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America’s new patriotic color: Green. So fresh. So stylish. So loved. Gone are the days when my favorite color was often aligned with socialist-leaning ideology, envy and greed.

Green has skyrocketed to mainstream popularity via the environmentally-friendly bandwagon, leaving everyone from Republicans to haut couture designers uttering buzzwords such as carbon neutral, eco-chic and Al Green—oops, I meant Al Gore.

Arnold Schwarzenegger used green for his run for California governor. And now Mayor Kip Holden has broken away from his usual blue and gold, which helped him win a state Senate seat in years past, for a younger, more modern green.

“People are wildly in love with it,” says Rannah Gray, who’s heading PR for Holden’s re-election.

Walking into the courthouse Wednesday morning, the first day of qualifying for the Oct. 4 election, it seemed like St. Patrick’s Day. I had hoped no one would pinch me for wearing my usual black. Every third person in the crowded hallway— TV camera guys, children, Lois Holden, new candidates—had on some shade of green, from emerald and yellow-green to olive and lime.

Among the Metro Council candidates using green for their pushcards and yard signs was Tara Wicker (pronounced with an “ä” as in father). Inspired by the Regions Bank advertisements, she decided to go with kiwi green. “Green’s reflective of a new beginning. It’s calming yet exciting, not offensive and ugly,” says Wicker, whose children were dolled up in green clothes.

Campaign strategists have warned against using green for yard signs because they blend too easily into the landscape, but Wicker thinks just the opposite. She believes her kiwi green signs will blend in wonderfully with flowers and gardens, a less tacky approach to manicured yards.

Green, however, doesn’t have to be camouflaged into earthy elements. Another council candidate, Donna Collins Lewis, is accentuating her campaign green with a vibrant yellow and orange, her late mother’s favorite colors. “Green is one of my favorite colors, besides black and white. It’s a fresh, eye-catching color, the color of the earth.”

And who doesn’t love Mother Earth? The red-white-and-blue signs may stick out after all this year. If you were running for office, which colors would you use for yard signs? Comment below.

Is there no one else?

Five more hours to go and Mayor Kip Holden remains unopposed for the Oct. 4 citywide elections. Metro Councilman Mike Walker is also unopposed so far. Is this the way it will be or are there people waiting until 4:55 p.m.? I was hoping at the very least that Wayne Carter would entertain us the next three months by running against Holden. See who’s qualifying here. Share what you know below.