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Ross defies exclusion, wins applause at environment forum
Wednesday, July 12— The sponsors had decided she didn't merit a place at the 2006 Massachusetts Environmental Gubernatorial Forum. But Green-Rainbow candidate Grace Ross wouldn't take no for an answer.
Ross and her supporters spoke with hundreds of people passing through the hall into MIT's 1200-seat Kresge Auditorium. Rank-in-file members of the sponsoring organizations were surprised to hear that she had been excluded.
Green-Rainbow activists were told not to pass out campaign literature and were threatened with physical removal for holding a banner outside a room where reporters were gathering for a press conference called by the Ross campaign.
At the last minute, forum officials relented. A wave of applause greeted Ross as she walked onto the stage at ten past seven. When Democrat front-runner Deval Patrick came out two minutes later, he went over to Ross, apparently congratulating her for winning a place at the table.
Almost every seat was taken in the big auditorium. Republican Kerry Healy and Democrat Tom Reilly did not attend.
The sponsors promise that hard copy, audio and video transcripts of the forum will be available.
The four chief sponsors of the forum were Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters (MLEV), Appalachian Mountain Club, the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the Sierra Club. The event was promoted as a "chance to find out where the gubernatorial candidates stand on conservation issues that are important to you."
Ross and her campaign team had been discussing and protesting with the organizers in the days leading up to the forum. But the sponsors had refused to budge.
"This forum is too important for the Green-Rainbow Party to tolerate this," said Ross campaign co-chair Melissa Harrell on Monday. "I'm not going to get into the outrageousness of this exclusion. I think we're all clear that this is just not tolerable."