Green Party candidates emphasize 'choice'
Edward Humphrys
Issue date: 9/17/08 Section: News
Two Green Party candidates running for positions in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives served as the key speakers at an event organized by the Campus Greens on campus Monday.
The event, "You Have A Choice," was intended to highlight the special circumstances present in this election season and provide a chance for the public to learn more about the policies of the candidates as well as those of the Green Party as a whole.
The hosting organization, Campus Greens, is a student-operated club headed by UA student Jacob Holloway. Members of Campus Greens function as promoters of environmental issues and Green Party candidates among the student population, Holloway said.
About 50 people, a vast majority being UA students, were assembled in the Reynolds Center Auditorium when Holloway gave a brief introduction to the event and its purpose, which he said was to raise awareness about the unique condition of this year's electoral season
The five federal elections in Arkansas this year are uncontested among the major political parties, leaving the third-party Green candidates as the dominant opposition, Holloway said.
Mark Swaney, treasurer of the Green Party of Arkansas, gave a detailed historical account of the Green Party in Arkansas, highlighting the many difficulties the party has experienced while establishing itself.
"Arkansas state laws initially made it impossible for us to nominate candidates," Swaney said.
But after a series of lawsuits against the state, the party finally gained an equal right to ballot access in late 2007, making the 2008 election cycle the first for the Green Party to appear on a separate primary ballot.
"Arkansas has only one party, Republican or Democratic, and that is the Conservative party, and the Green Party is the only alternative to it," Swaney said before introducing the first candidate, Rebekah Kennedy.
Kennedy, from Heber Springs, is the founding president of Campus Greens and is a graduate of and doctorate recipient from the UA Law School.
The event, "You Have A Choice," was intended to highlight the special circumstances present in this election season and provide a chance for the public to learn more about the policies of the candidates as well as those of the Green Party as a whole.
The hosting organization, Campus Greens, is a student-operated club headed by UA student Jacob Holloway. Members of Campus Greens function as promoters of environmental issues and Green Party candidates among the student population, Holloway said.
About 50 people, a vast majority being UA students, were assembled in the Reynolds Center Auditorium when Holloway gave a brief introduction to the event and its purpose, which he said was to raise awareness about the unique condition of this year's electoral season
The five federal elections in Arkansas this year are uncontested among the major political parties, leaving the third-party Green candidates as the dominant opposition, Holloway said.
Mark Swaney, treasurer of the Green Party of Arkansas, gave a detailed historical account of the Green Party in Arkansas, highlighting the many difficulties the party has experienced while establishing itself.
"Arkansas state laws initially made it impossible for us to nominate candidates," Swaney said.
But after a series of lawsuits against the state, the party finally gained an equal right to ballot access in late 2007, making the 2008 election cycle the first for the Green Party to appear on a separate primary ballot.
"Arkansas has only one party, Republican or Democratic, and that is the Conservative party, and the Green Party is the only alternative to it," Swaney said before introducing the first candidate, Rebekah Kennedy.
Kennedy, from Heber Springs, is the founding president of Campus Greens and is a graduate of and doctorate recipient from the UA Law School.
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