Green Party Candidate
for Mayor of St. Paul
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Green Party Candidate |
Who is Elizabeth Dickinson? by Maxine McCormick, Community Reporter, April 2003 Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Ward 2 candidate Elizabeth Dickinson graduated from Cambridge University in England with a degree in Drama and English, has a Masters in psychology, is a certified Yoga teacher and a certified Feng Shui practitioner. She is also a descendant of Emily Dickinson, a renowned American poet. Elizabeth is an actress by trade and a passionate Green Party member. And she is steeped in activism: in her community as co-chair of the Environment Committee of the West Side Citizens Organization; in our state as a founding member of Clean Energy Now; and nationally, as a member of the Sierra Club Air Toxics Committee. She and her husband, Christopher Childs, a former spokesperson for Greenpeace, moved here in 1998 into their badly-in-need-of-repair little house on the bluff overlooking the river and the NSP Plant. "The community spirit is stronger than any place I ever lived. There is a strong belief that you can effect what is going on." It took several years to make the house habitable. They lived upstairs with her books in boxes while they finished the downstairs, so she understands the work involved in living in an older home. But the thing that really began to drive Elizabeth was the NSP plant. In 1999, they "smelled a terrible burning smell. It was burning the back of my throat. A chemical smell Christopher identified as fossil fuel being burned." Later she learned there was a high rate of childhood allergies among her neighbors. "We are so dependent on fossil fuel when there are so many alternatives. Coal is the dirtiest fuel we can use," she said. She is pleased that NSP voluntarily plans to convert to burning natural gas instead of coal at the High Bridge plant, influenced, she believes, by neighborhood pressure. Xcel wants to pass the cost to the consumer. Elizabeth wants Xcel to open their books so folks can know the real cost. As for the ethanol plant, "Shut it down. Take away their subsidy. Don't assume the MN Pollution Control Agency is a watchdog agency. They have never not given a permit." What are her issues? To promote sustainable and environmentally sound development. She wants all new buildings to be High Performance buildings. "A 2% up front cost gives 80% back in energy savings later," she says, "which cuts down on pollution. If you want to help a family that is low income, cut down on heating costs." Encourage greater, more meaningful participation in politics. "Only 22% of elected office is held by women." She wants to mentor female high school students to get them thinking about jobs in politics. Improve living and working conditions by supporting a smoking ban in restaurants in St. Paul. Second-hand smoke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Promote small and medium businesses. The Small Business Administration of Minneapolis offers a 2% interest loan. "The number one cause of small business failure is 'under capitalization.' Let's get that 2% loan for St. Paul," she says. It's essential to educate suburban/rural legislators. When they ask why does it cost more to educate a child in the city, they don't realize that there are 80 languages spoken by children in the public schools. "So local aid is not fairly targeted. Cities are a magnet to immigrants. These are our future citizens." And of course she is committed to the arts and would like to promote more of a presence of artists in our lives. There are four pillars of the Green Party that influence decision making, she said. 1) Does the issue/project embody social and economic justice? 2) Does it contain ecological wisdom? 3) Is it grassroots democracy? 4) Is it non-violent? It took her an hour to drive around the boundary of Ward 2. "It's important for a council member to know what's in the ward, to show up for meetings and have policy items they want to get through."
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