Marakay Rogers
North and Murphy to run for Congress; Sweeney for State Rep.
Harrisburg, PA - Yesterday, the Green Party of Pennsylvania approved nominations for four candidates to compete in the November general election. Marakay Rogers will be at the top of the ticket once again as the Green Party candidate for Attorney General. Rogers was the party's nominee for the same position in 2004 and was its gubernatorial candidate in 2006.
Rogers, a civil rights attorney from York, outlined a broad campaign vision for restoring justice to Pennsylvania. She noted that current AttorneyGeneral Tom Corbett, is backing corporations against townships across Pennsylvania who have adopted local laws designed to protect residents from usurious businesses. Said Rogers, "my campaign intends to restore zoning rights to local governments."
Rogers is also an anti-death penalty advocate. "Nationally, the death penalty is starting to go the way of the dinosaur," remarked Rogers. "It is time that Pennsylvania, like our neighbors did, realizes that killing people is not justice," said Rogers referring to the fact that New Jersey recently banned capital punishment.
The Green Party also approved the nominations of two candidates for U. S. Congress. Titus North of Pittsburgh will run again Rep. Mike Doyle in the 14th District race. North faced Doyle in 2006 and won 17% of the vote, one of the highest percentages for a third party candidate in Pennsylvania history. John Murphy will face Rep. Joe Pitts in the 16th District which covers Lancaster County and parts of Chester and Berks Counties. Murphy previously ran for this seat as an Independent in 2006.
Also running will be Jay Sweeney of Wyoming County who will be seeking a seat as the 111th District State Representative. Sweeney will be challenging Sandra Major for the third time in a row and like the other Green candidates hopes to build on his previous attempts.
"Each of our candidates will benefit from increased name recognition let alone greater experience simply from having run before," said Party Chair Hillary Aisenstein. "Many elected officials don't win their first time out," she continued. "I am confident that we will make great strides on
Election Day because our candidates will be talking to voters about the issues they care about."The Green Party of Pennsylvania is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. The Green Party of Pennsylvania stands for grassroots democracy, sustainable economics, nonviolence, and ecology. The Green Party of Pennsylvania stands in firm
opposition to the War in Iraq.
