Laura Wells came to Mountain View to speak Thursday September 30th at a fundraiser. Despite having given away 300 fliers and so forth, the crowd was maybe 22 of us. I didn't know about four of those assembled. The San Mateo Greens were maybe four of us.

     

Fred and Gerry introduced her.

     

Laura began by saying her transportation system had been "bikes, buddies and BART" for most of her adult life. She also talked about how we need a State Bank the way North Dakota has. She thinks that will give us more tools for balancing our books. Seeing as how Sacramento's financial crisis is going on and on, it might be worth trying. Laura also pledged to spend the next four years working to build the Green Party as our nominee for the office of Governor. She said that all of us should try running for office as a Green Party member. Only by trying it can you appreciate how the experience fits into building a better future.

     

After that Gloria asked us to open our checkbooks for the Green Party. As inspiration she auctioned off these two "OVERGROW THE GOVERNMENT" shirts from the dawn of the Green Party of California, back when we were the hot new thing. A murmur of "you were the one behind those?" and "I love that shirt!" went through the crowd when she brought them out. The things sold for $40 each. When all was said and done we'd raised $1500 plus.

  

There was plentiful conversation after the formal presentation. Everybody wanted to talk. It's so rare that we all get together that everyone had news to share. It was great. Fred showed off his latest letter to the editor:

I'm going to vote for Laura Wells. It's not that she has extreme charisma, it's that she is my Party Nominee and she is doing the work to earn my vote. It's not that I expect her to win the election, it's that I want to honor the community that she is the one with the guts to show up on the ballot for. To my way of thinking the only wasted vote is one that stays home. I have a duty to vote, and she is giving me an honorable choice. I honor the fact she doesn't own a car. I'm voting for Laura Wells because she represents the pedestrians and bicyclists in her run.

 * GOVERNOR DEBATE NEWS ADVISORY *

Tuesday,  October 12, 2010
Contact:  Hank Chapot, 510.504.3538 hchapot@igc.org
      Cres Vellucci, 916.996.9170 cvellucci@cagreens.org
      Marnie Glickman 415-472-2859 marnie.glickman@gmail.com


GREEN PARTY GUBERNATORIAL
CANDIDATE ARRESTED at GOVERNOR'S
DEBATE; COURT ON ... ELECTION DAY

SAN RAFAEL – Green Party gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells was
arrested here Tuesday as she was attempting to legally enter – with a
ticket –  the Governor's Debate at Dominican University. Private
security arrested Ms. Wells, handcuffed her and held her against her
will until San Rafael Police intervened.

Ms. Wells, based on the citizen arrest by Barbier Security agents for
allegedly trespassing, now must appear in court.....ironically, on
Election Day, Nov. 2.

"Republicans and Democrats will go to any lengths, even arresting
candidates, to keep the truth from California voters. There are
solutions, but voters aren't being allowed to hear from independent
candidates.  Meg and Jerry will spend tens of millions of dollars in
advertising but still won't address the problems plaguing us," said Ms.
Wells, after being released on her own recognizance.

Ms. Wells, 62, a financial and business analyst, and political activist
who resides in Oakland, polled more than 400,000 votes as a candidate
for controller in 2002, the most ever polled by a Green Party partisan
candidate in California.

With green gags covering their mouths, protestors from the Green Party
of California picketed  the Governor debate here Tuesday – upset that
although billed as a "eco debate,"  the affair unfairly excludes
ballot-qualified Green Party candidate Wells.

"The debate is a fraud. Limiting it to Whitman and Brown is not just
anti-green, it is anti-democratic and anti-republican," said Ms. Wells,
noting polls that would qualify a candidate to participate in the debate
were invalid because they didn't even ask voters if they favored Laura
Wells. The only choices given to those polled were Whitman or Brown.

-30-