Green Party Candidate for US Senate in Rochester to Speak Against the War

(Rochester) - On October 17, 2004, candidate for New York State Senate, David McReynolds will be in Rochester to speak to supporters, in front of the Harris Corporation at 1680 University Avenue. The press conference will begin at 3pm. Joining McReynolds will be Rochester City School Board Candidate, David Atias, Green Party Chair, Jason Nabewaniec and others.

The Harris Company was awarded a $2.1 million contract from the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), Systems Center Charleston, in December of 2003. The contract is for shipboard high-frequency (HF) radio transceivers and R-2368B(V)1 receiver subsystems. Harris' RF Communications Division, headquartered in Rochester, New York, will supply these radio subsystems for a new class of combat logistics force ships being built under the T-AKE program. The new T-AKE is a dry cargo/ammunition ship that will be operated by the military sealift command. These ships will transfer cargo and ammunition to U.S. Navy ships and other naval forces deployed at sea.

"The overwhelming issue confronting the United States is the militarization of this country," stated McReynolds. "Currently tens of billions of dollars of national treasure are being drained in Iraq. The lives of our own troops, and the lives of many Iraqis, are being wasted as a result of this criminal adventure. It is just another war for oil and an excuse to curtail our civil liberties at home. We need to withdraw from Iraq and enact a massive cut in our military budget, investing the savings in housing, transportation, living wage jobs and education."

"Over the past four years we have seen massive demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq both here in Rochester and across the state of New York State. David McReynolds and the Green Party are committed to establishing the United State’s role in the World community as a peaceful and more respected presence," said Nabewaniec.

Added Rochester School Board Candidate, David Atias, "the militarization of our country has been far-reaching. There is even a well-buried clause in the No Child Left Behind Act that mandates that every secondary school turn over personal information of all juniors and seniors to military recruiters. The fact that this is done so underhandedly underscores how pervasive the culture of war is being thrust upon us by our own government."

Active in the Vietnam Peace movement, McReynolds has lived for many years on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, NY. . He is currently on the Board of the Mutual Housing Association of Cooper Square, and on the Board of the A. J. Muste Memorial Institute.