Calendar Listing/Political Brief/Cultural or Political Feature:

Tanya Ishikawa Brings Japanese Taiko Drummers to Federal Heights

Moo G Moon Center Hosts Campaign Event with Japanese Drummers

DETAILS:

When? October 14, 2009 from 5 to 6:30pm
Where? Moo G Moon Education Center (at the Dr. Alan Wong DDS offices)
1851 W. 84th Ave., Federal Heights, CO 80260
Who? Organized by Committee to Elect Tanya Ishikawa
How? RSVP to 303-284-6762 ori.tanya@comcast.net and see information at http://votefortanya.ning.com; Free event but donations are encouraged.
Why? An opportunity for voters and supporters to meet Federal Heights City Council Candidate Tanya Ishikawa. A unique display of Japanese culture, brought compliments of the Committee to Elect Tanya Ishikawa to the Federal Heights community.

Tanya Ishikawa, Federal Heights City Council Ward 1 candidate, invites the community to a unique campaign event, featuring a Japanese drum group called Boulder Taiko HIBIKI. The evening will include inspiring drum beats and refreshments including light appetizers and drinks. The venue is the beautiful meeting facility, Moo G Moon Education Center, offered by Dr. Alan Wong DDS.

More about Boulder Taiko HIBIKI:

Julia Misawa founded, directs and teaches students of Boulder Taiko HIBIKI, a traditional Japanese drum class and performance group. Misawa studied Taiko for eight years under Master Seiichi Tanaka, who first brought Taiko to the U.S. in 1968. The challenge and the beauty of Taiko stem from the combination of percussion, dance and martial art. I work to bring this cultural experience to local communities by integrating art skills and knowledge with traditional Japanese drum music.

More about Moo G Moon Education Center:

The Moo G. Moon Education Center is a multipurpose facility for meetings, seminars, continuing education, trainings, classes, receptions, and workshops. The center also offers rental rooms for table work, therapy sessions, or small exercise groups. Space is competitively priced and can accommodate up to 50 people in four rooms. Rooms can be reserved by the hour, half day or day. Various educational seminars are organized at the center each month, as well as ONG (Our Networking Group) – a business networking opportunity for Alan Wong’s patients and their friends. For more details, visit www.moogmoon.com.

What supporters are saying about Tanya Ishikawa:

Randle Loeb: Tanya is a fine person, dedicated, aware of what it means to be an official. I work as the vice president of the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative in the vicinity that Tanya Ishikawa serves and her hard work and dedication are impeccable. I have worked with her in the news service and she is able and willing to do whatever is necessary to play her part in solving the issues that confront this world.

Chris Zetterholm: Since Tanya’s appointment on City Council, I’ve received quick and accurate answers to questions I’ve asked, and fast results on things I needed help with. Tanya’s willingness to listen to residents’ concerns, her proactive approach and concern with future growth and its effects on our quality of life make her an ideal choice for election to City Council.

Mark Ulrich: I serve on an HOA board with Tanya and believe she is dedicated to improving the community.

More at http://votefortanya.ning.com

The Denver-based Coalition is a network of citizen activists and concerned Colorado residents, working for peace through diplomacy and a nuclear-weapons-free world. The Coalition Web site with a discussion forum, events calendar and other informational tools is www.thecoloradocoalition.org.

Board Member Bob Kinsey can be reached for more information at 303-949-4073 or kinsey_65@msn.com. The Green Party of Colorado is the state’s fourth largest political party with ten

April 28, 2005

DENVER, CO — The Denver Green Party opposes Measure 1-A on the Denver City Ballot. “Once again, we see some city leaders creating opportunities for corporations at public expense,” stated DGP co-chair Rick VanWie. “The counter to those who argue that this is a humanitarian measure is the record of campaign contributions, hundreds of thousands of dollars contributed by real estate developers and contractors, bond underwriters and others who expect to get a piece of this $600 million job.”

Van Wie noted that the renovation of the Smith Road jail facility, crowded beyond capacity, is not scheduled to begin until 2012, and that the first two years and $71 million of the new construction will be spent to purchase land and build a parking lot. Therefore, Measure 1-A is not the solution.

“We can address overcrowding at Smith Road now by implementing alternatives which have been recommended to the mayor by the Justice Center Task Force, but so far ignored. This situation developed because we’re over-using incarceration: we have too many people in custody. The humanitarian solution is to reverse that trend. We are incarcerating the mentally ill, the homeless, and people with substance abuse problems, so let’s solve those problems through different avenues. We urge Denver voters to reject 1-A, and vote No,” said Van Wie.

October 26, 2004

DENVER, CO — The Green Party of Colorado (GPCO) announced today its endorsement of Amendment 36 – Selection of Presidential Electors. The Green Party of Colorado believes in electoral laws that support one person, one vote and not our current winner-take-all system for selecting the Presidential candidate.

The US Constitution lays out the Electoral College, but deeds to each State legislature the right to determine for itself how their electors are selected. Colorado’s Constitution includes a provision that preserves to the people the power of initiative. “This structure is what allows for ballot initiatives. Therefore, this ballot initiative is legal. We believe Colorado should follow the lead of Maine and Nebraska, which divides electoral votes and rejects the winner-take-all system. This is more consistent with Green values,” explained Lanny Kness, Colorado Green Party Co-Chair.

The Green Party works for several important electoral reforms, including Instant Runoff Voting. “We want policies and laws in place that motivate citizens to vote, because they realize that every vote actually does count. Amendment 36 also improves the chance of minor political parties to gain recognition by earning electors,” said Bruce Meyer, Denver Green running for CO State House District 4.

Ballot Initiative pdf

The worldwide anti-war rallies of February 15th, 2003, brought an estimated fifteen million people into the streets on seven continents in an attempt to stop the push to war on Iraq, and prompted the New York Times to dub public opinion “the world’s other superpower”. Organizers of the MADCOW March hope to bring thousands into the streets of downtown Denver on March 20th, 2004 with the message “Bring the troops home now; Stop the attacks on civil rights and civil liberties at home; Stand against war and racism here and abroad; and, Money for jobs, health care and schools — not for war!”

“We want to send a message loud and clear in the run up to the November elections that our leaders need to start leading by obeying the will of the people,” said Rick Van Wie, Chair, Coalition and Diversity Committee for the Denver Green Party.

DENVER, CO (September 30, 2003)– The Green Party of Colorado today denounced the proposed eviction of Asian-owned businesses at Alameda Square in west Denverintended to make way for a Wal-Mart ‘Supercenter’. “Wal-Mart has evidently been operating behind the scenes to have the site condemned in order to have the current tenants evicted, and is demanding a $10 million tax subsidy from the city to develop the site,” said Bruce Meyer, Denver Greens co-chair. “Apparently Mayor Hickenlooper has been sold a bill of goods by his economic advisory team. Wal-Mart is infamous for its poverty-level wages, its harassment and discrimination of women, its virulent anti-union stance and its connection with sweatshop labor overseas.”

The largest class-action suit in history was recently filed against Wal-Mart on behalf of 1.6 million women employees, and Wal-Mart is now fighting a billion dollar suit charging the world’s largest corporation with using forced labor in offshore garment-producing facilities. “This is not a good neighbor,” said Alison Maynard, Colorado Green party co-chair and Denverresident. “We need to preserve our cultural diversity, which includes small businesses. One of the Green Party’s key values is community-based economics. We want mom and pop to own their own grocery store or hardware store again, instead of having to go to work for Wal-Mart for minimum wage and no benefits.”

Greens urge Mayor Hickenlooper and the Denver City Council to take a hard look at Wal-Mart’s well-documented history in other towns and cities across the country before supporting any plan that would dismantle a commercial and cultural hub for the growing Asian community in metro Denver, and cost Denvertaxpayers at least $10 million in the bargain. “How can the people of Denverafford this corporate welfare in these tough economic times?” asked McNaughton.

DENVER, CO (September 4, 2003)– The Green Party of Colorado today announced a proposal to require all legislative members of the State Assembly to recite the entire Bill of Rights at the start of each day’s session.

“The recent attempt by Colorado leaders to force teachers and school children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each morning has stunned Colorado citizens into the realization that these leaders need a fundamental understanding of the restraints on government power enshrined in the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution,” said Alison Maynard, Colorado Green Party co-chair.

Green Party officers suggested that, when the Colorado Legislature meets again to revamp this law, it impose a requirement on its own members to recite the Bill of Rights every morning. “Legislators who know the Bill of Rights. Now that would be something!” Maynard continued.

The Green Party of Colorado supports the ruling of United States District Court Judge, The Hon. Lewis Babcock, temporarily enjoining the Colorado law mandating that the Pledge of Allegiance be said by every student and teacher in Colorado public schools. “The civics lesson here is that the United States Constitution protects the right of dissent,” stated Colorado Green Party co-chair Bill McCormick.

The public vows by Governor Owens and Senate President John Andrews to try again after revising the law in the next legislative session have Coloradoans wondering if ‘We the People’ should require our representatives to demonstrate competence by passing a Civics 101 test. “Legislators should be held accountable and demonstrate their competence, just as teachers are being held to account in Colorado,” noted Maynard.

The focus on this law, during the present budget crisis is irresponsible, say Greens. Senator Andrews is quoted in the Rocky Mountain News (“State looks to Illinois for Pledge guidance” 9/2/03) as saying a legal fight would cost over $100,000. Colorado Greens are concerned about services that would be cut for Colorado citizens to pay for these legal fees. “Surely, there are more pressing matters in this economy and with current homeland security threats than implementing state-imposed allegiance,” added McCormick.

The volunteer inspection teams are taking personal responsibility for inspecting, exposing and demanding nuclear missile disarmament. The Colorado Green Party is responsible for missile silo #3. The Starvation missile is located at the NE corner of 125 Rd. The Greens will be at the #3 silo at 11 AM, and will join all the participating groups at the Community Building in Stoneham (on Hwy 14) at 12:30 PM. An airplane banner that reads “WMDs – We Found Them Here!” will fly over all the silos and the community building.

DENVER, CO (March 14, 2003) — The Green Party of Colorado expresses firm opposition to HB 1142, which passed the Senate State Affairs Committee earlier this week. The bill would force minor parties to rewrite their bylaws, hold state primaries and meet the same requirements as major parties. A one-size-fits-all approach to nominating candidates is not appropriate for all political parties.

“What works for major parties with hundreds of thousands of members is not appropriate for parties with 5,000 members,” said Brad Klafehn, Colorado Green Party Treasurer. “It’s still not clear what problem this legislation is trying to solve. Minor parties like how they nominate candidates now – at statewide nominating conventions. It is an efficient, democratic, and low-cost process.”

Forcing minor parties into statewide primaries will be yet another unfunded mandate for counties from the state legislature. According to the county clerks, HB 1142 would significantly increase the costs of primary elections. “Given the state’s fiscal crisis, this bill seems particularly ill-timed and inappropriate,” said Green Party Co-Chair Bruce Meyer. “Any unaffiliated voter can change registration at the primary election. Therefore, if a minor party is forced to have a primary, every county will have to accommodate that primary ballot even if there are no registered voters for that minor party in the county.”

The motivation behind this Republican-sponsored bill is unclear and somewhat suspect, as minor party voters have not been clamoring for these changes. The passing vote went along party lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing. HB 1142 would force minor parties into using statewide primaries if two candidates receive 30% of the votes at the nominating convention. Additionally, under HB 1142, a candidate not authorized by the party could bypass party procedures and petition on to the ballot, thereby also forcing a primary.

If the bill’s sponsors want a truly fair and level playing field for elections, the Green Party of Colorado has specific suggestions for legislative action.

– Require the Secretary of State to list all eligible political parties on the voter registration form. Minor parties’ names have to be written in, like write-in ballots, even though minor parties have been authorized by state law for years.

– Allow minor party candidates a chance to get the top line on ballots. Currently, this is a privilege the major parties reserve for themselves.

– Allow minor parties to sit on — and not just as observers — county canvassing boards. So far, this is another privilege the major parties have reserved for themselves.

– Allow election judges to be minor party voters even when there are sufficient numbers of major party judges. Currently, minor party voters can serve as election judges only when there are too few major party judges.