The Columbus Free Press
New Party Online News - September 1996
Building Power in Wisconsin
Progressive Milwaukee/New Party members will be hard at work this election season building political power at the State Capitol. PM/NP endorsed four candidates for state office:
- State Senator Gwendolynne Moore. Moore is the first African-American woman State Senator in Wisconsin and the first African-American woman in the country to hold a leadership position in a State Senate (President Pro Tempore). She has been the leading opponent of Governor Tommy Thompson's welfare reform plan.
- State Representative Spencer Coggs. Coggs has been concentrating on increasing voter registration and participation in Milwaukee's central city.
- Dale Dulberger. A longtime PM/NP member and supporter, Dulberger is challenging a conservative Republican incumbent in Wauwatosa. Dulberger, who has taught at UW-Milwaukee, worked as a machinist, and has owned a small printing business, is focusing on jobs and education.
- State Representative Johnnie Morris-Tatum. Morris-Tatum was first elected to the State Assembly in 1992. She has been an outspoken supporter of Milwaukee's public schools and an active member of the Board of Directors of Progressive Milwaukee/NP.
Restoring Majority Rule in Montgomery County
Thanks to the efforts of New Party members, volunteers, and interns, Progressive Montgomery/NP qualified its Majority Rule charter amendment for the fall ballot. The goal: to reverse a six-year decline in funding for the schools and other key public services in Montgomery County, Maryland. Under current rules, it takes a supermajority of county board members to approve an increase in the county budget, enabling a small conservative minority to block budgets and force decreases in spending. The charter amendment would restore majority rule to the budgeting process and allow a majority of council members and a majority of county residents to restore needed funding to schools, libraries, senior centers, and public safety.
Date Set for Fusion Case
The date for oral argument in the New Party's historic Supreme Court fusion case should be set soon for this Fall. For those of you new to the New Party, fusion, or cross-nomination, refers to the ability of more than one party to nominate the same candidate on separate ballot lines. Widely used in the 19th century, particularly by the Populists, this tactic is now banned in most states, making it almost impossible for minor parties to escape political marginality. Fusion allows minor parties to avoid the spoiler and wasted vote problems, as a minor party can nominate a major-party candidate on its own ballot line, allowing its supporters to cast their vote for a candidate who has a chance of winning and showing their support for their preferred party (and its values) at the same time.
The New Party's fusion case, regarded by many experts as the most important party rights case in this century, could knock down all state bans on fusion effectively breaking the two-party stranglehold on American politics. If the Court restores the fusion right, then in the 1998 election cycle, when term limits will force thousands of incumbents out of office, the New Party could cross-endorse candidates in open seat and swing districts; this would immediately increase our visibility while broadcasting which candidates are closest to our values. We could also run our own candidates in nonpartisan races on platforms of living wage jobs, starting gate equality for children and campaign finance reform. In other words, with fusion the New Party could quickly become a much more powerful force for democratic and economic reform both inside and outside the two-party system.
Michael Moore on Tour
Writer, director, and rabble-rouser Michael Moore (best known for the documentary Roger and Me and the series TV Nation) is on tour this fall promoting his new book, Downsize This! While on the road, he'll also be helping local New Party chapters. In Madison, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Boston, Moore will be joining NP members for fundraisers, street theater, rallies, and media events.
UTNE Interview With NP Chair
A great interview with New Party Chair Joel Rogers appears in the current issue of the UTNE Reader (about 300,000 circ). Pick it up if you get a chance.
As always, stay tuned and send money.
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