Green Presidential Hopefuls to Debate @ USC

GREENS COME TO DEBATE AT USC

Contact: Benjamin Beatty, greennet [at] usc.edu, 323.734.6206

USC Green Network and the Unruh Institute of Politics will be hosting a debate between Green presidential candidates David Cobb, Kent Mesplay and Peter Camejo on February 14th at 1 p.m. in the main lecture hall of Seeley G. Mudd Building, room 123 at the University of Southern California. There is a recommended donation of $2.

USC is located at University Park Campus, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089

"The GPCA is proud to have USC hosting Green candidates to debate important, substantive issues. It will be a nice change for voters to see candidates who discuss issues that matter, instead of those that earn corporate sponsorship. Green Party candidates are not for sale," said Beth Moore Haines, a GPCA spokesperson.

Professor Sheldon Kamieniecki, will be the event’s moderator. Sheldon Kamieniecki is a member of the Executive Board of the Center for Research on Environmental Studies, Policy, and Engineering at USC. He has written two books and several journal articles and book chapters on American party identification, voting behavior, and public opinion. He has also published numerous journal articles and book chapters on state, federal, and international environmental policy questions.

Peter Miguel Camejo is a first generation Venezuelan-American who has fought for social and environmental justice since his teens. Peter is chair and co-founder of Progressive Asset Management, Inc., a broker-dealer firm which promotes socially responsible investments. Peter has worked to defend the rights of Latino workers in the U.S. and to free political prisoners in Latin America. In 1976 he ran for President as a socialist, gaining ballot status in 30 states. He marched in Selma, Alabama with Martin Luther King and was active against the War in Vietnam. In college at UC Berkeley and MIT, he studied math and history. After winning a student council election at UC Berkeley, he was suspended for “using an unauthorized microphone.”

David Cobb served as the General Counsel for the Green Party of the United States (http://www.gp.org) until declaring his candidacy and was the Green Party of Texas (GPTX) candidate for Attorney General in 2002. He had a successful law practice until early 2000, when Ralph Nader asked him to manage the Green Party effort in Texas. He coordinated the ballot acces drive in Texas that collected over 76,000 signatures in 75 days. When he ran for Attorney General there were 4 local chapters of the GPTX. David lectures and facilitates "Rethinking Corporations/ Rethinking Democracy" seminars and workshops across the country, exploring the social, legal and historical context of how corporations have become the dominant institution of our times. He serves on the Steering Committee of Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, and as Campaigns Director for ReclaimDemocracy.org.

Kent Mesplay, 41, is the fourth-generation descendant of a Blackfoot/Irish couple. A natural-born U.S. citizen he grew up among indigenous people in the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea, speaking one language and culture outside the house and another inside. Kent values education, having earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (biomechanics; prosthetic science) from Northwestern University. Yet, he believes our educational system is inadequate to prepare our youth for the challenges that lie ahead. “We can work together to encourage voter registration and to stop the Bush Regime from creating yet a more Closed Society”, he says. Dr. Mesplay thinks that it is an exciting time for smaller, more traditional communities in that there are technological advances, such as photovoltaic cells, that can provide modern amenities without eroding the cultural basis, when used appropriately.

The event marks the first time in California history that Greens will debate for the California Presidential Primary in March, and promises to offer a highly nuanced discussion of current issues that are important to many Americans and peoples all over the globe.

"This debate will give us a nice contrast to other parties' debates and will assuredly lack the routine double-speak people have come to expect of politicians," said Benjamin Beatty, a USC Green Network spokesperson.

Candidates will be vying for California’s 137 delegates that will head to the Presidential Nominating Convention, to be held in Milwaukee, WI, June 24 to June 26, 2004. With over 126,000 Green Party members in California, and approximately 26,000 in Los Angeles County, this is one of a few key opportunities for candidates to get exposure to voters.

For more information, contact greennet [at] usc.edu. Or call 310.995.0256

Find out about the participating Candidates:

Peter Camejo
http://www.votecamejo.org/

David Cobb
http://www.votecobb.org/

Kent Mesplay
http://www.presidentkent.org/