CTGP Article

Home | Press Releases

Green Party Considers Run for Congress in 4th District

For immediate release: December 10, 2007 (revised December 19)
Contact:
David Bedell, (203)581-3193, dbedell@greens.org
Richard Duffee, (203)588-0161, richard.duffee@gmail.com

RICHARD DUFFEE TO SEEK NOMINATION

NORWALK, CT — On Saturday, January 5, the Connecticut Green Party will hold a nominating meeting to select a candidate for Congress from the 4th District. Richard Duffee of Stamford, a retired lawyer and impeachment activist, has announced his intention to seek the nomination. The meeting will take place at the Norwalk Public Library beginning at 10:00 AM on Saturday.

The meeting is open to the public. All Green Party members residing in the 4th District are encouraged to attend and vote on the nomination, while other interested voters are welcome to attend as observers.

When asked his reasons for running, Duffee cited the need to reverse the current Iraq war policies, to prevent war against Iran, and to counter the Bush administration's environmental legacy and failure to address global warming or public safety threats such as the nearby Indian Point nuclear power plant.

Congress Has Failed to Impeach

Above all, however, Duffee decided to run because Congress has not used its power of impeachment to end what he describes as the criminal activities of George Bush and Dick Cheney. "I believe the current Congress has not taken seriously the oath of office to defend the Constitution. We are in a constitutional crisis that cannot end until we repudiate empire and imperial presidencies and return to our Republic.

"We need a government based on trust, openness, honesty, and disinterested public action. It is clear that Bush and Cheney regard us not as citizens, but as subjects, using all the techniques of ruling an empire—secrecy, deceit, betrayal, fraud, mystification, and violence. These are inherently incompatible with the moral prerequisites for maintaining a Republic based on the rule of law."

Duffee has started a campaign blog at http://richardduffee.blogspot.com.

He ran in 2006 for the same seat, but withdrew two weeks before Election Day, citing an agreement with the local Greens to endorse Democrat Diane Farrell because they felt she had a better chance of defeating Republican Christopher Shays in a close race.

The same scenario will not be considered in the next election, according to David Bedell, Secretary of the Fairfield County chapter of the Green Party. "Richard has offered to run, and we will entertain other nominations from the floor, including None of the Above. But whatever we decide, if we put a candidate on the ballot in 2008, we expect it to be binding this time, not conditional as in 2006."

Bedell explained that minor parties such as the Green Party have to petition their way onto the ballot, and if they do not run a candidate in any given year, then they lose their ballot line for that office.

For the Congressional seat, the Green Party will have to collect at least 2100 signatures of voters in the 4th District.