The Interim Chair of the National Organizing Continuations Committee is Debra Reiger, of Sacramento, California. The announcement naming her was issued on August 17. The National Organizing Continuations Committee intends to build a new national political party of the left, somewhat loosely based on the Peace & Freedom Party of California. The new party will not necessarily have the name “Peace & Freedom”. Reiger is the north state organizer for the California Peace & Freedom Party. For further information contact her at debra.reiger@earthlink.net, or (916) 698-8131.

Various Rhode Island town clerks have now determined that the Moderate Party has enough valid signatures to be a qualified party for 2010. UPDATE: see this newspaper story, covering the Moderate Party’s achievement. The Moderate Party is the first party in history to qualify itself by petition in Rhode Island. The party petition procedure has only existed since 1994. In the past, the Green Party and the Reform Party and the Cool Moose Party have also been qualified parties in Rhode Island, but they got that status by running an independent candidate (with party label) for President or Governor and getting 5% of the vote for that candidate.

A year ago, a group of Tulsa, Oklahoma voters submitted an initiative petition, hoping to get a public vote on their idea for converting Tulsa elections from partisan elections to non-partisan elections. Tulsa is one of the few cities in Oklahoma that uses partisan city elections. On August 11, John Eagleton, an incumbent city councilmember, challenged the petition. See this story.