'The Greens Have Taken Over Fairfax'

The audience at the recent Green Party presidential nominating convention in Baltimore, MD, erupted into cheers several times as Fairfax Mayor Pam Hartwell-Herrero highlighted Fairfax’s environmental and economic policy achievements.

“The greens have taken over Fairfax, California, and I’m here to tell you all is well,” Hartwell-Herrero said cheerfully.

Fairfax, with four out of its five council members registered with the Green Party, is the only U.S. town council with a Green Party majority.

Green Party members have been on the Fairfax town council since 1999, Hartwell-Herrero said. The majority began with Hartwell-Herrero’s election to council in 2009. Since her election, another council member switched from the Democratic Party to the Green Party, she told the crowd at the convention.

Hartwell-Herrero highlighted many of Fairfax’s environmental and economic policies, including open space preservation, work on Marin Clean Energy, a living-wage ordinance, nationally-owned chain store ban, moving the city's public-funds from Bank of America to the Bank of Marin, the Fairbuck project and the town’s pesticide, plastic and Styrofoam bans.

“Fairfax made these accomplishments happen because we formed coalitions with everyone. We grew political will and we push until we get it done,” she said.

Hartwell-Herrero spoke before the votes were cast for the Green Party presidential nominee.

Dr. Jill Stein of Massachusetts received 66 percent of all delegates' votes, winning the 2012 nomination. Actress Roseanne Barr, who did not appear at the convention, finished second with 25 percent, followed by Dr. Kent Mesplay of San Diego with 6 percent and Harley Mikkelson of Michigan with 1 percent.

In a wide-ranging nationally broadcast acceptance speech, Stein offered a “Green New Deal for America” that would confront climate change, provide for a Medicare-for-All universal health-care system, eliminate unemployment through a green jobs program, provide tuition free higher education, bring the troops and “war dollars” home, repeal the Patriot Act , replace free-trade agreements with fair-trade agreements, end big bank bailouts, legalize marijuana, restore the Glass-Steagall Act and amend the constitution to end corporate “person-hood,” according to a Green Party statement.