By Michael Bryan
Just a few quick thoughts on Charlie Manolakis, who is running in the CD 8 Special as the Green Party candidate.
I didn't mention Mr. Manolakis in my discussion of the first CD 8 debate. There was a reason for that.
I respect that Mr. Manolakis is clearly a passionate and progressive person, and he is running in an attempt to inject the issue of a single payer universal healthcare system into the debate.
I welcome the participation of smaller party candidates, especially when they bring neglected ideas to the table, and provide some sorely needed plain-speaking and truth-telling to a flawed and overly-narrow discussion.
But in a race that the whole nation is focused on as a bellweather for November, the Green Party does itself, and the public, no favors in selecting a candidate who cannot clearly and persuasively articulate their values and vision for America.
There is much to admire in the Green Party's platform and the 10 key values. I did not hear any of that from Mr. Manolakis. What I heard instead was a droning, inarticulate, repetitive, tedious, and charmless mess.
Can you not field a candidate who, at minimum, can express him- or herself clearly? You have handed to you almost one third of the screen time in one of the most important and closely watched races in the nation, and this is the best spokesman you can find?
No wonder the Green Party is dying in Arizona amid internecine conflicts.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I’ve left the Green Party, although I’m sure they would say I was never in it, just as your contributor AZBlueMeanie referred to me, as I had been in the unsuccessful Green Party lawsuit of 2010, in federal court, as a “sham Green” a few months ago. ( http://www.blogforarizona.com/blog/2012/03/update-.html )
I’ve criticized the party at length elsewhere (as at my reflections on the party in 2010: http://grayson-green.blogspot.com/2010/11/some-reflections-on-election-of-2010.html ).
I appreciate your column, Michael, and I think you might want to look further into the Green Party in this state and how it operates.
In fairness, I will quote Claudia Ellquist from the latest (May 15) edition of the Pima Greens Newsletter ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pimagreens/message/363 ), on the candidate you mention:
“Greens as candidates, 2012
We have heard from a few people, and met with them. We have reached out the others. But it is really up to you, the Greens, to step forward, if you are willing to consider a serious run for public office, as a candidate of the Green Party. Now is the time, because the deadline is only two weeks away.
The 2012 ballot will include all statewide offices, legislative seats, Congressional races and county offices. Political parties are all about the candidates, and the vision they bring for what needs to happen, and the hard, practical work they are willing to commit to, so that their race, and their issues, are perceived as serious. The message that the over-represented political parties won’t offer, about what is really needed to save our planet. Ordinary people can do it, if they are willing to be informed on issues and advised on strategy. And are willing to work hard and work smart, and to approach strangers pleasantly and positively, so that democracy works.
Contact Beryl Baker vbaker35@… or Kent Solberg kentstools@… for details about running. They are our current CoChairs, and they are also experienced candidates.
But do be a Green, and talk to us about how to get the Party’s endorsement and support. There is, unfortunately, a statute on the books in Arizona, that applies only to our Party, and that allows folks to step into our ballot line with little commitment to the Green Party, or to the work that needs to be done or to our shared values. For example, consider this quote, in an interview with Andrea Kelly, on Arizona Illustrated, where candidate Charles Manolakis [who is not endorsed, but is running in the special election in CD 8 as a Green]: “I’m really a Democrat, independent Democrat. And I want the people to know this is where my heart is. I came under the banner of the Green Party so I could get into this race. I hold the Green Party very highly . . . But then again at heart, I am a really Democrat, and an Independent. This is how I’m really running and I might very well make it official, when comes time to the seat the election.” [the quotation is boldfaced in the original]
I’d be interested in hearing your response, or AZBlueMeanie’s, or anyone’s for that matter.