DCSGP Press Release
Statehood Green candidates' press events, Thur., Sept. 14
For Immediate Release Monday, September 11, 2006
? Statehood Green candidates to be introduced after the September 12 primary election
? Statehood Greens will display the giant 'D.C. Statehood Now!' flag at the Rayburn House Office Building, challenging the Norton-Davis bill and calling for D.C. Statehood
Schedule for September 14
6 a.m.: Statehood Green candidates available for interview; coffee and breakfast served. Where: Outside of the Rayburn House Office Building, corner of Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street. Photo op: The giant 'D.C. Statehood Now' flag will be displayed
Noon: Press conference introducing 2006 candidates of the D.C. Statehood Green Party.
Where: Outside of the Rayburn House Office Building, corner of Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street, where a hearing on the Norton-Davis bill for a D.C. voting seat in the House begins at 2 p.m. Photo op: The D.C. Statehood flag will be unfurled in preparation for the march to the Capitol
12:30 p.m.: Statehood Green candidates, party members, and supporters will display the flag and march to the Capitol, to press the demand for D.C. statehood. Photo op: Candidates carrying the D.C. Statehood flag to the Capitol
WASHINGTON, DC -- The D.C. Statehood Green Party will hold a press conference introducing Statehood Green nominees in the 2006 election on Thursday, September 14, at noon outside of the Rayburn House Office Building, corner of Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street.
Statehood Greens will unfurl the party's giant hemp-soyink 'D.C. Statehood Now!' flag during the press conference. At 12:30 p.m., Statehood Green candidates, party members, and supporters will carry the flag to the Capitol.
The press conference takes place outside of the Rayburn Building shortly before the beginning of a 2 p.m. hearing on the Norton-Davis bill. The Statehood Green Party has sharply criticized the 'D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act' (H.R. 5388), sponsored by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Rep. Tom Davis (D-Va.), which would grant the District of Columbia a single voting seat in the House.
"Statehood Greens call for D.C. statehood, guaranteeing District residents self-determination and self-government as well as one Representative and two Senators," said Joyce Robinson-Paul, Statehood Green candidate for U.S. Senator, who also has served as elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Ward 5 (5C02) and in Ward 2(2C02). "The Norton-Davis bill may indefinitely defer chances for real D.C. democracy, and by giving us only a single vote in Congress bestows 'one-third citizenship' on the District's African American majority population."
(See "Ten reasons to demand DC statehood instead of the Norton-Davis bill," Statehood Green Party release, June 5, 2006.)
At 6 a.m. on September 14, several Statehood Green candidates will meet at the Rayburn House Office Building for 'early-bird' availability for interview with reporters. Coffee and breakfast will be served; the giant D.C. Statehood flag will be opened for photographs.
The September 14 events follow the D.C.'s primary elections on September 12; most of the Statehood Greens are running uncontested in the primary, except for Philip Blair and Carolyn Steptoe, who are competing for the City Council Ward 5 nomination.
The event coincides with Camp Democracy, which takes place on the Mall until September 21. The Green Party is co-sponsoring Camp Democracy on September 14, with a line-up of speakers featuring many Greens. (Camp Democracy itself is nonpartisan and does not endorse any party or candidate.)
2006 D.C. Statehood Green Party candidates:
? Joyce Robinson-Paul for U.S. Senator, 202-462-4908, jarpaul@verizon.net
Ms. Robinson-Paul has served as Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC 5C02, 2C02) and ran for the Shadow Senator seat in 2002.
? Keith Ware for U.S. Representative, 202-262-9419, keith.ware@soundofhope.org
? Chris Otten for Mayor, 202-234-7075, chrisotten2@yahoo.com, mayorchrisdc@fastmail.fm
? Ann Wilcox for City Council (At-Large), 202-441-3265, ann_wilcox@hotmail.com
? Phil Blair for City Council (Ward 5), 202-526-8821, WhyNotBlairWard5@gmail.com
? Carolyn Steptoe for City Council (Ward 5), 202-210-4141, ccsteptoe@cs.com
Ms. Steptoe and Mr. Blair are competing in the September 12 primary election for the Ward 5 seat.
? Laurent Ross for Board of Education (President), 202-722-7065, laurent.ross@verizon.net
? Marc Borbely for Board of Education (District III, comprising Wards 5 and 6), 202-544-2447, borbely@howitis.org, borbelym@verizon.net
Mr. Borbely is currently Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC 6A06).
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