Four Big Reasons to Vote for Alan Page

Support a once in a lifetime opportunity to elect an independent progressive voice on the DC City Council this Tuesday when you vote Alan Page for At-Large City Council! He's # 1 on the ballot and the # 1 fighter for the people!

Need four reasons why victory is possible on Tuesday with your help? Here they go!

1. With a crowded field of Democratic candidates to divide voters who are loyal to the Democratic Party, a Statehood Green candidate has a much greater chance of winning the election.

2. The recent scandals involving Mayor Gray and other Democratic politicians might result in many disgusted voters not bothering to go to the polls --- which means our own votes will have a lot more clout, if we all vote for Alan.

3. Many DC residents were dismayed when Republicans in Congress announced that they would use their power to force laws and policies on DC that we don't want: especially school vouchers and a prohibition on the use of federal or local funds for abortion.  This situation has ignited more interest in statehood, which might translate into more votes for a Statehood Green on the ballot.

 4. Alan Page is an outstanding candidate who deserves your votes! Take a look at where he stands on critical issues facing DC now and visit the archives for his stances on police brutality, statehood, and innovative ways to create jobs.

In other words, we have the chance to elect a Statehood Green candidate to Council, if everyone reading this goes to the polls and votes for Alan Page on Tuesday, April 26th, and also urges friends and neighbors to vote for Alan.

(Photo by Danielle Scruggs)

Just 5 Days Left to #GetOutTheVote

"The D.C Statehood Green Party does have a victory going into the special election for the At-Large City Council Seat...Victory is ours on the 26th!"
-Kenneth Prater, DC Statehood Green and newly elected District 3 Representative to the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly

We are a mere 5 days away from securing another victory: the At-Large City Council election. In a race that is still largely undecided, every vote matters. And at a time when the District is facing a fiscal crisis, we need someone on the Council who won't balance the budget on the backs of the poor and will serve as a true independent voice in the Wilson building.

So, how can you help? Follow the jump:

"In His Own Words": Alan Page on The Fight Back

Go here to listen to Alan's answers on everything from Mayor Gray's budget to councilmember salaries to the fight for statehood on The Fight Back, an independent media project based in DC.

(Photo by Danielle Scruggs)

Green Party Minute features Alan Page!

Alan Page (along with his daughter Amina) explains his platform briefly following the DC Emancipation Day Candidates Forum at his alma mater, Howard University. 

Don't forget, there's another chance to see Alan in action at the Ward 6 Candidate Forum on Tuesday, April 19. Go to the events page for more details!

Special thanks to Carey Campbell for filming this segment.

Alan Page featured in The Washington Post!

Mayor Gray’s proposed budget was one step forward toward a progressive, more sensible tax system in the District and one step backward toward increased inequality, because he is proposing to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.

During tough times, everyone must share the load, from residents to corporations operating in our city.

To read the rest of Alan's response to Mayor Gray's 2012 budget proposal, check out the Local Opinions section of the Washington Post.

Alan Page on the Kojo Nnamdi Show (now in video)!

Check out Alan in action on the Kojo Nnamdi Show's Politics Hour!

Alan Page on The Kojo Nnamdi Show!

 Just in case you missed it earlier today, click here to listen to Alan discuss the At-Large City Council race on "The Politics Hour" on The Kojo Nnamdi Show!

New features on DC LEARNs and YourDCPolitics.com!

Everyone knows that investing in education in the city is the best way to get the brightest future we can have. I think I can get everyone on board with that; I think it’s a combination of looking at best practices and using the resources we already have.

DC LEARNs, which is dedicated to improving literacy rates in DC, featured a recent interview with me on their website. Read the rest of my answers here.

I was also featured on the local politics blog, Your DC Politics. You can read Robert Maxwell's feature here.

New feature on DCUrbanMom.com!

I will be an independent voice on the City Council because I am outside the two-party system. I do not accept corporation donations. My campaign is grassroots-driven and will be responsible only to the people. I am an urban dad myself, with a daughter in DCPS. I am beholden to the children of this city, to safeguard their future, and to the people in this city, to fight for them now.

Check out the rest of the feature here.

Paperless DC

We need to shift DC to being paperless to the maximum extent possible. Citizens should have the option of having notices and other correspondence sent to them via email instead of via traditional mail ("snail mail"). Besides being the better environmental choice, this will save the District the postage and printing costs associated with sending physical documents through the mail. The District has to work harder to be both more green and more fiscally responsible with the tax dollars we collect from our citizens, spending as wisely as possible and saving wherever we can.

Statehood: A Moral Imperative

Statehood for DC isn't just a central tenet in the DC Statehood Green Party platform, it's a moral imperative in a society that proclaims democratic values. Our efforts to spread democracy abroad cannot be complete while over half a million people are disenfranchised at home. The pursuit of equal congressional representation for District residents has been pursued in various ways, including a recent effort to secure a single House seat for the District in exchange for an additional House seat in Utah. The District ranked 31st amongst states in terms of how much federal income tax revenue was paid by our residents in 2007, just under South Carolina (a state with 9 times our population). It is unconscionable that District residents pay $20 billion in federal taxes and receive no vote in Congress. If I am chosen to serve as At-Large City Councilperson for the District of Columbia, I will work tirelessly to raise awareness of this injustice and work to remedy it.

addendum: You might ask, how does the lack of statehood affect DC residents? Let's take one practical example: the services available to our veterans. As noted above, South Carolina and the District of Columbia pay roughly the same amount in federal taxes. Yet, South Carolina has an office of veteran affairs for every county in its state, while the District of Columbia only has an Office of Veteran Affairs in one suite in a single office building downtown. This is true despite the fact that the District of Columbia has one-ninth the population of South Carolina and a comparable number of veterans per capita, including almost 60,000 District veterans who served in wars in Korea, Vietnam and Gulf War I alone (roughly one tenth our total population), not even including District veterans who served in Afghanistan and the current war in Iraq (or served in peacetime or non-combat areas). By contrast, Charleston County (the county comprising South Carolina's largest city) has a 18+ plus population that is 13% veterans, but when you include the number of persons under 18 (23% of that county's population, roughly 81,000 people) into the equation, you see that the percentage of veterans in their total population is roughly equal to the percentage of District residents who are veterans of the three major conflicts prior to the current wars in which we are currently engaged. If the District of Columbia was a state, I have no doubt that we would see offices to serve veterans in every ward in our city comparable to the veterans offices in each county in South Carolina. Every American deserves services comparable to the taxes paid by their locality. Statehood, in my opinion, would provide this for the District.