Published: January 14, 2010

Green Party Candidate Gets 13 Times Party Registration in Assembly Race

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SANTA ANA - Green Party State Assembly candidate Jane Rands collected an astounding 13 times her party's registration here Tuesday night in the 72nd Assembly District seat vacated by a lawmaker nabbed boasting about sexual affairs with lobbyists.

Ms. Rands said the relatively high vote for an underfunded political party reflects growing voter disenchantment with the GOP and Democrats, and special interest money.

Ms. Rands finished third in the heavily Republican district, but her 1,963 votes accounted by 6.1 percent of the total vote - far above the .47 Green registration.

GOP candidate Chris Norby won with 20,292 votes but spend more than $254,000 (to Rands' few thousand dollars). Democrat John MacMurray had 10,018 votes

"As the first Green Party candidate to ever run for State Assembly in the72nd District it is exciting to see voters responding to a campaign funded by individuals and not lobbyist groups. By continuing to refuse corporate and union money the Green Party can be part of the solution to Sacramento's lobbyist driven agenda, and instead work for a future of clean renewable energy, real mass transit, conservation based water plans and single payer health care for all Californians," Ms. Rands said.

She also urged winner Norby to save taxpayer money by adopting Instant Runoff Voting.

"The state of California might have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the second round election if they had adopted Instant Runoff Voting. IRV would not only give the voters a chance to rank their ballot choices, but would eliminate the 'spoiler effect' and save money at the same time. I call on the election's victor, Chris Norby, to introduce this legislation," Ms. Rands added.