Poughkeepsie Journal

Saturday, April 3, 2004

Greens rally around New Paltz mayor

Challenging laws provides a platform
By Gabriel J. Wasserman
Poughkeepsie Journal

NEW PALTZ -- After he married same-sex couples on Feb. 27, Village of New Paltz Mayor Jason West became something quite rare within the Green Party -- a party member who has both an elected office and a national profile.

Weeks after the ceremonies, West has been featured by everything from ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' to The New York Times Sunday Magazine. This is not lost on party organizers. This week, a party spokesman said West will be invited to speak at the Green Party's national convention in June in Milwaukee.

On Wednesday, West said he would be ''honored'' and ''excited to do so.''

His value to the party has less to do with the level of notoriety he has gained, and more to do with how he gained it, party leaders said. They feel West has contributed to the debate over same-sex marriages by challenging authority.

Although he maintains that state law supports his actions, he has been charged with 24 misdemeanor counts of marrying couples who didn't have a marriage license.

And while West's support within his party is strong, there has been opposition within his community. Shortly after he performed the ceremonies, several residents told at a village board meeting they're concerned about the associated costs to the village and whether other municipal affairs were being attended to.

Perhaps his staunchest critic, Trustee Bob Hebel, successfully filed for a temporary restraining order that now prevents West from presiding over further ceremonies. A hearing in the case is scheduled for April 7 before Supreme Court Judge Michael Kavanagh in Kingston.

Green Party officials credit the controversial nature of West's stance for stoking same-sex marriage debates in the national media. The controversy has successfully called attention to various other gay rights initiatives that have cropped up around the state and nation, they said.

''I think Jason has expanded the universe of what can happen,'' said national Green activist Mike Feinstein, the former mayor of Santa Monica, Calif. ''I don't know if ... a more mainstream approach would have created the environment of possibilities that Jason's actions have.''

Hebel, who filed for the restraining order against West, is also preparing a lawsuit calling for West to be stripped of his job.

''Here's a guy who literally could be litigated out of office, but he stood up for something that's bigger than that,'' Feinstein said. ''He, I think, is a role model that you can be in the system and make a difference. ... That emboldens a lot of people.''

Fighting authority that's perceived as unjust is a hallmark of Green activism, one that draws power from college campuses in particular. West, Deputy Mayor Rebecca Rotzler and Trustee Julia Walsh have all studied at the State University of New York at New Paltz. They have maintained strong ties with the undergraduate constituency.

Scott McLarty, a spokesman for the national Green organization based in Washington said the party doesn't specifically recommend West risk jail time, but it applauds the mayor's persistence in supporting change.

''We would tell him to keep up the fight but get good legal advice,'' McLarty said.

Shared passion

West said his relationship with the party, its ideals and its future, is reciprocal. The inspiration he may provide to others, he said, traces back to activists he met as a younger man.

''If it weren't for the Green Party, I wouldn't be in politics at all,'' he said. ''I wasn't a Democrat or a Republican. I wouldn't have joined the Green Party if I hadn't met Green Party organizers. I didn't have to compromise my principles at all to be involved in politics.''

As West's name reverberates in the national news media, so do questions about his political aspirations. He has said repeatedly he intends to finish the remaining three years in his term as village mayor, and then seek a second term.

After that?

''Seven years is bit too far to forecast,'' he said.

In the meantime, West hopes others -- not just party members -- will be encouraged by what has happened in his village and try to effect change. As an example, he pointed to the village's current consideration of purchasing wind power from an upstate wind farm, an initiative that jibes with Green Party efforts to close down the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

It's a message he said he would like to pass along at the national convention.

''Too often, political rhetoric and issues are so global, the players are so powerful, that people feel dis-empowered,'' he said. ''These issues are so big, people feel there is 'no way I can deal with it.' For instance, Indian Point is a potential threat to our safety. But it is so big. So, how do you shut down Indian Point? How do you get your mind around that? What do you do to make that difference? That is the lesson I am trying to practice in our village.''

On the Web

- For a list of recent Green Party mayors, visit www.feinstein.org/greenparty/greenmayors.html

- For details on the Green Party and its national platform, visit www.gp.org.