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Green and, they hope, growing Mail Tribune photos / Bob Pennell Green Party candidate and environmental protester Michael Scarpiti, otherwise known as Tre Arrow, makes his pitch during a Green Party state convention Saturday in Ashland. He vowed to conduct his campaign for a Portland-area congressional seat door-to-door without the help of corporate "big money." At state convention in Ashland, members say party shows promise By Vicki Guarino ASHLAND � Placards lined the walls. Brochures and bouquets of sunflowers filled the tables. At one end was the sign-up for a rally in Portland. At the podium, candidates said their piece and several dozen members of Oregon�s newest political organization, the Pacific Green Party, cast the ballots they hoped will build a powerful national organization led by consumer advocate and presidential candidate Ralph Nader. "All movements start small,�� said Green Party member Irene Saikevych of Ashland. "It will grow." The Oregon contingent of the Green Party, proven to garner at least 5 percent of the vote statewide, came to Southern Oregon State University�s Stevenson Union on Saturday for the last of three state conventions. Party members listened to nominees vying for the party�s endorsement, debated the merits of initiatives on the November ballot and discussed strategy for the coming campaign season. Among the party�s candidates are vice presidential hopeful Winona LaDuke, an Ashland High School alumna and one of the country�s foremost Indian activists; environmental activist Lloyd Marbet, who sponsored four unsuccessful ballot measures aimed at closing the now-defunct Trojan power plant and who is running for secretary of state; and environmental protester Tre Arrow (Michael Scarpiti), who is running for the 3rd Congressional District. Unlike other party conventions, where the votes are cast by delegates, any party member could vote in this convention. And ask questions. There were lots of questions from the crowd of about 60. Some wanted to know how Arrow, one of the more regionally renowned Greens, will campaign for the 3rd Congressional seat. To protest a timber sale, Arrow spent 10 days in July camped on the third-floor ledge of the downtown Portland U.S. Forest Service regional headquarters. Calling his questioners "sister�� and "brother,�� Arrow vowed to go door-to-door through the Portland-area district, expecting to benefit from some name familiarity. Arrow reminded his Ashland audience that he received nationwide attention for his stay on the building ledge. Beyond that, Arrow vowed to follow his ideals for a clean campaign: all brochures on recycled paper, and no currying favor with political action committees. "I�m not taking any corporate money, any big money,�� he said. "No trees will be cut down for anything I�m doing.�� Although new and small, the party has promise for people like Saikevych. She said the party�s overall drive for people and the environment before profit and greed will resonate with many in Oregon. The Green Party, like the convention itself, has attracted longtime activists and political newcomers alike. Longtime Democrat Sidney Bass, Corvallis, turned Green about a year ago. He acquired his taste for politics as a 10-year-old, campaigning with his parents for Franklin Roosevelt in Detroit, Mich. "Roosevelt was the heart of the United States," Bass said. "When he died, people cried." In the intervening years, Bass slowly grew dissatisfied with the major party candidates. "I got tired of voting for the lesser of two evils,�� he said. Bass now is a member of the Oregon Green Party�s coordinating committee. In contrast, Saikevych never joined in the party or campaign life. Then, last fall, she tuned in to the World Trade Organization conference in Seattle. Perhaps more precisely, she tuned in to the protests. From what looked like an incomprehensible collision of issues and activism for some, Saikevych distilled a reason to get involved in politics. The choice that became clear to her was the Green Party. "The WTO convention really opened me up to what was going on, the money the power, campaign financing,�� Saikevych recalled. Then she saw consumer activist Ralph Nader, someone she had admired for years, taking the helm and accepting the Green Party nomination for president. Suddenly, the Green organizing effort fit with Saikevych�s long-standing concerns about the environment and social issues. "I resolved to get involved in the Nader campaign," Saikevych said. She now heads the Southern Oregon Victory 2000 campaign for Nader, admittedly the candidate with slim hopes for the White House. "No matter what he does," she said, "he�s going to win because he�s already shaking up the political system.�� Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA