Despite loss, Charlie Pillsbury sees Green Party's bright future
Joseph Straw, New Haven Register Staff November 10, 2002
NEW HAVEN - Seldom has a political candidate garnered 5 percent of a
popular vote and been as happy about it as Charlie Pillsbury.
Pillsbury, a Green, finished a distant third in Tuesday's race for the
state's 3rd District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, after
running an austere but visible two-month campaign. Six-term
incumbent U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, took 66 percent of the vote, and
Republican newcomer Rick Elser 29 percent.
"I feel good about what we've done," Pillsbury said Friday.
"I feel very satisfied."
"I've gotten a lot of compliments from Democrats, Republicans,
people who didn't vote for me, but liked the way I did it," Pillsbury
said.
Pillsbury's best showing came in his native Elm City, where Green
victories a year ago in two aldermanic races spurred him to join the
party. Early voting machine results showed Pillsbury edging Elser
for second in New Haven, 2,421 to 2,378. Absentee ballots, however, pushed
Elser up to 2,494, just 14 votes ahead of Pillsbury. Pillsbury and
Elser each took approximately 12 percent of the vote in New Haven to
DeLauro's 66 percent.
Alderman John Halle, G-9, who won his seat last year along with
Alderwoman Joyce Chen, G-2, said he was initially wary of the Green Party
aiming as high as Congress.
Pillsbury's campaign changed his view, Halle said, pointing to
Pillsbury's post-election initiative to collect and recycle all of the
district's campaign lawn signs, regardless of party affiliation.
"It was just such a classy and original thing to do, and the
campaign was just full of that. Fresh ideas, and striking insights about
how politics works, and how our lives can be made better through
politics," Halle said.
Dean Myerson, a political coordinator for the national Green Party,
said Pillsbury's candidacy has spread the word about the party.
"People like John and Joyce, their candidacy deepens the Green
Party in New Haven, but Charlie's broadens the Green Party in the
region," Myerson said.
"People in towns where Charlie ran may run for offices in those
towns, because he's lent the party legitimacy," Myerson said.
Because Pillsbury garnered more than 1 percent of the vote, future 3rd
District congressional candidates will not have to petition for a place on
the ballot, said Larry Perosino, a spokesman for Secretary of the State
Susan Bysiewicz.
Pillsbury said he hopes to establish a Green Party Registrar of Voters
in New Haven City Hall.
That, however, would require a Green Party gubernatorial candidate
winning 20 percent of a general statewide election, or a locally
petitioned candidate for registrar to place first or second in a race over
Democratic or Republican candidates.
In the latter case, both Democratic and Republican registrars would
remain, because the parties hold "major party" status, having
met the former criteria.
Pillsbury returns full-time to his job as executive director of
Community Mediation in Fair Haven next month, and said he will remain
active in the party.
"Rome wasn't built in a day, and I think the Green Party has a
very bright future," Pillsbury said.
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Joseph Straw can be reached at jstraw@nhregister.com
or at 789-5714.
©New
Haven Register 2002
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