by Hillary Kane

Last year, the Green Party lost a valued member and a good friend. After a short battle with cancer, Carol McLean, then recording secretary of the Green Party of Philadelphia, passed away on March 8, 2013. 

Carol had been an active member of GPOP for many years, serving the party and its many campaigns valiantly.  I came to know Carol best during Hugh Giordano's 2010 campaign for State Representative.  During that race, Carol, and her husband Chris, also a long-time Green, became very active members of Hugh's campaign committee.  They opened their home to regular campaign meetings, helped planned events and fundraisers, and generated enthusiasm and support for Hugh's campaign. 

After the race, Carol became active in GPOP, bringing her time and talents to the party organization while at the same time staying active in campaigns, particularly Cheri Honkala's 2011 Sherriff's race and the 2012 Stein/Honkala Presidential run.  Carol was the type of person you were happy to see at an event or a meeting because of her warmth and generosity of spirit.  She was truly dedicated to the Green Party, and seemed to rise above the personalities and squabbling that sometimes plague us.  She has truly been missed this past year and I know we all look forward to creating a new fund of some kind to properly honor her legacy.