Scott Chisholm Lamont, RN.

Consensus process as a tool for social and political change:

I have trained and served as a facilitator using both formal and informal consensus process. I believe that consensus not only produces supperior decisions that are better supported by members of social groups, but that the very attributes and attitudes that support consensus decision making also support progressive social change and peace. I am interested in how consensus could be further codified and formalized to use not only with formally structured groups that are used to using the more commonly known Robert's Rules of Order (such as businesses, unions, and professional associations), but also by legislative bodies, such as municipalities or commissions. more . . .

Speaking of values:

As progressives, our values are not lesser values, nor are they invalid in comparision to the ones being trumpeted as having swung the recent US federal election in the main stream media . . . . more

BC-Single Transferable Vote proposal:

Very cool site on the British Columbia proposal for proportional voting, including examples of how it works (you can even fill out a ballot and see how the votes would tally). Click here to check it out. You can go to the OpenPolitics.ca site to see a wiki description of STV, including various links on the debate.

For Republicans with no sense of humour - relax. I don't see eye to eye with Democrats or Libertarians either. For that matter, I can find fault with the Liberal, Conservative, and New Democrat parties back home in Canada too. I don't even agree with many Greens on all points, and I am a Green!

No, the point isn't about agreement - you can disagree and still have respect for one another, and for the thoughts and ideas of others. I dislike the hyper-competative sport of modern politics, where it is about being on one side or the other, and no one but yourself has a good idea. I really dislike hubris, infallibility, and mean-spiritedness as official policy, which the current administration has unapologetically adopted. They are even determined to hold themselves and the US above international law. So, although I admit that the above image is a little mean (and a little out-dated), it is certainly well earned. Besides which, public figures should probably just get used to being made fun of. It helps keep them humble.

One of the reasons that I joined the Greens was that they attempted (not always successfully) to place themselves outside of the "left vs. right" continuum that has so diminished our political discourse. Conserving our environmental capital is conservative. Respecting individual rights and liberties is classic liberalism. Recognizing that the rights of the individual must be balanced with the individual's responsibility to the community, and the community's reciprocal responsibility, is really neither left nor right. It might be better described as ancient versus modern, or tribal leavened by Western.

Check out the Green Party pages in Canada (including Alberta), the US (including California and New Mexico), and around the world.

I think that it is important to be involved in the political process. I have run for political office several times, including for Mayor of the Town of Banff in that municipality's first election as an incorporated Town (at the age of 22, placing 4th in a field of 4), for Town Council three years later (placing 7th in a field of 12 for 6 seats). I was appointed to the Town's Family and Community Support Services Advisory Board following that first election, based in part on the profile I gained in my campaign. I was on the committee for about 5 years, and chaired it for one year. I ran forMember of Parliament as the Green Party candidate for the riding of Wildrose (Alberta) in the 1993 federal election. I did pretty well for a newbie to the federal scene with essentially no resources. The Greens have crested the magic 2% in the last federal election in Canada, and so qualify for federal funds to help them get their political message out. I'll post a link to the press release on this soon.

*** November's Positive Note ***
Greens continue to make gains in Canada!

In the recent Alberta provincial election, several ridings have 10% or more of the vote go Green, and my old riding of Banff-Cochrane has a 15% Green vote cast (congrats, Chris Foote). The party placed third in 10 ridings and second in one - more remarkable because it was in rural Drayton Valley Calmar, where ranchers and oil interests hold considerable sway.