Benton Spirit 8-07-2008
by Ralph Heibutzki
Spirit Correspondent
The Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor has joined the field of Green Party candidates challenging for 13 of 16 Congressional seats.
The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) is now fielding up to 30 candidates at all levels of office, topping the totals for 2006, its news release stated. Michigan Greens from Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties nominated a dozen candidates for the November 4 ballot at a recent joint metro-Detroit caucus session at the International Institute.
Pinkney is the latest entry in the 6th District Congressional race, where incumbent Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) faces a challenge on the Democratic side from Western Michigan University professor Don Cooney. Pinkney, a Benton Harbor minister and activist, is serving a three- to 10-year prison term for a probation violation stemming from an election fraud conviction. The sentence followed the publication of letters about Berrien County Trial Court Judge Al Buzbaugh, which the judge deemed to be threatening.
To contact Pinkney, email him care of banco9342@sbcglobal.net, or write: Rev. Edward Pinkney (#294671), Charles E. Egeler Reception & Guidance Center, 3855 Cooper St., Jackson, MI 49201-7517.
The nominations mean that Greens will be on the ballot for one U.S. Senate seat and 12 of Michigan's 15 seats in the U.S. House, GPMI's widest coverage yet of Federal offices in a single election.
Other notable candidates this year include former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and Rosa Clemente, founder of the National Hip-Hop Convention.
For the latest information on the candidates, issues, and values of the Green Party, visit: www.MIGreens.org, write 548 S. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104, or call (734) 663-3555.
The Green Party of Michigan formed in 1987 to address environmental issues in Michigan politics. Greens are organized in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state’s Green Party sets its own goals and creates its own structure, but Greens generally agree on 10 key values, including ecological wisdom; grass-roots democracy; nonviolence; respect for diversity; and social justice.
