Gondwanaland

At the Green Party of Philadelphia meeting Thursday evening, I met the nominee for City Commissioner, Richie Antipuna. I'd been present at the previous meeting where he was endorsed, but hadn't introduced myself to him. I explained that I'd like to help petition to put him on the ballot, but prefer not doing so for the Sheriff candidate, Cheri Honkala, about whom I have some concerns based on my experience in the Labor Party in the '90s. Though he said he was sorry to hear that, he was understanding, evidently having encountered this issue before. He said he'd arrange for me to get petitions with only his name on it.

Although I circulated a modified petition in 2008 too, I seem to remember raising the question with a lot more trepidation then, even though I did so with Hilary Aisenstein (now Kane), whom I knew already, and she already had some idea I might want to do so. So I feel the ease with which I acted on my concerns this time reflects the greater comfort I've attained in exercising my political autonomy even within a group setting.