Dissenting Greens See Chance to Grow

The California Green Party has struggled for years to grow beyond its tiny core of staunch leftists.

It has had some success. A record 63 Greens hold local elected office in California. In November, Greens fared better than ever in statewide races, and better than any other third party, running especially strongly along the Northern California coast.

But the party of Ralph Nader has yet to shed its image as a spoiler, best known for peeling votes from Democrats to the gain of Republicans, most notably President Bush in 2000.

Now, however, California Greens say they have found a way to broaden their party’s appeal, above all to disaffected Democrats: opposition to the war in Iraq. The Greens have made antiwar protests the central focus of their party at a time when many Democrats are squawking at leaders of their own party for backing the war.

“It’s provided an enormous opportunity to differentiate ourselves,” said Michael Feinstein, a Green on the Santa Monica City Council.

At antiwar protests around the state, Greens have recruited new members, handed out party literature and sold tie-dyed T-shirts promoting the party.

“This has been the most active time registering Greens since the 2000 Nader campaign,” said Danny Meyer, a Westside Green who organized a “Peace at the Beach” protest and has thrown several sign-making parties for antiwar marches. “People who are frustrated with the war, and in a larger sense with the political system -- it’s giving them an outlet, a solution to the problem.”

Over the last year, the Greens have signed up more than 10,000 new members. With more than 156,000 Greens, the party claims a mere 1% of the state’s registered voters. (There are 6.7 million Democrats, 5.3 million Republicans and 2.3 million voters unaffiliated with a party.) Still, many Greens running statewide have won more than 300,000 votes.

Much of the party’s agenda falls within the mainstream of public opinion in California -- support for abortion rights and the environment, for example. But other parts, such as legalization of marijuana, are less popular, and the Greens have shown no sign of moving toward the center.

Modeled on its more established counterparts in Europe, the state Green Party was founded in 1990. Since then, Greens have been elected mayor of Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Ojai, Davis, Point Arena, Menlo Park, Fairfax, Nevada City, Albany and Yucaipa. The current mayors of Arcata and Sebastopol are Greens.

Twenty other Greens serve on city councils, from Aliso Viejo in Orange County to Truckee near Lake Tahoe. Greens have won election to school boards in Shasta and Sonoma counties, planning boards in San Diego County, a water board in Santa Barbara County, and a community college board in Los Angeles County.

The party’s Northern California strength was underscored in January, when Greens grabbed their biggest victory of all: Matt Gonzalez, a Green, was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He is the city’s most powerful official after Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr.

On stage at a recent antiwar rally outside City Hall, Gonzalez railed against the Bush administration, but turned quickly to the kind of local matters that occupy officeholders of all stripes. San Francisco, he hollered to the crowd of thousands, is “having a budget crisis right now, so do me a favor and don’t turn over any police cars.”

Elsewhere in California, Greens hope that Gonzalez will raise the party’s profile.

“You basically have to work your way up the food chain and start with the local races,” said Bob Morris, co-chairman of the Greens’ Los Angeles County chapter.

But the barriers to power in state government, where election depends on broader support, have been formidable. Only once has the party gained a foothold: In 1999, Green candidate Audie Bock of Oakland won an Assembly seat. She quit the party a few months later, then lost her bid for reelection.

Last year, the Greens ran three candidates for Assembly; all of them lost.

In the statewide contests, the result was the same. Even as the Greens outstripped every other minor party, they came in about 3 million votes behind the winners -- a staggering distance from real power in the capitol.

But the showings of two of its candidates gave party organizers hope.

In the governor’s race, Green candidate Peter Miguel Camejo tried -- with some success -- to capitalize on the unpopularity of Democratic incumbent Gray Davis, particularly among liberals. Camejo came nowhere near winning, but his 393,000 votes amounted to 5% of the total.

More remarkable than his statewide tally was Camejo’s robust showing in parts of Northern California. In San Francisco, he won 15%, finishing in second place, just ahead of Republican nominee Bill Simon Jr. Camejo also won more than 10% in a host of nearby counties: Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, Yolo, Santa Cruz, Mendocino and Humboldt.

Even more popular than Camejo was the Green candidate for state controller, Laura Wells of Oakland. With nearly 420,000 votes -- or 6% -- she won more than 25 times the margin of victory by Democrat Steve Westly in the closest race on the statewide ballot. Republican Tom McClintock did not concede until 13 days after the election.

By taking votes that otherwise would have gone to Westly, some political strategists say, the Greens very nearly cost the Democratic Party its sweep of statewide offices. The Greens’ surprising strength in the Bay Area, they argue, suggests they are eroding the Democrats’ liberal base. And in a close election, they say, that could help to sweep Republicans into statewide office.

“It’s something Democrats have got to worry about,” said Democratic strategist Bill Carrick.

State Democratic Chairman Art Torres said the Greens pose no big threat to his party. But he said the Greens had gained traction in part because some Democrats -- whom he did not name -- “have almost become Republicans.”

“What we have to do as a political party is address the issues of what we stand for and not become so middle-of-the-road that we lose our direction,” Torres said.

The Green Party’s efforts to become a definitive player are complicated by the next California ballot. Up for reelection next year is Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. She was one of only 23 senators to vote against the resolution authorizing President Bush to invade Iraq, and through her two terms has hewn to a decidedly liberal pattern, in sync with many of the Greens’ desires.

The Greens are split over whether to put up a candidate to challenge Boxer. Some party loyalists fear recriminations if, because of their involvement, a Republican bounces Boxer from the Senate in a close race.

At the antiwar protest in San Francisco, Berkeley carpenter Dave Heller, 40, said Boxer was “pretty good,” but “we could put up somebody who would represent my values a little better.”

“I will always vote for who I think is the best candidate,” said Heller, a Green who voted for Nader. “I won’t give up that right. As soon as we succumb to that pressure, then we’ve lost our democracy.”