Secretary of State Candidates to Meet at South Bend Forum
Indiana Green Party For Immediate Release September 18, 2006 Secretary of State Candidates to Meet at South Bend Forum Indianapolis -- The Indiana Green Party (IGP) announces their endorsed candidate for Secretary of State, Bill Stant, will take part in a candidate forum at Indiana University at South Bend (IUSB), on September 26. The forum will also include Libertarian Party candidate Mike Kole, Democrat Party candidate Joe Pearson, and the current Secretary of State, Todd Rokita, of the Republican Party. The Indiana Green Party was unable to collect enough signatures to place Stant on the ballot this fall, but is promoting him as a write-in candidate. The required number of signatures on petitions for ballot access is 2% of all votes cast in the previous Secretary of State election, or nearly 30,000. "Ours is the fifth most difficult state in terms of ballot access requirements," says Stant, "and that does nothing to promote grassroots democracy. Citizen participation is something the Green Party strongly advocates, and I'd like to see the rules changed so that can become more possible." Stant feels he has the requisite background in education and business to qualify him to be Secretary of State, and hopes to offer an alternative. Panelists moderating the forum will be Mike Collins of WSBT-TV, Jack Colwell, of WNIT-TV, Beth Graham of WVPE radio, and James Wensits of The South Bend Tribune. Sponsors of the forum are the League of Women Voters of the South Bend area in cooperation with the St. Joseph Valley Project, the American Democracy Project, and the Political Science Club of IUSB. Kathleen Petitjean, of South Bend, Co-coordinator of the IGP, sees the upcoming forum as a positive note for Hoosier voters. "We're pleased to have our candidate appear with the others," she said, "and allow the public to see what the Green Party stands for. We've always thought there should be more choice." The Forum, to be held at the Student Activities Center, rooms 223-225, at IUSB, 1700 Mishawaka Avenue, South Bend, will begin at 6:00 pm EST, and is expected to end at 7:15 pm. -end- For More Information: Jim Coplen Media Coordinator, Indiana Green Party Phone (219) 390-4118 email: j.coplen@comcast.net
St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN