Green Party Endorses 8/27 Protest Marches to Kick Off RNC in Tampa

Aug. 22, 2012 - PRLog -- Florida Greens are proud to announce that Green Party Presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein and her VP running mate Cheri Honkala will be in Tampa to participate in the RNC actions. Greens will be joining thousands of people representing numerous local, state and national organizations who are converging in Tampa during the Republican National Convention.

The Green Party welcomes and supports the Occupy Wall Street movement and the ongoing popular protests against the destructive bipartisan agenda of the 1%, which will find expression not only at the RNC in Tampa but also next month at the DNC in Charlotte.

The Green Party of Florida has endorsed two protests marches that will kick off the RNC protests on August 27th.

The March For Our Lives or "Poor People's March" will be led by Cheri Honkala and other members of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, which Honkala founded. The march will depart at 3:00 pm from a poor people's encampment in Tampa known as Romneyville, a makeshift village of tents that harks back to the Hooverville shantytowns of the Great Depression.

According to Romneyville organizer Rev. Gregory Lockett, the population of Romneyville is expected to grow to more than five hundred during the convention. After the RNC, the Romneyville encampment will be transformed and relocated to Charlotte, NC where it will be renamed Obamaville. "We don't discriminate," says local organizer and justice advocate Rev. Bruce Wright. "We are equally concerned about both parties' lack of concern for poverty and unemployment." Romneyville is located behind the Army Navy store at 1312 N. Tampa St., Tampa. See http://economichumanrights.org/opening-march-for-our-live...

The Coalition to March on the RNC will lead an earlier march at 10:00 am, which departs from Perry Harvey Sr. Park, 1200 N. Orange Ave., Tampa. See http://marchonthernc.com/ for more information. After speakers greet the crowd, demonstrators will join the permitted march to the Tampa Bay Times Forum - the site of the RNC - around noon.

The Green Party of Florida stands in solidarity with these courageous marchers who are demanding justice, and with all who are suffering from the destructive policies that have kept our nation in a state of perpetual war while causing millions of Americans to lose their jobs, their homes, their pension plans, and their hopes for a better future for their families. It is time to say, "Enough is enough!"

Hernando County Green and state party co-chair Jennifer Sullivan said, "In this election, it is Greens vs. Greed and our presidential candidates are in it to win it for the people, and we do it without secretive and shady PAC funds or corporate bribery dollars!" Sullivan added, "We will challenge the elite who call their money 'speech' and then suppress the real speech of the workers that produced their wealth in the first place!".

"We will be protesting years of corrupt, failed policies that have further enriched. the super-wealthy elite while devastating the lives of poor and working people, and bringing the United States and global economy to the brink of catastrophe," said Miami Green and state co-chair Steve Showen.

"But Greens aren't just marching and protesting against the failed policies of the Democrats and Republicans," added Showen "We are also presenting a practical alternative for the people, in the form of the Green New Deal (see http://www.jillstein.org/green_new_deal) that has been introduced in this presidential campaign by Dr. Jill Stein."

For more information:
Green Party of Florida http://www.gpfl.org/
Green Party of the U.S. http://gp.org/
Jill Stein for President http://www.jillstein.org/
Jill Stein on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/drjillstein
Cheri Honkala on Facebook h ttps://www.facebook.com/cheri.honkala
Protest March of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign at the RNC
https://www.facebook.com/events/442452225799536/
St. Petersburg Greens  https://www.stpetegreens.org/
To schedule interviews with Dr. Jill Stein or Cheri Honkala: contact Amanda Lazzari at Media@JillStein.org.

Florida Green Party candidates:
Karen Morian for FL State House District 12: http://www.karenmorian4fl.com/
Oliver Kofoid for Monroe Co. Mosquito Control Board: http://ollie4bugboard.com/vote-ollie/
Henry Lawrence for Bay County Commission: http://www.newmenu.org/votehenry

For more information:

Tampa Bay Times:
Green Party vice presidential candidate visits Tampa
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/green-party-vice-presidential-candidate-visits-tampa/1245317

Creative Loafing
Green Party VP candidate Cheri Honkala speaks in Tampa's "Romneyville"
http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2012/08/10/green-party-vp-candidate-cheri-honkala-speaks-in-romneyville

WMNF 88.5 FM Community Radio
Green Party VP nominee is campaigning in Florida in part because of foreclosure crisis here
http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/green-party-vp-nominee-is-campaigning-in-florida-in-part-because-of-foreclosure-crisis-here
Rob Lorei interview:
What to Expect During the Republican National Convention; Cheri Honkala Green Party VP Candidate
http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/what-to-expect-during-the-republican-national-conventio-cheri-honkala-green-party-vp-candidate

Huffington Post
Jill Stein Arrested: Green Party Nominee Faces Charges After Bank Protest
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/jill-stein-arrested_n_1730851.html

Current TV:
The pink tents of Romneyville will greet the RNC
http://current.com/groups/news-blog/93865551_the-pink-tents-of-romneyville-will-greet-the-rnc.htm

Contacts:
Jennifer Sullivan 352.410.4484 greencat9@juno.com
Michael Canney 352.213.8885 alachuagreen@gmail.com

Rev. Bruce Wright 727 278 1547 bgcwright@aol.com
Cheri Honkala 267 439 8419 cherippehrc@hotmail.com