On August 21, 2007, the Green Party filed signatures at the Suffolk Board of Elections to place its candidate, Ahmad Ali Mitchel-El on the ballot for County Executive. Election day is Tuesday, November 6th.

Mitchel-El is a lifelong resident of Suffolk County, a professional musician, and a producer on progressive radio station WBAI 99.5 FM. Mitchel-El is also a peace and justice activist, who has performed at the PeaceSmiths Coffeehouse in Amityville. Mitchel-El's campaign has already received coverage in the media, including: "Noticias" newspaper; "In The Moment" on WBAI radio; and "'Tis Treason" on WUSB radio.

The incumbent Suffolk County Executive is Steve Levy, who is known for his stand against a Hiring Center for day laborers. Steve Levy will be running on the Democratic line, as well as the Republican line, Working Families line, Independence line, and Conservative line. Ahmad Mitchel-El supports the creation of a Hiring Center as well as other measures to support tolerance for undocumented people.

Mitchel-El says of his nomination:

"It is with great pride that I, an American descendant of a people marked 3/5ths a man by the preamble of the Constitution of this Republic, can have the opportunity to serve the public, and pursue this one of many American Dreams. Being a child of the Sixties, the Utopian Society of Martin Luther King, John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy had a real impact on me. I believed America would reach that Mountain top. We would build a better world. The political parties keep selling us the dream, and delivering nightmares: The economics of the Eighties, trade agreements of the Nineties, and the Bridge to the New Millennium, which is soaked with blood and debt. Meanwhile, here in Suffolk, the political party that is supposed to perpetuate the Kennedy vision of America is practicing the "Good Old Boy" style of politics. Inclusion and diversity are absent from Suffolk County's vision. The older minority groups are being forced out economically, and the new ones aren't welcome unless they are cheap, invisible labor. Their methods of survival offend us but we don't want to pay them a fair wage and give them the humane conditions that labor unions have fought for. Suddenly, our concern for Justice and Fairness only applies to 'certain people'. The opportunity to stand for Right in opposition to Might is what I have accepted. So, as David with a sling, I stand with Truth, Justice and the Zeal to build that Utopian Society for all Human Beings not just the privileged."

Ian Wilder, Secretary of the Green Party of Suffolk stated, "The Green Party is excited to have Ahmad Ali Mitchel-El carry our banner, because his thinking represents the values of our party."

The Green Party is an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans. Green Party candidates do not accept contributions from corporations. The four pillars of the Green Party are: Social and Economic Justice; Grassroots Democracy; Ecological Wisdom, and Non-violence.

More information on the Green Party and Ahmad Ali Mitchel-El may be found at www.gpsuffolk.org

Press Contact:
Roger Snyder, Chair, Green Party of Suffolk (631) 351-5763 [email protected]
Kimberly Wilder, Press Secretary, Green Party of Suffolk (631) 422-4702 [email protected]