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Address to NCCo Library Advisory Board - 10/6/04
FOP Forum - 9/27/04
Newark Methodist Women's Group Candidate Forum - 9/18/04
Introduction for David Cobb - 8/27/04
Minquadale Fire Hall Forum on Public Safety 8/17/04
Making the Vision of Universal Health Care a Reality Now 5/27/04
Cannon 2004 GPDE Convention Speech 5/22/04
GreenViews TV Appearance 4/18/04
Address to Joint Sunset Committee on DSWA 4/13/04
Salem Nuclear Power Plant 3/28/04
Introduction for David Cobb - 8/27/04
Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for coming.
David Cobb, who is here with us today, is a long-time Green Party activist who earned the party's nomination at our convention earlier this summer in Milwaukee after years of serving the party as a lawyer, lecturer and community organizer. I am proud to say that David received overwhelming support from Delaware's delegation to the national convention where all seven of our delegates voted for his nomination.
David is in our state today for two reasons. One is to talk with people about his presidential campaign, win votes and help the party to continue its momentum as the fastest growing political party in the United States. The second reason David is here today is to stand in solidarity with all Delawareans who reject politics as usual.
Just like we are, David is appalled by the fact that in New Castle County economic racial inequity is so bad that per capita income for African-Americans is only 60% of what it is for whites.
Also like we are, David is enraged by the corporate environmental disregard in Delaware that has placed our county among the top 5% of the worst chemically contaminated counties in the U.S.
And also like us, David knows that the 39% increase in the income gap between Delaware’s rich and the poor over the least ten years is symptomatic of what’s going on in the country: the erosion of working people’s economic security. As jobs like those at General Motor’s Saturn plant around the corner are outsourced to lower-wage factories both within and outside the United State, it is we the people who suffer. And we’re tired of it!
That’s why we’re here to say that we need real economic security and sensible policy development in New Castle County and the rest of the nation. What we do NOT need is Walmart helping to lead our state, or the nation, down the road of increasing corporate profits by creating lower-paying non-union jobs that do more to increase the ranks of the working poor than they do to increase our well-being. In fact, Walmart’s retail jobs pay so little that only about 36% of the company’s employees can afford the expensive health care package that Walmart offers them. In a state with the highest cancer rate in the nation, the last thing we need is Walmart expanding here leaving more Delawareans without health care.
Instead of more economic deterioration, we need a people’s movement for social-economic change. Instead of more Democrats and Republicans in office -- people from the same parties that created the problems that we’re all now dealing with -- we need more grassroots people in office who aren’t afraid to speak truth to power.
David Cobb understands these things and that’s why he’s here with us now. In the past as today, David has shown a strong interest and understanding of Delaware and our economic, racial, environmental, developmental and other problems. This is his third visit to the state, although today, unlike his previous times here, he comes as the Green Party’s nominee for president. Each time he’s visited us previously, David has shown us what he’s showing us today -- an unyielding commitment to the Green Party's 10 key values, a desire to meet and talk with people at the grassroots level, and a willingness, like other people in Delaware and around the nation, to help give a voice to the Green Party as a genuine alternative to the corporately-owned establishment parties.
You can learn more about the Cobb-LaMarche campaign by going to their website at the address listed in today’s press statement -- http://www.votecobb.org.Just as David’s presidential campaign is a grassroots one that is devoted to expanding the Green Party and other pro-democracy, anti-status quo people’s movements in the country, so we Green candidates here in Delaware are not only working to win our elections, we are also working with angry and frustrated voters to create a social movement -- like the civil rights and the unionization movements before us -- that will put more political power into ordinary people’s hands.
Having said this, now let me welcome David Cobb, who stands here with us today to say a big NO to the Walmartization of Delaware’s and the US’s economy.
David Cobb!Minquadale Fire Hall Forum on Public Safety
Good evening. My name is J. Roy Cannon. I'm the Green Party candidate for the new 9th District NCCo Council seat.
The topic tonight is public safety. I'm going to talk, if only briefly, about three areas of public safety that I think are serious threats to the citizens of NCCo.
First, let me talk about corruption scandals that have wracked County
Council for at least the last 14 years. Today, the trend in county government remains the same: greedy developers and political hacks are in control while government "by the people and for the people" has been replaced by an undemocratic government of the 'good ol'boy' and the 'backroom deal'. Faced with this threat, here's what I expect to do as a member of County Council:* I will call for a new independent Ethics Commission that has the power and the will to bring county government corruption to its knees.
* I will call for citizen control with minority representation of the
redistricting process.
* And, I will seek passage of sunshine and open meeting laws that allow greater public inquiry into government affairs.Next, let's look at the issue of land misuse. County government's efforts to deal with suburban sprawl have been ineffective. Unplanned growth has become one of the county's central problems. Already we are on a downward trend in terms of standard of living. High population growth, traffic gridlock, susceptibility to drought and flooding, inadequate waste disposal, and pollution - all are very serious issues connected to poor land use planning. Here's where I stand as a candidate for County Council:
* Lessen gridlock and cutback on road construction by expanding public transportation.
* A new approach to economic development that includes legally binding agreements to protect the environment, workers' health, and higher paying jobs.
* And, aggressive preservation of open space.I'll conclude my remarks tonight by noting another serious threat to our public safety - Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is a threat because it is built on 'low road' economic policies that are bad for communities, including:
* Low wages and bare bones benefits packages for its workers
* Militant anti-unionism
* Launching price wars to drive competitors out of business
* And, forced overtime for employeesWal-Mart's claim to fame is that it sells consumer goods at low prices. What Wal-Mart doesn't admit to, and in fact, spends a great deal of money to cover-up, is that it derives its strength from, and helps to feed, economic trends that more than negate consumer cost savings. The way to fight Wal-Mart is to fight not only its physical presence but also to fight its 'low road' philosophy. I will do this by:
* Supporting the right of unions to organize nonunion workers.
* Initiating living wage legislation.
* Prioritizing community needs over corporate greed.
* Working to achieve accessible and affordable health care for everyone.
* And, providing economic incentives to responsible community businesses.I hope you will visit my website listed on my brochure and see what else I have to say about being your County Council representative. Please consider supporting the Cannon campaign. We represent a very much-needed breath of fresh air for NCCo government.
Thank you for having me here tonight.