Press release dated: 6/6/01
In a landslide victory Tuesday night, Green Party member Nancy Pearlman was elected to the Los Angeles Community College District Board for the first time
Her election comes in the largest district ever to elect a Green in the U.S. - 2,125,050 registered voters - spanning an area that includes the City of Los Angeles as well as 33 neighboring cities, containing more registered voters than several states.
Despite being outspent by more than 12 to one, Pearlman received 62.6% of the vote and 326,248 votes. A part-time college anthropology and broadcasting instructor and a former middle and high school teacher, Pearlman sought to be an independent, watchdog voice on a Board mostly dominated by the Faculty Union. The LA Weekly said Pearlman "knows the campuses and is passionate about improving them."
Pearlman's opponent sent out two direct mail pieces attacking Pearlman's party affiliation. One mail piece went to Democratic voters and accused Pearlman of being a member of some unnamed 'fringe party.' A similar piece was sent to Republican voters, warning that Pearlman was a member of an unnamed 'far left fringe party.' Interestingly, neither piece specifically mentioned the Green Party, perhaps because such an association might have been positive for many voters.
Organizer of Los Angeles' first Earth Day in 1970, Pearlman has been a grassroots progressive community activist and environmentalist in Southern California for over thirty years (http://www.ecoprojects.org). She founded the Ecology Center of Southern California, started Project Ecotourism, edits the COMPENDIUM Newsletter, and produces and hosts the Environmental Directions radio and ECONEWS television series.
Pearlman's vote total is likely to be the highest for any California Green candidate ever. Her total already surpasses Margaret Garcia's 314,812 votes in 1994 for Secretary of State. Pearlman falls just 580 votes short of 2000 California Green U.S.Senate candidate Medea Benjamin, who received 326,828. However, once Pearlman's final absentee and provisional ballots are counted, its possible that she will pass Benjamin as well.
With Pearlman's victory there are now six Green Party elected officeholders in LA County:
Mike Feinstein, Mayor, Santa Monica
Kevin McKeown, City Councilmember, Santa Monica
Jeff Sklar, Rent Control Board, Santa Monica
Nancy Pearlman, Los Angeles Community College District Board of
Trustees, Seat 6
Glenn Bailey, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica
Mountains
Woody Hastings, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica
Mountains
Pearlman's victory was the second Southern California Green Party breakthrough win in 2001 - in February Karl Warkomski became the first Green elected in conservative Organge County, winning a seat on the newly-formed Aliso Viejo City Council. Statewide in California, there are 34 Greens holding elected office. See http://www.feinstein.org/greenparty/electeds.html
Nationally there are 90 Greens holding elected office in 21 states, including California.
For election results for Pearlman and all other Los Angeles races, see the Los Angeles City Elections website at http://parc3.lacity.org/clk/election/results.htm
See also:
Green Party Election Report, US - 2001
http://www.feinstein.org/greenparty/electionreport2001.html
Green Party national newsletter - 35 Green victories in 2000 http://www.greenpages.ws
Source: Green Party of California
