Press Release - June 26, 2001

Connecticut Green Party
P.O. Box 231214, Hartford, CT 06123
(860) 822-1270
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CONTACT:
Glenn Cheney (860) 822-1270 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tom Sevigny (860) 693-8344 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Karin Norton (860) 429-1976 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

HARTFORD - The Connecticut Green Party (CTGP)has condemned Governor John Rowland's decision not to sign the "Sooty six" bill. With strong Green party support, the state legislature passed the bill in hopes of forcing the state's most polluting power plants to reduce their toxic emissions.

"Governor Rowland's description of Clean Air Coalition members as nothing more than 'special interest' illustrates how citizens have lost control of their government to corporate interest," said CTGP co-chair Thomas Sevigny. "When the people who suffer from air pollution become nothing more than another lobbying group, it's obvious that our government has also become polluted by corporate cash."

The CTGP has been active in other campaigns to prevent the state government from serving the interests of corporations rather than the interests of the people of Connecticut. When Governor Rowland proposed that the state build a football stadium for the exclusive benefit of the New England Patriots company, the Green Party rallied with several other organizations to stage protests and gather tens of thousands of petition signatures.

"The people of Connecticut want cleaner air and reduced asthma rates for their children," said Karin Norton, CTGP co-chair. "The people of Connecticut will not settle for lies like pollution credits. When the truth is brought to the people of Connecticut, the people will prevail."

The Clean Air Coalition is a group of over a hundred organizations, including the CTGP, the Sierra Club and the Toxics Action Committee. Together they represent a voter bloc that could be decisive in the next election.

Concerned citizens have vowed to remember that their governor has decided to accept a devastating illness in exchange for corporate profits.

"With the highest asthma rate in the country, the people of Connecticut will use their votes to show Governor Rowland that they need leadership that speaks for the health of our citizens, not our utility corporations," said Amy Vas Nunes, a CTGP activist. "The Green Party will not let voters forget what the governor has done."

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