The man who forced Jerry Brown into a run-off election for Mayor of Oakland in 2002 has announced he has changed his voter registration and joined the Green Party. Wilson Riles, Jr. served on the Oak-land City Council from 1979-91, followed by a decade as the Western Regional Coordinator of the American Friends Services Committee, a religious-based human rights organization. Riles emerged out of former-Congressman Ron Dellums' (D) camp and worked closely for many years with former Alameda County Supervisor John George (D). After George's death, Riles was Co-chair of the John George Democratic Club.

"Coming out of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, to the extent that there is one, and having played the game of the lesser of two evils, I've come to the conclusion that that won't get us anywhere. It's my responsibility as a citizen to vote for and support the party that most closely rep-resents my views, and that's the Green Party and it will never be the Democratic Party," said Riles, explaining why he made the move.