Greens to Field 14 Candidates for Congress in NY Candidates Oppose Bush’s Effort to Go to War with Iraq The Green Party announced today that more than fourteen Greens have filed petitions to run for Congress in New York State for the fall elections. The Green candidates will be running on a strong peace platform, among other issues such as environmental protection, universal health care, and corporate accountability. Green Congressional candidates include: Cong. Dist. 1 - Lorna Salzman; 2 - John Keenan; 8 - Dan Wentzel; 13 - Hank Bardel; 17- Elizabeth Shanklin; 19 - Jonathan Wright; 20 - Margaret Lewis; 22 - Steve Greenfield; 23 - Don Hassig; 24 - Mark Dunau; 25 - Bill Griffen; 26 - Paul Fallon; 27 - Albert LaBruna; 29 - Rachel Treichler In addition to opposing the Bush/Cheney administration's permanent, undeclared wars in Afghanistan and throughout the developing world, and the efforts of the two main parties to curtail civil liberties, many of the Green Congressional candidates are speaking out against the administration’s efforts to go to war with Iraq. have taken a stand in opposition to President Bush's plans to invade Iraq. Bush has reportedly authorized the CIA to use all of the means at its disposal to eliminate Saddam Hussein in preparation for a larger military strike. Many of the Greens faulted Bush for the lack of any clearly defined goals in ongoing war efforts. “Open warfare against Iraq is unjustified, in violation of international law, and further destabilizing to a region already at the brink of catastrophe from war, famine, disease, and hatred. It could not be operated unilaterally without siphoning huge amounts of resources from an already devastated US economy, and guarantees an oil price shock that will destabilize markets worldwide and create a massive de facto fuel tax on the American home heating and car driving public that will funnel ever more money and power into the corrupt energy industry. And the likelihood that further unilateral military action in the Middle East will serve to advance the cause of terrorists belies the Bush administration's false claim that overthrowing the government of Iraq plays any role in the defense of America., “ stated Steven Greenfield of New Paltz and Congressional Candidate for the 22nd District. Elizabeth Shanklin, the Green congresional candidate in the Bronx and Westhester (17th CD), asked: “"Are we going to permit the Bush dynasty to squander the resources of this country, further devastate the people of Iraq, and trash the American experiment in democracy, or are we going to mobilize the majority of Americans who are miseducated by the corporate media? The Green Party is the only electoral party that offers real leadership: we have a vision of peaceful relations, a commitment to nonviolent process, and an understanding of how society must change to achieve a sustainable economy and a harmonious ecosystem." Shanklin, the NYS Greens Clearinghouse Coordinator, is also helping to coordinate the campaign to close the Indian Point Nuclear Power plant. Similar positions have been expressed by Green candidates throughout the country. Jim Young, the Wisconsin Green Party gubernatorial candidate stated "When people vote for me, it is important that they know they are supporting a party that promotes nonviolent solutions to the world's problems. If we are truly concerned about the possibility of Iraq's developing weapons of mass destruction, we need to be pushing to get United Nations weapons inspectors back into that country," said Young. "The Iraqis will never accept inspection teams as long as the United States adheres to the goal of removing their leader by any means necessary." Young noted that one of the reasons inspection teams were forced out of Iraq was because both the British and the Americans used them for purposes of gathering intelligence, including eavesdropping on conversations of Hussein's inner circle. The Greens are committed to ecology, grassroots democracy, social and economic justice and nonviolence. - 30 -