The Patriot Ledger

Green-Rainbow candidate Ross
celebrates support for party

By ANA RIVAS
Patriot Ledger State House Bureau / Nov. 8, 2006

BOSTON - The handwritten signs at the door proclaimed this as the spot for the Green-Rainbow Party’s “Victory Celebration.”

But for gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross and a couple dozen supporters gathered last night in Roxbury, the party was over before it started.

“Already?” was her first reaction, minutes after the polls closed, when the television news bulletins proclaimed Deval Patrick the overwhelming winner of the race. It wasn’t a surprise, given the weeks of polls proclaiming Patrick’s lead. But for Ross, the news still came too early.

Ross had arrived minutes before the polls closed, before the catering was set and before her supporters and reporters had taken their places.

For the next two hours, people came in and quietly stood in front of a TV screen while the campaign manager moved the antenna for better reception.

“I’m glad this is over,” said Martina Robinson, the Green-Rainbow Party’s candidate for lieutenant governor.

But then Ross climbed to the stage and organized the program: music, food, speeches and conversation.

“This is a victory for us,” Ross said as she was joined on stage by the party’s other candidates: Jill Stein, who was running for state treasurer and James O’Keefe, the candidate for secretary of state.

“There is no measure of the support that I have on the polling numbers that are showed there,” Ross said.

Ross sought to celebrate the party’s agenda in the gubernatorial debates. She also saw a victory in the big turnout.

“The people of Mass. won tonight because they took a stand toward what they care about,” Ross said.

It is estimated that the four candidates for governor spent $31 million. The Green Party spent $600,000 among its four races, said Treasurer Daniel Melnechuk. Yet, in five debates televised in prime time, Ross had equal time to voice her opinions. During the debates, she managed to express her point of view.

Ross’ support doubled, according to polls, from 1 percent in early October to the 2 percent she received.

Ross’ communications director, Coby Peterson, said the party’s campaign stressed the politics of inclusion. Ross hopes the issues she raised on the campaign could be included in the governor’s agenda.

“For us, at this stage of our development it isn’t a question of gaining the office,” said Chuck Turner, a city councilor from Roxbury and the highest-ranking elected official of the party. “It’s a question if gaining the minds and the hearts of the people of this state.”