According to a Green Party tally, at least 32 Greens won local races in November, out of at least 266 Green candidates in 28 states. Those victories pushed the total number of Green officeholders nationwide to at least 75. They've been at this juncture before. In 1996, the Greens won a majority on the Arcata City Council, a coastal town nearly 200 miles north of Sebastopol, but let it slip away two years later. And last year Audie Bock won a seat representing Oakland in the California Assembly running as a Green.
Success can co-opt too.
If they've got a pragmatic aspect to them, they thrive. So we want that blend of being able to keep a high horizon and high expectation level, and still get things done. The mayor of Santa Monica, Feinstein recently led a seminar advising other Greens on how to win local elections. Litwin, a community organizer and gardener, is helping forge that identity. He came in fourth in a six-way race for three Sebastopol council seats in 1998.