For Immediate Release
Contact: Betty Traynor
September 22, 1994
(415) 558-8133

Barbara Blong, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, is making the
defeat of Propositions 184 and 187 a major focus of her campaign.
"Feinstein and Huffington have fueled the raging flames of
anti-crime/anti-immigrant hysteria," decried Blong.

While many people may view these initiatives as focusing on two distinct
issues - crimes and immigration - Barbara Blong and the Green Party
instead see them as two overtly racist, irresponsible initiatives that
pander to the politics of scapegoating, in place of finding long-term
solutions to California's serious economic and social problems.

"The $21 billion to build 20 more prisons in the next 15 years, the cost
of the current "three strikes" legislation, must be redirected to
programs that prevent crime and violence, such as education, youth
recreational programs, and jobs training," insists Blong. "Plus, one of
the Green Party's ten key values is nonviolence, and incarceration is one
of the most violent acts that society can do to individuals. As U.S.
Senator I will work at the federal level to find alternatives to
incarceration of nonviolent offenders," she said.

Blong also states that even though "three strikes" is already state law
and Proposition 184 essentially duplicates the bill passed by the state
Legislature this year, defeat at the ballot box would send a strong
message to state lawmakers to take a second look at what they passed, and
would provide them the political incentive to change it. "If Proposition
184 passes in November, we're stuck with 'three strikes,' so that is why
I feel it is essential to campaign against it," said Blong.

With Feinstein and Huffington on the sidelines, Blong is campaigning to
defeat Proposition 187 and tell the truth about immigration. "Immigrants
are an asset to California's economy, and they are being used as
scapegoats for the real causes of the state's current depression - flight
of international capital, corporate layoffs, loss of revenue due to
Proposition 13, and the state's previous dependence on the military for
jobs."

Like the "three strikes" initiative, Blong points out that Proposition
187 will only worsen our economic situation by costing the state $15
billion in federal funds for education and social services because it
violates federal privacy laws.

"However, this is far more than a dollars and cents issue. Denying
children an education and denying health care to anyone violates the
concept of a humane, caring society, which is what the Green Party is
working to achieve. In our view, no human being is illegal," Blong said.

Barbara Blong is the first U.S. Senate candidate from the Green Party of
California which qualified for ballot status in January 1992. To reach
her campaign, please contact: Barbara Blong for U.S. Senate, 2940 16th
Street, Suite 200-8, San Francisco, CA 94103, (415) 255-2940, FAX: (415)
558-8135.

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