health care (Prop. 72).

However, the GPCA is recommending "No" votes on a hospital bond (Prop. 61), limited choice primary (Prop. 62), unfair business competition laws (Prop. 64), telephone tax for 911 (Prop. 67), tribal gaming (Prop. 68) and forced DNA samples (Prop. 69).

The Greens made no recommendation for Prop. 1A, local government funding; Prop. 60a, sales of surplus government property; Prop. 70, another tribal gaming initiative and Prop. 71, the stem cell research bond.

The GPCA reserved most of its criticism for Prop. 62, a big business-sponsored initiative – the Chamber of Commerce, and wealthy politicians are major supporters – which would limit the choice of voters in all future elections.

The measure would, in effect, restrict diversity of opinion in general election campaigns by turning primaries into a popularity contest, where only the top two vote-getters in a large primary field would advance to the November ballot. Those two might both be Republicans, or both Democrats, disenfranchising large numbers of voters.

"Prop. 62 misrepresents itself. It would mean less choice for voters in November elections, and there is nothing ‘open' about that," said Kevin McKeown, Green Mayor pro tem of Santa Monica. "California voters deserve access to multiple points of view on crucial issues, not just two. Examining the sponsorship of Prop. 62 tells the true story: Prop. 62 is written to benefit corporations, not people," he added.

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The Green Party of California
http://www.cagreens.org
P.O. Box 2828, Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
gpca@greens.org