Another Green Party candidate pulls upset over incumbent, claims thin win in college board race; Follows Green victory in Richmond mayor election
GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA NEWS RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO (November 29, 2006) - A Green Party candidate has pulled off yet another upset of an incumbent here with the announcement today from the San Francisco Elections Department that John Rizzo has now built an insurmountable, 300-vote lead and has officially registered a victory over Community College Board incumbent Johnnie Carter.
The win follows the election of Green Gayle McLaughlin as mayor of Richmond over the incumbent in that city, a working class suburb of San Francisco with a population of about 104,000. Richmond becomes the biggest city in the U.S. where at Green is at the helm, and the first in California where a Green was directly elected as mayor. McLaughlin, who first won office in 2004 on the Richmond City Council, was outspent 10-1 by the incumbent.
Rizzo is more than 300 votes ahead of Carter after counting of provisional and other ballots. Counting continues, but the elections office says the lead is insurmountable. Rizzo has 68,324 votes (16.95 percent) good for the third and final available spot. Carter has 68,000 votes (16.87 percent). Another Green, Bruce Wolfe, finished just behind Carter with 51,255 votes.
"This is great news for the thousands of students in San Francisco's Community College System. John's win will mean greater accountability," said Erika McDonald, spokesperson for the San Francisco Green Party.
Rizzo chairs the 40,000 member Sierra Club Bay Area Chapter and is a member of the City College Bond Oversight Committee, and a City commissioner. His work with the Sierra Club includes fighting global warming by promoting clean-energy alternatives to imported fossil fuels, conserving water resources, and fighting for a better public transportation system. He has helped to pass ballot measures to fund solar energy and that require Muni to buy less-polluting city buses.
"John Rizzo's campaign and our amazing volunteers proved that individuals with passion, conviction, and time to devote to doing the right thing, can reach an entire city and change the future for the better. San Francisco voters, regardless of party, district, or background, truly want to support candidates who will fight for education, the environment, social justice, and financial accountability. That is why our grassroots campaign reached out to people and neighborhoods throughout the entire city. Voters clearly recognized that City College needed a new progressive voice for our citizens, students, faculty and staff. That new voice is newly elected College Board Trustee John Rizzo," said Aimee Harcos, Campaign Manager for John Rizzo
Greens now hold 52 elected offices in California. Of 62 Greens on the state ballot Nov. 7, including state, federal and local races, 18 Greens, or 29 percent, won. Four captured city council spots while six Greens won seats on boards of education. Greens have the majority of seats (3/5) on the Sebastopol City Council and four of nine on the Berkeley rent stabilization board.
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More Information
California Green Party Election Results:
www.cagreens.org/media/Election2006
U.S. Green Party Election Results: www.gp.org/elections
John Rizzo campaign contact: Aimee at 916-812-4027
Contacts:
Crescenzo Vellucci, State Press Office,
916.996.9170,
Sara Amir (Los Angeles),
310.270.7106,
Dr. Bob Vizzard (Sacramento),
916.206.8953,
Daniel Brezenoff (Southern California),
310.422.2211,
Susan King (San Francisco),
415.823.5524,
The Green Party of California
PO Box 2828
Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
Web: http://www.cagreens.org
EMail: