Green Party responds to attacks

To the editor:

Several letters attacking the Green Party were pretty far out there, so here are some real facts. Contrary to Fred Agree's second attack letter, no grand alliance exists among all those he appears to dislike, but maybe it would be a good idea.

The Green Party has never said anything about Linda Shattuck at any time. Mr. Agree's enthusiastic defense of Ms. Shattuck's and Mr. Babcock's involvement in the Lindauer campaign was interesting since Mr. Agree himself was an organizer and deputy treasurer for Lindauer.

Is he trying to join some exclusive ex-Lindauer club at MEA?

Contrary to Mr. Fahrner's letter, party co-chair Rachel Garcia was correct. Mr. Sykes never was a party chair even if a reporter may have once said so 10 years ago. Joni Whitmore was the party chair in 1991.

Mr. Sykes ran for governor in 1990 and got enough votes to be the first state-recognized Green Party in the nation. The campaign themes were health care for all Alaskans and building a sustainable and environmentally-friendly, small manufacturing capability for a sustainable future.

Members of various chambers of commerce who heard Sykes talk about Green economics, which builds community involvement and adds value to raw resources before export, often gave him compliments for "getting the economic issues right."

Sykes exemplifies someone who works with people of all political persuasions, whether it is stopping the permanent fund raid, preserving competition by fighting the BP takeover of ARCO or presenting the idea of instant runoff voting.

The Green Party has always recognized that communities, economies and the environment must all be healthy for a sustainable future.

Empowering people through grassroots politics will help people decide what is most appropriate for their own communities rather than being dictated from above. We operate on consensus and principles we call 10 key values.

Please get accurate information about the Green Party of Alaska from our Web site: www.alaskagreens.org or write to Green Party of Alaska, P.O. Box 2341, Anchorage, AK 99510, or call (907)27-GREEN. Please join us in growing a positive future for Alaska.

Steve Cleary, co-chair

Green Party of Alaska