Greens Urge Nader to Run as a Green

The Green Party of NYS welcomes Ralph Nader to the Presidential race and urges him to run as a Green.

Green Party of New York State welcomes Ralph Nader's Presidential Candidacy;

Urges him to run as a Green

The Green Party of New York State (GPNYS) welcomes the decision of Ralph Nader to run for President in 2004. The Green Party urges Nader
to seek the nomination of the Green Party of the United States.

Although Nader has announced his intention to run for President as an independent, many Green Party members throughout the country are hopeful that he will still seek the Party's nomination. "Draft
Nader" Green committees have sprung up in states around the country, and they plan to urge delegates to cast votes for Nader at their nominating convention in Milwaukee this June. Many Green Party members throughout the country prefer Nader as the candidate with a strong message that can build a lasting, viable third party.

"We need a presidential candidate who will stand up for living wage jobs, true environmental protection, and grassroots democracy. Nader encouraged people to get involved in their government at the local level, and Greens responded—284 people ran for offices at every level of government and every area of the country in 2000, and have been doing so in ever-increasing numbers in every year since," said
Michael Emperor, a member of the Executive Committee of GPNYS.

GPNYS supports Nader's desire to run a full-out national campaign. Nader has stated that he could not wait until the Green Party national convention in June to resolve the issue of overall strategy for 2004, especially in light of the difficult ballot access laws confronting third party and independent candidates in many states.

GPNYS will continue to urge the national Green Party and Nader to agree on a unified presidential campaign strategy.

Ralph Nader was the Green Party's nominee for President in the two previous election cycles, in 1996 and 2000. Nader had great success in 2000, garnering almost 3 million votes nationwide—a very
impressive total, considering how close the race was.

"The Greens agree with the need to remove Bush from office. Democratic leaders have supported the war against Iraq , the curtailment of civil liberties, and increased corporate welfare,"
said Gloria Mattera, co-chair of GPNYS. "More than half of the American public now question the war, so why not support who clearly stands for peace?"

"Ralph has often said that he ran in '96 and 2000 to build a strong alternative political party. We continue to believe that the best way for him to do that is to run as the Green Party's candidate this year," said Mark Dunlea, former chair of GPNYS.

The State Committee of GPNYS, at its most recent statewide meeting on Jan. 31, passed two resolutions by overwhelming margins. One resolution, passed 120-22, with 10 abstentions, called for the Green Party of the United States to run an aggressive national campaign for the Presidency this year. The second motion, passed 117-14, with 12 abstentions, urges Nader to seek the nomination of the Green Party for President. GPNYS hopes that these two resolutions, along with the work being done by state parties throughout the country, will persuade Ralph Nader to join forces with the Green Party.

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