Jay Sweeney

Thank you for visiting my web page. I have included my positions on a number of issues I find important. If you have any questions or if you have concerns that I have not addressed, please contact me at jnln@epix.net. Also visit http://www.newmenu.org/jaysweeney.

I would like to publicly thank all of those who contributed in any way to my campaign for Representative in the General Assembly in the 111th district. I would like to especially thank the Susquehanna Green Party, the Wayne County Green Party and the Green Party of Pennsylvania. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts to the Susquehanna County League of Women Voters in educating the electorate of their choices on election day. Thanks also to the local media for their coverage. Last, but, not least, I would like to thank the voters who entrusted me with their vote.

Congratulations to Sandy Major. I hope she and the General Assembly can address some of the issues in a way that is beneficial to all of the residents of the 111th district including balancing the financial benefits of natural gas drilling with the impact on our environment.

I will continue to work with like minded individuals and organizations to achieve the goals of the Green Party including preserving democracy, advancing social justice, protecting the environment and promoting non-violence.

Jay Sweeney

Major re-elected with 70%
BY JOSH MROZINSKI
STAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Updated: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 2:42 AM EST
TUNKHANNOCK — Republican incumbent Sandra Major was re-elected state representative Tuesday to the 111th Legislative District by a wide margin.

With about 70 percent of the precincts reporting, Ms. Major had 10,695 votes. Green Party challenger Jay Sweeney had 1,519 votes.

The 111th district includes parts of Wayne, Wyoming and Susquehanna counties.

“I’m extremely thrilled and I sincerely thank the voters of the 111th Legislative District for their trust in me and for sending me back to Harrisburg for an eighth term,” Ms. Major, 54, said.

During her next two-year terms, Ms. Major said she expects to work on a shortfall in the state’s budget.

“We’re going to have to tighten our belts in spending in Pennsylvania,” she said.

Ms. Major noted natural gas drilling is also a significant issue that will be addressed. While natural gas will have economic benefits, she said people have to be mindful of the industry’s potential affect on the environment.

Tuesday was the third time Ms. Major and Mr. Sweeney faced off.

In 2006, Ms. Major beat Mr. Sweeney by 12,722 votes, capturing 82.6 percent of the electorate in the district.

“Sandy is a formidable candidate and the area is largely Republican, but nonetheless I feel that someone needs to challenge our state legislators,” Mr. Sweeney, 55, said. “I think Democracy demands it and by definition Democracy demands choice.”

He added that he was able to promote his party’s philosophy as a candidate.

Contact the writer: jmrozinski@timesshamrock.com

Scranton Times political columnist Roderick Random predicts the outcome of the election.

http://www.scrantontimes.com/articles/2008/10/25/editorial/roderick/sc_times_trib.20081025.a.pg15.tt25roderick_s1.2021568_rod.txt

111TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT: Green Party candidate Jay Sweeney, who knows the issues as well as any candidate we’ve ever met, is running against longtime Republican incumbent Sandra Major for the third and, he says, final time.

Two years ago, he upped his 2004 vote total by 1,000 votes. If he kept at it, maybe he would shock the political world. Not this year.

PLATFORM

Safeguard Democracy
-Free and Fair access to the ballot to all parties
-Voter Verifiable Paper ballots

Public Financing of Elections
-No candidate left behind

Living Wage not Minimum Wage

Eliminate KOZ’s
-Replace with micro loans

Single Payer Health Insurance
-Healthcare for all Pa residents
I support Pa HB 1660 and SB 330 which provide single payer, publicly financed, privately provided, affordable, comprehensive healthcare with low overhead.

Twenty First Century Energy Policy
-Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Hydroelectric energy
-Phase out Nuclear and Coal power plants
-Increase efficiency of autos, appliances & other consumer goods
-Increase efficiency of manufacturing sector
-Conservation of energy
More at http://www.jaysweeney.org/?p=13

Strengthen Environmental Enforcement
-Give the Department of Environmental Protection the people and tools to
proactively protect our environment.
-Increase bonding for industries that threaten the environment.
-One strike and out for companies that violate the law & harm the environment.

Support Family Farms and Sustainable Agriculture
-Increase direct sales from farmers to public with year round Farmers Co-op Markets.
-Create incentives for school districts to purchase from local farmers and producers.

Protect Civil Liberties
-from the Real I.D. Act and PATRIOT Act

Bring Home Pa National Guard
-Our National Guard service men and women do not belong in Iraq and Afghanistan. They belong here in Pennsylvania.

I oppose
-Leasing the Pa Turnpike
-The fracturing process to extract natural gas. This process pollutes and threatens Pennsylvania’s water resources.
-Drilling or otherwise disturbing Pa State and National Forest and Park lands.

I support
-Bicycle lanes in all road construction and repaving projects
-Green building in all new and retrofitted Pa construction projects

Please visit the following for more detailed position papers.
Reform http://www.jaysweeney.org/?p=16
Sustainable Agriculture http://www.jaysweeney.org/?p=14

Please visit the following sites to learn more about the Green Party.
The Green Party of Pennsylvania http://www.greenpartypa.org.
Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
Susquehanna County GP http://www.geocities.com/tuscademe/sqgreen/

GREEN PARTY HISTORY

Jay Sweeney became involved with the Green Party during the Nader 2000 presidential campaign working with Greens in Lackawanna and Wyoming County.

In 2001 the Wyoming County Green Party was formed and Jay has served as Secretary since it’s inception as well as a delegate to the Green Party of Pennsylvania.

In 2002 Jay worked to get the Morrill-Smedley Gubernatorial ticket on the ballot and coordinated local events and meetings with local press.

In 2004 Jay challenged the incumbent for State Representative in the General Assembly’s 111th District. He received 10% of the vote.

In 2006 Jay ran again for State Representative in the 111th District receiving 17.5% of the vote.

In 2007 Jay became Treasurer for the Green Party of Pennsylvania and holds this position today.

In 2007 Jay served on the Pennsylvania Task Force working with the Annual National Meeting Committee and worked during the Reading meeting.

Job History

1991 to present
Owner/Operator
Jay’s Woodfinishing & Painting
RD2 Box 143B
Dalton, Pa

1990 - 1991 Laborer
Cole Wood Floors
Clarks Summit, Pa

1984 - 1990 Laborer
Steve Cole Wood Floors
Laceyville, Pa

1983 - 1984 Prep Cook
The Dalton House
Main St.
Dalton, Pa

1977 - 1983 Manager
C.A. Eatery
36th Locust St.
Philadelphia, Pa

1971 - 1977 Mailroom laborer
Philadelphia Daily Bulletin
30th & Market Sts.
Philadelphia, Pa

The Berwick Chamber of Commerce and PPL officials claim that reaction to a new nuclear reactor are positive. This is nothing but a preemptive strike against opposition. Nuclear power does not release carbon into the atmosphere, but, the spent nuclear fuel rods pose an equally threatening environmental problem. There has been no solution to the disposal of highly radioactive waste that will remain radioactive for thousands of years. The federal government has proposed transporting it across the USA to a sacred site of the native american indians, Yucca mountain. The only solution to radioactive waste is to stop producing it.

The $5 - 6 Billion would be far better spent on technologies that not only produce no greenhouse gases, but, also produce no nuclear waste. This includes solar, wind, geothermal and hydro electric.

Jay Sweeney
Falls Township

Bravo! Your editorial about rising fuel costs and mass transit is on the mark. We need to make real changes in our planning for the future and a revenue stream for mass transit in Pennsylvania is a must. Our roads are over crowded with cars carrying a single occupant for the most part. Putting money into mass transit rather than widening highways like interstate 81 is not only more economical, but, would reduce smog and put us on the road to energy independence as a state and nation.

I had the privilege of marching in Scranton’s St. Patrick’s Day parade with the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club would like to see Scranton become a Cool City and reduce carbon emissions. The Sierra Club theme centered on low impact transportation and featured walking, bicycling, Hybrid vehicles and biodiesel vehicles powered from recycled vegetable oil.

Jay Sweeney
Falls Township

Editor,

I would like to commend the Times-Tribune for its’ recent “100% wrong use of tax money” editorial. I wholeheartedly agree that public money should not be used by the parties for their polling purposes. Furthermore, I do not believe tax dollars should finance primary elections. The primaries are nothing more than a process by which the parties choose their candidates. Independent, non partisan and third party voters are shut out of the primaries, unless of course there is a referendum on the ballot. Those who choose not to vote also pay for the primaries with their tax dollars. Until such time as there is an open primary system in Pennsylvania, the parties should pay for their own selection process and referendum questions should be reserved for the general election.

Jay Sweeney

I have to agree with the Times-Tribune editorial board when it suggests that 20 scanners is insufficient and what is needed is one scanner per polling place. The outgoing commissioners were quick to discard the lever machines and slow to take action against Advanced Voting Solutions.

I do take issue with the suggestion in the John Cole cartoon that the paper trail is sluggish and the headline that the system is antiquated. I am more inclined to agree with the slow, but, accurate line. What is the hurry? Must we have results by the 11 o’clock news or the newspaper’s morning deadline or is accuracy more important? The 2008 election will help decide the future direction of our country. Let’s hope we get it right. The election is in November and the Inauguration in January. We have 2 months to be sure the results are right.

The paper ballot and optical scan count is seen as the best system we have available by many in the voting integrity movement. This is especially true if the software is open source, programable by the county, and not property of the corporation manufacturing the machine. In addition, there is a hard copy available for recount purposes that does not exist with a Direct Recording Electronic voting system like WINvote.

Perhaps this whole series of events will turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the voters of Lackawanna, Wayne and Northampton counties who purchase the WINvote system.

Jay Sweeney

From: jnln@epix.net
Subject: When is public property not public property?
Date: September 3, 2007 8:45:24 PM EDT
To: letters@timesshamrock.com

Editor,

When is public property not public property? Apparently some of the organizers of La Festa Italiana believe that courthouse square is not public property on labor day weekend, but, private property. The city of Scranton and Lackawanna county are gracious enough to permit them to use the space. However, that does not change the fact that county property does not belong to the Commissioners or any other county employee, but, to the residents of the county.

I was at La Festa on Saturday with county residents who wanted to set up tables for the Green Party and the Reform party. The Green Party and Reform Party have tabled, registered voters and distributed information at La Festa for several years. One of the staff people from La Festa told the Lackawanna County Green Party representative that as long as they were off the path and did not inhibit the flow of the crowd or try to hand literature to passersby there was no problem with setting up a table. Within an hour, an individual from La Festa security insisted the table had to be removed because the major political parties were told that due to space limitation as a result of construction they could not set up. However, Munchak and Cordaro tables were on Washington Avenue outside their headquarters. In addition, volunteers from the campaign were walking through the crowd handing out balloons.

While La Festa Italiana is a celebration of Italian heritage and culture, politics is part of it as well. Otherwise, the Munchak and Cordaro campaigners would not be there. As a matter of fact, Italy has several parties participating in it’s democracy, not one or two. Discrimination in the political process should not be tolerated here either.

Jay Sweeney

Editor,

Willie Speare recently wrote that the Democratic Party portrays itself as opposed to war yet most of it’s declared candidates for president voted to allow war. I agree. He points out that Republican candidate Ron Paul voted against authorizing the war in Iraq. Again, no argument here. I respect Ron Paul for this vote and other positions. However, I disagree with Mr. Speare’s suggestion to embrace the anti-war wing of the Republican party. If you want to embrace an anti-war party, join and grow the Green Party. The Green Party has consistently denounced the war in Iraq from the beginning. Visit gp.org.

Jay Sweeney

The article about the trial of the marine squad leader who led an attack killing 24 innocent Iraqi civilians is most disturbing. The marines response that the that their actions were legitimate is appalling. Do you believe that this is an isolated incident? War is hell and this is just another day at war! War creates enemies. They are dehumanized and acts of inhumanity result. There is no honor in this behavior.

It is beyond time to end this war. All of the acts of goodwill done in Iraq are negated by acts of atrocity. Billions of dollars are poured into Iraq benefiting only the defense industry, the oil companies and the private contractors. Our most precious resources, our men and women in the military, are abused and put in harms way. Meanwhile, there is insufficient equipment and personnel to handle disasters and other emergencies at home.

It is time to demand that congress end war funding, bring our troops home and spend the billions of dollars on healthcare and transitioning our economy to one that reduces our real threat, global warming.

Jay Sweeney

Walter Whitford (2/17) recollects the 1979 capture of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. However, he paints an incomplete picture to blame the left for the events of 1979. Mr. Whitford fails to mention the overthrow of democratically elected Prime Minister Mossadegh in 1953. Mossadegh had nationalized Iran’s oil resources to end the exploitation by foreign entities. The CIA and British intelligence responded by aiding and abetting the coup that empowered the Shah of Iran. The Shah ruled for 25 years eventually eliminating all political parties other than his own Rastakhiz party. His secret police had secret prisons and employed torture and assassination against dissidents. The U.S. supported the Shah politically and financially. The people of Iran finally had enough and rebelled against the Shah. This is the reason the Ayatollah was able to rise to power declaring the U.S. the “Great Satan”.

I must also point out that Mr. Whitford never mentions the Iran-Contra scandal that led to the release of the hostages. The Reagan/Bush administration sold arms to Iran in exchange for the release of the hostages. Not only was this act of arming U.S. enemies illegal, the profits were used to fund the contras in Nicaragua. This took place against the will of congress and the people of the U.S. who pressured congress to end funding of the contras.

U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East has been a dismal failure. Empowering brutal regimes, whether the Shah or Saddam, to insure access to oil resources when they could have been had with a fair trade policy is ridiculous. We would not have had the 1979 Embassy takeover or be in Iraq today. We would not be wasting our resources, human and monetary, and could be well on our way to developing clean energy technology and independence.

Jay Sweeney

George Bush threatens to veto stem cell research because he opposes “the use of federal money, taxpayers’ money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life”. Meanwhile, he proposes to use that same money to increase military expenditures to destroy life in order to save life.

George Bush uses the religious or spiritual argument when it is advantageous to promote his agenda and disregards it when it conflicts with his agenda. Martin Luther King Jr. states that “a nation that continues, year after year, to spend money on military defense rather than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death”.

Diverting funds from the U.S. Treasury to meaningless war is profiting the defense and oil industries while issues of real homeland security including, securing our ports and borders, developing clean domestic energy programs, shoring up Social Security and Medicare go unaddressed. Is this a coincidence?

In November, the electorate voted in a new congress because it did not like the direction this country is heading in. The vast majority oppose the war and want our troops brought home. Congress has the ability to change the direction we are heading in. They have two choices. They can vote to eliminate funding for the war. There seems to be an unwillingness to go this route. They do not want to appear unsupportive of out troops. Besides, the same group that is now in power did an end run around the will of Congress and the people who pressured them to end funding for the contras in the eighties. The results were a domestic and foreign policy nightmare that haunts us to this day.

That leaves only one choice to confront a belligerent, out of control executive branch, impeachment.

Jay Sweeney

The leadership of the Democratic party has been attacking the Green Party and Carl Romanelli in particular over the last several weeks. First they attack Carl Romanelli for taking donations from Santorum supporters and imply collusion between the Green Party and the Republican Party. Granted, the republicans cynically donated to someone who does not share their views in an attempt to cut Bob Casey’s lead. Do the Democrats require a loyalty oath before taking donations? If there is any collusion, it is between the two major parties who redistrict and concede not only races but entire states to each other denying the voters of a real choice.

In addition, T. J. Rooney and the Democratic leadership claim 69,000 of the 99,000 signatures the Green Party submitted to the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation were fraudulent and included the names Mona Lisa, Robert Redford and Mickey Mouse among others. The defense of the signatures is now taking place in Harrisburg and as it turns out, Mona Lisa, Robert Redford and Michael “Mickey” Mouse are all registered voters in the state of Pennsylvania. T. J. Rooney should have done some research before making such slanderous claims.

Shame on the leaders of the Democratic party! We all know the Democrats take money from some of the same people who donate to the Republicans. How dare they criticize the Green Party for taking some of this money in an attempt comply with the unfair ballot access laws that the Democrats and the Republicans created. The Green Party needed 67,700 signatures of registered voters to get their statewide candidates on the ballot while the Democrats and the Republicans needed only 2,000. Even this is now in contention since the 2005 Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice retention votes were a statewide election. Based on the 2005 statewide results, the Green Party would only need 16,000 signatures.

Green Party volunteers worked for months towards the staggering goal of 67,700 signatures. When it appeared the goal was unattainable, Carl Romanelli decided to solicit donations to pay petitioners. This effort provided the stimulus to reach and exceed the signature goal. How dare the Democratic leadership belittle the work of these individuals by calling their efforts fraudulent.

The Green volunteers who worked on the signatures prior to submitting them to the state worked 44 hours without sleep weeding out obviously bad petitions and making sure everything was in order. I am sure the democrats and republicans can collect 2000 signatures without losing any sleep or breaking a sweat.

The Green Party has nothing to be ashamed of. It achieved a goal no one thought was possible. It played by the rules that the two parties made. Now the leaders of the Democratic party are crying foul. The Democratic leadership said that the Green Party does not belong on the ballot. How dare they! Tens of thousands of registered voters in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania say that the Green Party does belong on the ballot.

As far as money goes, this is a prime example of the need to remove money from politics. Carl Romanelli took money to get on the ballot and get his anti-war, clean energy, single payer health care message out. The Democrats and Republicans take it to fund their campaigns and influence their votes.

If nothing else, this whole episode is a prime example of the need for fair, verifiable and publicly financed elections.

Jay Sweeney