An open letter to Rebecca Kaplan

Dear Rebecca,

Yesterday I received your mailer regarding your campaign for the at-large seat on the Oakland City Council. I'm glad that you're running, and, as a longtime supporter, I'll probably endorse you latter on.

The reason why I won't endorse you now is that I'm very disappointed that there's no reference to the Green Party in this literature. Are you still with the Green Party? I thought you were, but perhaps that's changed.

If you are still with us, I find it most disconcerting that you would not mention it. Look, I understand that you've got to run a broad campaign to get elected. I'm not expecting you to wear the Green Party on your sleeve. But no mention at all is unacceptable for a Green Party candidate.

Aren't you proud of the Green Party? Are you trying to keep your affiliation with our party on the down low?

Frankly, I'm not overly impressed with your history in regards to helping to build the Green Party. This is not because of the way you've campaigned in the past, but because I haven't seen you centrally involved in building the Oakland and Alameda County Green Party organizations. You are not alone in respect to Green Party officials locally, and in fact fit into a pattern. A most troubling pattern, which has found Green Party elected officials prioritize their election to office and work in government so high above building the Green Party that their involvement in the later is minimal. The building of our young party locally has suffered greatly due to this neglect.

The Green Party needs our local candidates and elected officials to give a higher priority to building our party at the grassroots. Our progress has been dramatically slowed because of the failure of elected Greens to do so.

I know you understand that we live in a country that is completely dominated by corporate power. That people are valued mainly to the extent they can contribute to amassing of corporate profits. While the agendas of corporations and the wealthy dominate our politics, the lives and needs of the most of us are an afterthought, at best. As a result, we are deprived of basic social benefits enjoyed by every other economically developed country, we're in a constant state of war, our rights and liberties are eroding, and we have very little real democracy left. Our people are disorganized, bewildered, and cynicism about positive political change runs rampant. Movements for change remain weak, fractured, and on the defensive.

In my view, the only way this will change is if we can begin to build stronger organizations and movements. That's why I give so much importance to building organizations such as the Green Party. I believe the Green Party must be built as a party of a new type. A party dedicated not only progressive reforms in government, but to radical change. A party immersed in the people's movements, dedicated to uniting and strengthening them.

Yes, we need more strong progressives elected to office. However, in my twenty plus years engaged in Oakland politics, I've seen lots of progressives campaign and many get elected. Many have run on platforms very similar to what your mailer articulates. Last year, we even elected our first progressive mayor. Yet Oakland continues to move backwards. Working class people are being forced out of town through gentrification, our public schools are worse, public health care is worse, social programs are fewer and with less funding, and educational, job and social opportunities for our young people are far fewer. Meanwhile, our progressive/left organizations and movements have declined, and the expectations of our people are constantly being lowered.

All of the above is to say that I hope you reconsider the priority you give to building the Green Party. Give us a mention in you literature. Tell people why you belong when you campaign. Show up at Oakland and Alameda County Green Party meetings and events more often. Do more to help us recruit registrants and activists. Is this really asking too much?

In solidarity,
Jonathan Nack