Hat Tip: By Jeffry Scott, Atlanta Journal Constitution
In recent weeks McKinney — who last month posted a letter on her Web site declaring that she had no interest in the Green Party nomination — has appeared at fund-raisers in California, where a group named Run! Cynthia! Run! is trying to draft her as the party’s candidate in California.
McKinney’s name already is on the ballot in California, along with six other Green Party candidates, including Ralph Nader. She and the others were nominated by a Green Party convention in September in California.
The fact that McKinney’s name remains on the ballot has given supporters hope, said John Morton, a California Green Party delegate.
“She’s got us all guessing, but she hasn’t removed her name, and that’s a good sign. I talked to her last week, and she said she’s very interested but not ready to make an announcement.”
Two weekends ago McKinney attended a rally with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who is running for the San Francisco seat held by Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy’s Pelosi. Sheehan told the crowd that McKinney is running for president.
McKinney, who served five often-provocative terms as a U.S. congresswoman representing voters in DeKalb County and roughly the southeastern section of metro Atlanta, has been registered to vote in Marin County since May 4, 2007, according to records at the Marin County Registrar of Voters. Marin is a county north of San Francisco.
According to the Georgia secretary of state’s office, she is still registered to vote in Georgia, but has not voted since December 2006. Secretary of state director of media Matt Carrothers said state law does not require she notify the state that she is now a registered voter in California.
“But since she is registered to vote there, she cannot vote in Georgia,” Carrothers said.
Vicki Leidner, chairwoman of the Feminst Issues Group of the San Francisco Green Party, hosted a fund-raiser for McKinney two weekends ago when, she said, “we raised a good chunk of money, especially for someone who hasn’t declared she is running.”
Leidner said McKinney has sought to keep a low profile in moving to the San Francisco area, where she has been accepted as a doctoral student at the University of California at Berkeley. “After you been through the things she’s been through, you learn to be a little quiet about things,” Leidner said.
Brent McMillan, political director for the national Green Party, said the party also is seeking to get her name on the ballot in Illinois. “California and Illinois are the first- and second-largest Green Party states.”
McKinney is not yet registered as a presidential candidate in Illinois, and, by law, cannot register before Oct. 29. To register she must first submit a petition with between 3,000 and 5,000 signatures to be eligible.
California delegate Morton said McKinney has a place in Marin County but he believes she still divides her time between San Francisco and Atlanta.
“We expect her to move out here by the first of the year,” he said. “She still has matters to deal with back in Atlanta.” Morton said he believes McKinney, who the Green Party courted to run in 2004, is the perfect Green candidate.
“She’s very outspoken, and even when she was a Democrat she didn’t follow the dictates of the party,” he said. “She has a Green mind, believes in social justice, is against the war.”
McKinney could not be reached for comment.
Skeptical Brotha 
Is this gonna Kill You? No i Dont Think so !
She has a better chance to continue her political career as a progressive out in Cali, than Georgia, who seems to continue to take steps backwards.
If she’s registered in Marin County, that’s one of the most progressive counties in Northern California, ahead of both San Francisco and Oakland (San Jose’s more conservative) – which means there’s a lot of Liberals with fat pockets waiting to find a truly progressive candidate. Look for her to challenge a congressional seat out in that district, and with Barbara Boxer’s blessing, because she’s the Senator from Marin County and not the elitist of San Francisco like Dianne Feinstein’s corporate ass.
Marin is the whitest and richest place in norCal They are much too nice to ever elect a crazy eye like Cynthia McKinney – If she wanted to improve the politics of california, she should have moved to Richmond (next door to UCB) and taken on the reactionary dem who represents that district.
She’s going to make things interesting. Dust up some trouble- nothing wrong with that.
John are you saying McKinney should take on Mike “DLC” Thompson? Or is it George Miller? She would get slung under the bus all over again.
Marin might be white, but they sure as hell are liberal and progressive. And I’m from Northern Cal, and if the truth be known, she should be across the Bay in Oakland, but Barbara Lee is her friend and representing District 9 very well.
I agree with Rikyrah – shake some shyt up for a change, because being “safe” and “cautious” got impeachment off the table and a spineless Speaker of the House in the form of Nancy Pelosi (who also came from another largely progressive district in the Bay Area – SAN FRANCISCO).
Pelosi needs to worry about how much damage Cindy Sheehan will do to her re-election efforts. I know they’re pissed she took impeachment “off the table” because San Francisco was the first city in the Nation to pass a resolution calling for Bush’s impeachment. Nancy’s action equals spitting in their faces regarding their wishes as her constituents.
sorry pj, my bad, it’s el cerito, right between Berkley and Richmond that has Ellen Tauscher, a lieberman dem.
John, we are in total agreement re; Ellen Taucher. She represents El Cerrito, but also that faction of southern Alameda county (Pleasanton) and CC county (Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Danville and Alamo) – true, a wealthy enclave where McKinney wouldn’t stand a chance. That’s why she’s in Marin, especially if she gets Boxer’s blessing.
For a minute, I lived in that area of Alameda county where I could write either Barbara Lee, Pete Stark or Taucher for assistance. I started with Taucher – who promptly referred me to Pete Stark; who joined forces with Barbara Lee to get the job done. This, when my actual zip code said I was in Taucher’s district and I sent the proof in to her office.
I’ve never respected her from that point on, and was happy to move fully back into Oakland, where I knew who my representative was. Not that Pete Stark was a slouch – he often collaborated with Lee on constituent assistance because their districts often overlapped one another, and they didn’t have turf issues, like Taucher did.
nevertheless, I’d love to see a primary w/ C.M. tearing into E.T. For a while Taucher would put on her “I’m above all that” attitude but eventually C.M. would get under her skin and E.T. would show the weak and nasty person she is. Seeing the two of them on a stage together would be great.
This is good for her to show her relevance and apparent value of relative power to those that wanted her to go away. It also announces to lone isolationists that Cynthia did not die a political death. The problem here is: the constituency backing her is a marginalized and polarized base within the Green Party. It doesn’t matter how much money they have, the majority of the common people in the country are first, afraid of people like Cynthia McKinney. I am not even talking about them being crimpled by racism. What I see is that so many people know America is a self-perpetuating con-man and they feel powerless to really be able to make a difference on voting idealistically. So even if Cynthia was to be the most progressive candidate, that does not translate to people’s fear very well. We are spoiled and we like being lied to that we will safe no matter how many times and how bad we run across people. And as much as she wants to be more conciliatory towards other countries that the current administration and current elected officials don’t like, she is one of a few who sounds good but she sounds more like a heroic figure in a dusty leather bound history book because she has never been recognized for her convictions or for what is special about her.
I think we can read about heroes throughout revisionist history labeling them heroic (Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin) but they never want to write history accurately in real time as it is happening let alone record it truthfully. We saw that we all of our contributors from Dred Scott who as a slave challenged America to stand up to their own constitution to defend it. Cynthia is coined crazy because she is not acceptable and won’t play ‘playing the right type of enemy. She plays it so rogue in transparency and America hates that coming from a Black and at that a woman. America is roguish but it is acceptable that they are righteous with ‘cause and duty to be. So no matter that our countrymen have a penchant to hide their schemes behind revisionist thinking all the time to justify their every ideology and sensibility, our people don’t want someone like Cynthia throwing a mirror up to our faces. She stands for introspection and that has never been America’s forte.
Did she have to move all the way across the country so her father would stop embarrassing her? I expect any future opponent would be smart to buy him a Delta seat out there before the next primary . . .
But what am I talking about? She’s completely capable of embarrassing herself. I spent a lot of time volunteering for her (in 94), and while she was one of the few bright spots that year, she’s been a net disappointment. Y’all Californians are welcome to have her.