Public Outcry Leads to Inclusion of Green Candidate Peter Camejo in Final Debates

October 1, 2003
For Immediate Release

Final Debates to Include Green Candidate
Public Outcry, Polling and Debate Performances Key

OAKLAND - The League of Women Voters and the media sponsors of the final two televised debates have reversed their previous decisions and will include Green Party candidate Peter Camejo.

Key factors were Camejo's standing in the recent Los Angeles Times poll and the fact that he, along with Tom McClintock, were generally regarded as having performed the best in the recent California Broadcasters Association debate. In the same Times poll, Democrats ranked Camejo first in the debate with 25% saying he "won" to 17% for McClintock and only 12% for Bustamante. Among all voters Camejo was in a statistical tie with Schwarzenegger for second place.

Asked why he thought the public rated his performance so high in his first televised appearances, Camejo said, "I think people have gotten tired of the same predictable rhetoric from the Democrats and Republicans. They are looking for new ideas. Both Tom and I come from positions based on clear principles, and many people, even if they disagree with us, respect that. The high public interest in this election shows that the public responds favorably to hearing more voices."

On a broader note, Camejo highlighted the need for election reform. He said the debates are "clear evidence of the need to move to Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). With our current system we have ended up with two candidates each of whom is trying to reflect what the polls say people want to hear. IRV allows voters to vote their beliefs, not their fears, and allows candidates with fresh ideas to affect the process."

The co-sponsors efforts to keep Camejo out of the final two debates resulted in strong public reaction with nearly two thousand letters sent to the sponsors through http://www.votecamejo.org; media editorializing in
favor of his inclusion and candidates Bustamante and McClintock supporting inclusion of Camejo.

The debates are being held on October 2, 2003 in Los Angeles and October 4, 2003 in San Diego.