An Open Letter to Supporters from Peter Miguel Camejo

http://humane-rights-agenda.blogspot.com/2006/07/open-letter-to-supporters-from-peter.html

To: Votecamejo@topica.com
From: "Rachel Odes" Email: rachelodes@gmail.com
Subject: CAMEJO LIST: Open Letter to Supporters from Peter Camejo
Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2006 16:34:46 +0000

An Open Letter to Supporters from Peter Miguel Camejo
(June 16, 2006)

Dear Supporters,

In the recent June 6th California Primary, the Green Party received an amazing surprise.

Our candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sarah Knopp, received the largest statewide vote EVER for a Green in California, more than a HALF MILLION VOTES (570,000, or 17.3% of the total vote). Sarah finished second, defeating the Republican-endorsed candidate and several other candidates, and missed, by just 2 percent, forcing the incumbent into a runoff. Because of this surprise, the immediate impact will be that Sarah will gain important respect within her union, the California Teachers Association, and position her to represent us on the issue of education.

In the contested Green U.S. Senate Primary, Todd Chretien was elected. We want to congratulate his two opponents for their strong showing in what turned into a real three way contest for the right to meet pro-war incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein in November.

So, now, we are putting together a very strong team to build our gubernatorial campaign and our Million Votes for Peace statewide slate.

A GIANT AWAKENS

As we move past the Primary one factor is going to help us get an increased hearing for our platform: The new mass civil rights movement that has awoken in the Latino community.

On May 1, 2006 we had the largest demonstrations in the history of the United States. These demonstrations were of working people, many of them among the poorest people in our nation. They were organized in most cases by grass roots formations. In some areas Greens are participating in the broad coalitions that helped organize the mass rallies. At the rally in San Francisco that had at least one hundred thousand participants, I spoke as well as Greens Matt Gonzalez and Todd Chretien.

In Los Angeles, at a rally of possibly a half million or more, Nativo Lopez, President of the Mexican American Political Association and an out spoken Green and strong supporter of Todd’s campaign and mine, not only addressed the crowd, but has emerged as one of the key leaders of
this new movement nationally. Sarah Knopp, our surprise candidate, was also a guest speaker, and helped lead the March 25th coalition. When I spoke at the rally in San Francisco, I listed some of the key points in my campaign. And near the end of my presentation, I talked about the case of Santos Reyes, who is doing 26 years to life in prison for cheating on a DMV test. I asked the immense crowd to raise their hand to ask the Governor to free Santos Reyes. The response was massive with shouts as their hands rose. I then called out “not one hand let us raise both hands!” A roar broke out as people spontaneously raised both hands and shouted “libertad, libertad, libertad for Santos.” My speech was all in Spanish. When I finished we played a short message from Santos Reyes.

It is an interesting fact that the Green Party - in the middle of this massive new battle around the issue of immigration - has the only Latino and Spanish speaking candidate for governor. And, it opens up a great opportunity because we support a policy of full legalization, which is what the majority in the Latino community wants. The Republicans want criminalzation, discrimination and deportation, and the Democrats want an apartheid system of guest workers under separate and exploitive laws that will include deportations, work in only minimum wage jobs along with various denials of human rights.

While many will want to vote for us they will feel the pressure to accept voting against what they believe in because of our spoiler system winner take all with no run off. For people originally from Mexico this can be a shock because this conflict does not exist in their country where proportional representation is used.

We cannot be sure what our vote in the Latino Community will be. It was only 1% in 1998. With my first campaign as a Latino it rose to 8% in 2002 and then dropped to 5% in 2003 (in 2003 Cruz Bustamante, a Latino, was the Democratic gubernatorial candidate and yet we still retained a
5% support level.) If we can effectively reach out this year it is possible we could receive a very positive response from the Latino community.

NEW BOOK ‘CALIFORNIA UNDER CORPORATE RULE’ AVAILABLE

Our new book, “California Under Corporate Rule,” is now out. At our very first meeting with the book 25 copies were sold to an audience of 40. In Los Angeles at a meeting sponsored by the ACLU and some unions we sold about 25 copies to audience of about 100. Having a book that outlines in some details many of the major issues of our campaign in a popularized style will enhance the impact of the campaign and win new supporters to our party. We will use the book as a way to promote the campaign.

PHIL ANGELIDES BORROWS FROM US

As the primary campaign ends some of the points I have raised now in three campaigns for governor are being picked up by Phil Angelides. He is even using virtually the same words I have used for a fair tax. He refers to having people “pay their fair share. “ We should be glad to see this happen. It is troubling, however, that he ran a TV ad saying he is the only gubernatorial candidate calling for taxing the rich and corporations.

However, and most importantly, the impact of our focus to expose theregressive nature of taxation and how easy it is to fix our budget is finally being accepted to some extent.

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* THIS LETTER IS TOO LONG - BUT, PLEASE READ ON *
I know this letter is much too long, but permit me, on the following pages, to provide you a feel of the kind of issues we are going to raise from now to November by outlining what the Dems and Reps have done to California and what we would do.
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WHAT THE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS
HAVE DONE TO CALIFORNIA

§ California is the 48th state in school test scores!

§ California is next to last 49th having the largest class size.

§ California spends 600 dollars per student less than the national average. It used to spend 600 dollars more!

§ One percent of Californians has more income than sixty percent and the lowest State and local tax rate!

§ California taxes the bottom 20 percent at a 57 percent higher rate than the top 1 percent!

§ Taxes on California’s corporations have dropped 40 percent in the last 20 years.

§ Fifty two percent of all profitable corporations pay no taxes!

§ For 35 years 90 percent of Californians have had no inflation-adjusted increase in pay!

§ The poorest have had the minimum wage cut from $9.40 (in today’s dollars) an hour in 1968 to the present level of $6.75!

§ In 2005 the non partisan Government Performance Project rated California as the worst state, tied with lowly Alabama.

§ California is dead last in the ratio of counselors to students.

§ California is dead last in the ratio of librarians to students. The average is 1 per 900 in the country. In California it is 1 per 4,800!

§ California is dead last in traffic congestion and 48th on road conditions.

§ California is the 49th state in home ownership!

§ The State limits at 1/2 percent the amount of energy that can be generated from solar.

ALL THIS HAPPENED WHILE OUR ECONOMY MORE THAN DOUBLED!

The people of California have the right to know the truth and the real solutions to what is happening in their state and what we would do.

AS GOVERNOR, THIS IS WHAT I WOULD DO:

§ Establish a fair tax where the richest - those earning 200,000 or more a year (about 5 percent) - would pay the same tax rate the poorest people pay, INCREASING the state income $10 billion a year.

§ Bring universal health care to California by establishing single payer care as outlined in Senator Sheila Kuehl’s legislation, SB 840. According to the Lewin Report, single payer healthcare will SAVE the public $7.8 billion the first year and $343 billion in 10 years.

§ Raise the minimum wage to at least what it was in 1968, $9.40 an hour (in today’s dollars), INCREASING the state income $3 billion a year.

§ Return corporate taxes to what they were 20 years ago, INCREASING state income $5 billion a year.

§ Stop tax fraud and close loop holes for corporate and the rich, INCREASING state income $7 billion a year (based on IRS estimates; see our book on California).

WITH THESE EXTRA FUNDS AMONG THINGS I WOULD DO ARE:

§ Cut taxes on the bottom 60 percent of our people by $4 billion a year.

§ Make a zero tax revenue shift in property taxes by lowering homeowner taxes and increase Prop. 13 under valued corporate properties. We willgrandfather people over 55 so they can move without any increase in their homeowner taxes.

§ Begin emergency improvement of our levees and other projects, but also launch a 2 year study by a non-partisan group of professionals, labor, business, environmentalists and NGOs to develop a comprehensive, long-term 25 year infrastructure plan with mass transportation for
California.

Estimated cost: $4 billion a year.

§ Launch a crash program for alternative energy, including developing new technologies with an annual state subsidy of $3 billion, 13 times what is proposed by the Dems and Reps at present.

§ Establish assumable home equity loans to finance solar energy. Eliminate any limit on the amount of solar energy California can have. The cost for doing this is zero.

§ Launch a program for more affordable housing. Cost of $2 billion per year.

§ Develop a program like New Zealand, which has produced nearly 100 percent home ownership by helping with the down payment for first time home buyers. Zero impact on budget. Funding can be maintained by a rotating revenue municipal serial bond.

§ Increase allocation for education up to $8 billion a year, while cutting the number of over paid administrators. Shift allocation to teachers to what it was more than 40 years ago. That increases what goes to pay teachers and improving our school buildings and reducing class size.

OTHER OBJECTIVES

Even with all of these achievements, we would still have about $4 billion a year left over to build a reserve fund for emergencies in the state of California, to pay off debts and to fully-fund our pension funds, and also put forth the following objectives that are necessary to
benefit all of the people of our state:

§ Oppose the continued illegal, needless and counter productive war and occupation in Iraq. Bring our National Guard troops home.

§ Stop cutting our ancient forests.

§ Establish public funding of elections.

§ Establish IRV (instant run off voting) and proportional representation.

§ Abolish the death penalty and three strikes.

§ Review all cases of prisoners serving life sentences for minor nonviolent crimes with the intent to free them.

§ Free Santos Reyes who is serving 26 years to life for cheating on a DMV test.

§ Protect our bill of rights, the right to religion, assembly and petition and defend the first, fourth, and eighth amendment of our federal constitution openly violated today by the Democrats and Republicans.

§ End racial profiling. Protect the rights of our Muslim community.

§ Protect women’s right to choose. Promote contraception and safe sex in our educational system and to the public.

§ Maintain the constitutional separation of church and state. Govern based on facts not faith.

§ Assure equality for all including the right to marriage for gays and lesbians.

§ Reform our pension laws to protect the rights of shareholders. That is democratizing our pension funds. Prevent corporate management abuses or political raids of our pensions. Surpluses must be saved to protect future obligations.

§ Protect the right of labor to unionize. End apartheid policies for all working people in California. Establish driver licenses and full legal rights of labor laws for all working people living in California.

§ Reform our immigration policies, legalize those already here and fight to set a legalized immigration level from Mexico of one person per hundred Californians every four years. End the “Exclude Mexicans” laws perpetrated by the Democratic and Republican parties.

WONDERFUL NEWS

This campaign is underway while some major events are putting wind behind our sails in California, nationally and internationally. So often our movement is informing you of terrible things that are happening and asking for your support in our efforts to stop, or at least protest,
these events.

This letter is asking you to support our campaign because of the many new developments both here and abroad that are amazing and wonderful.

From Venezuela to Argentina, Progressives Are On the Rise.

Latin America is seeing a shift to more progressive candidates. In country after country, the people are rejecting the usual two parties sponsored by corporations in favor of new forces challenging them in the name of the people. It is inevitable that this new wave of progressivism, something unseen for over thirty years, will begin to have an impact inside the United States.

Americans Now Oppose the War in Iraq

Recent polls show the majority of Americans have now joined the world and oppose the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Suddenly, on the single most important issue of the 2006 elections, the Green Party - and not the Democratic or Republican parties - stands with the majority in our nation against the two pro-war corporate parties.

Democratic Party VS Rank and File

The Democrats in the Congress and Senate gave George Bush 28 standing ovations at the state of the union address, but the rank and file of the Democratic Party is becoming increasingly disenchanted. Polls are showing an overwhelming majority do not trust the two major parties,
favor some form of universal health care, want a moratorium on the death penalty and in many other ways are open to the platform of the Green Party.

Cindy Sheehan and Barbara Becnel

Cindy Sheehan has stated publicly that she voted for Kerry and now believes it was a mistake. As a Democrat she refuses to vote for her party’s candidates if they continue to support the war in Iraq. Because of this she has urged people in California to look at Todd Chretien’s Green Party campaign for U.S. Senate instead of Diane Feinstein.

One of the most amazing and wonderful new developments was the gubernatorial campaign in the Democratic Party primary of an African American woman, Barbara Becnel. A central leader of the anti-death penalty movement, she has publicly stated that she will not vote for a
candidate or Party that is for the death penalty.

The majority of rank and file Democrats agree with Barbara Becnel on issue after issue. Her campaign brought together a small but symbolic rebellion within the ranks of the Democratic Party. We extend our hand in solidarity to Barbara and Cindy, two women who are changing America on many issues, in part by introducing the very principle upon which the Green Party is founded: Vote for what you believe in. Stop voting against yourself!!

THE GREEN PARTY MUST ACT NOW

We must build a party which truly reflects the values of the rapidly growing number of people who are dissatisfied with the Democratic Party.

This year is a critical moment to have the most effective Green Party campaign possible for Governor and all the other statewide races. We have a tremendous slate of candidates. In addition to my campaign for Governor and Todd Chretien’s campaign for U.S., the slate includes Donna
Warren, Lieutenant Governor; Forrest Hill, Secretary of State; Mike Wyman, Attorney General; Larry Cafiero, Insurance Commissioner and Mehul Thakker, Treasurer. We need to reach out to people alienated by the corporate-run parties and help them to join us and build the Green Party.

CAN WE GET A HEARING IN 2006?

The televised debates are a primary focus of our campaign

Our campaign will have a real impact in California especially if I can get in the debates again. Your assistance will make it possible to hire staff and produce materials to mount the kind of effort that will help me get invited to those debates. We need that help now. It is quite possible because of my name recognition and previous participation I can make it into the televised debates and get the truth to millions of voters.

WE’RE LAUNCHING A PAID TELEVISION CAMPAIGN!

In an effort to increase my visibility, increase the chances of being invited to the debates and generally expose the Green Party platform to the general public, we are planning to LAUNCH A TELEVISION CAMPAIGN - the first such campaign in the history of the Green Party. According to our communication director, this campaign will give us a level of exposure to propel my candidacy dramatically forward.

We need your help to make this special program work. We are asking supporters to donate $500 (or more, the maximum donation is $22,300) to a SPECIAL FUND reserved just for television ads. Mark on your check “TV Ads” and it will be used only for this.

We are at a turning point with a great potential to win new members among Latinos, African Americans, youth and working people that can begin to transform us into a party of the people. With Donna Warren for Lt. Governor as my running mate, our campaign will have a Latino and an African American leading our slate, and I am convinced this can win us many new supporters.

Finally, I am running to help all our Green candidates throughout California from the governor’s race to local city council races. As mentioned with assistance from some of the 2006 slate of Greens for statewide office, I have prepared a book entitled CALIFORNIA with a sub-title “Under Corporate Rule.”The book outlines the basic facts, statistics and issues about the state of California, as well as offering SOLUTIONS that will help our candidates in their campaigns.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

To do all of this work we need your help. We need volunteers who will table, hand out leaflets, and make telephone calls. We need you to put a bumper sticker on your car, sign in your yard and help set up local campaign committees in your community or work place.

To organize an effective statewide campaign that will assist our local candidates and win the minds and hearts of thousands if not millions to our party does not take much money. But we do need financial help. We need to print our basic materials, develop our web sites and have a small staff to coordinate volunteers. Compare our expenditures to the millions spent by Schwarzenegger and the leading Democrats, and you will see how modest the cost of an effective, non-corporate, grassroots Green campaign can be. A test fundraising letter in April resulted in an average $100 contribution to our progressive campaign. If you possibly can afford it please match that. Depending on the size of your donation, we’ll send you a free copy of “California” ($14.95 on Amazon.com) and several other books. (See details below).

Please Help Fund A Million Votes for Peace

Because of the spread between the two corporate candidates in the Senate race against Diane Feinstein, there is little to no spoiler issue. So, it is quite possible that the largest vote ever for a Green in a state race will be registered in November. We believe we can achieve a million votes for peace for Todd Chretien in the Senate race. We are calling our statewide Green Party 2006 campaign the MVP (Million Votes for Peace)campaign.

As I have previously stated this is the last time I will run for office. I want to make this the best and most successful campaign our Party has ever had. I see many new young candidates developing into the future representatives of our party such, including Aimee Allison in Oakland, Gayle McLaughlin in Richmond, Renee Saucedo in San Francisco, Pat Gray in San Mateo and let’s not forget Matt Gonzalez as well as many, many others.

We are about to make history. A million votes for Todd will be international news. It will give people new courage to organize and fight for peace.

Si Se Puede

This appeal letter is going out to more than 5,000 of our supporters who have contributed in the past. The maximum donation allowed by law is $22,000 per person. But if we could average just $100 per supporter, and receive an above normal contribution rate it would give us the funding
we need.

Please join us in making a pledge to give now or help raise $100 or more for our campaign. Any size donation is welcome. I thank you for your previous support and for joining us in our efforts in 2006.

In Solidarity,
Peter Miguel Camejo

P.S. We have three FREE books we will send you for free depending on your contribution. For a $25 contribution you will receive the book “CALIFORNIA.” For $100 you will also receive “DARE TO HOPE,” a book written by Jason West, the 28 year old Green Party mayor of New Paltz, New York who led the battle for Gay Marriage on the East Coast. And for contributions of $150 or more, you will receive a third book entitled “INDEPENDENT POLITICS THE GREEN PARTY STRATEGIC DEBATE,” providing documents and discussion pieces of the internal debate with in the Green Party.

P.P.S. Please check our website – www.VoteCamejo.com – for news and updates, as well as information on how you can join the campaign by donating, volunteering, hosting events, or just putting a bumper sticker on your car. Thank you.

Paid for by Camejo for Governor
FPPC #1281665

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Camejo's Five Point Plan

Peter Miguel Camejo has presented a five point plan to increase the state of California’s revenues by 32.6 billion dollars a year while lowering taxes for 60% of our people.

He will ask Steve Westly, Phil Angelides, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Barbara Becnel for a one to one meeting to urge them to support his plan that makes it possible to solve all the major issues of our state, improve education, stop all cut backs of needed social programs, plan and rebuild our infrastructure, start a massive march for alternative energy and to lower the excessive taxes on the average citizen.

Here is the plan:

FIVE POINT PROGRAM TO INCREASE REVENUES BY 32 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR

1. THE RICHEST 5% SHOULD PAY THE SAME TAX RATE THE POOREST 20% PAY. ADDS 10 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

2. ESTABLISH SINGLE PAYER UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. ADDS 7.6 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR*

3. STOP ALL LOOP HOLES AND TAX FRAUD. ADDS 7 BILLION A YEAR.

4. RETURN CORPORATE TAXES TO WHAT THEY WERE 20 YEARS AGO. ADDS 5 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

5. RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE TO WHAT IT WAS IN 1968. ADDS 3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

THIS FIVE POINT PROGRAM ADDS 25 BILLION DOLLARS TO OUR BUDGET IN CALIFORNIA.
*Savings for individual Californians, not in the budget (Lewin Study)

Click here for a more detailed explanation of the plan.
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http://www.votecamejo.com/contact.html

Contact
Our mailing address is:
Camejo for Governor
1710 Broadway #122
Sacramento CA 95818

Our phone number is:
1 (888) LEAVEIRAQ or 1 (888) 532-8347
Our email is:
info@votecamejo.com

Please call Cres Vellucci, press secretary, at (916) 996-9170 to request interviews with Peter Camejo.

More Emails:
votecamejo@topica.com
rachelodes@gmail.com

If you have questions or corrections for the website, please email Mitchell Smith at:
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