Story of Green Party candidate's uphill battle to topple most powerful woman in Congress over war in Iraq opens in San Francisco
GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA NEWS RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO - Based on her spirited attempt to challenge the most powerful woman in Congress with a Green Party candidacy, pioneering lesbian playwright Terry Baum will be performing the story of her campaign in a play called "Baum for Peace or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Democracy."
Opening tonight at the Marsh Theater, the play combines the worlds of art and politics in a humorous portrayal that brings contemporary American democracy to life.
Driven by protest against the invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq, Baum's 2004 campaign to challenge House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was plagued with ballot problems that led to her filing a case with the Supreme Court. She even was arrested during a protest to force to registrar of voters to count all the votes.
Despite receiving more than the required 1,500 write-in votes to appear on the November 2004 ballot, some votes were not counted because of a technicality - some write-in voters did not connect the arrows next to her name, although they clearly wrote her name in the space provided. The mistakes cost Baum a chance to meet Pelosi on the ballot.
Pressing ahead nevertheless, Terry did receive a record number of write-in votes in November 2004. A recent court case suggests Baum was incorrectly denied the right to meet Pelosi in the 2004 General Election.
Baum has been writing plays since 1972. Some of her most recent works that were performed in San Francisco include "Two Fools, or Love Conquers All - Not!" about a romance between two women who can't legally live in the same country, and "Waiting for the Podiatrist" in which Baum played an entire family caught up in the melodrama and absurdities of life in the Intensive Care Unit.
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Contacts:
Contact: Erika McDonald, Media Committee chair, 415.337-1499,
The Green Party of California
PO Box 2828
Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
Web: http://www.cagreens.org
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