Green Party Watch

Global Greens will hold its third international conference this year in Dakar, Senegal, from March 29th to April 1st. From the Global Greens website:

Greens from around the world are warmly invited to join us for Global Greens Congress 2012 in Dakar, Senegal, from 29 March to 1 April 2012.  Pre-registration is now open.  If you’re considering coming to Congress you can sign up to recieve all the latest information and announcements about Dakar 2012.  Members of the Global Green family are also invited to submit proposals in preparation for the Congress. (Read more)

Global Young Greens will also be holding a congress in the preceding days, from March 27th to March 29th. Check out the Global Young Greens website for more information about the congress and how to register.

The California Green Party held a statewide grassroots organizing conference call on January 9th in order to register 100,000 new Greens by Election Day 2012.

This is similar to the efforts by the state party back in 1990/1991 that officially placed the party on the ballot on January 1st, 1992.

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

The first training session for all Green Party activists will take place on February 4th, 2012 from 10:30am-2pm. Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA.

The trainer is the only person in the United States who has registered 100,000 Greens. More details on our very special trainer soon.

Space is limited to 40 people, but PLEASE INVITE YOUR FRIENDS.

1030am -1100am: How to register voters on the streets
1130am -1:00pm: Voter registration on the streets of Oakland and Berkeley
100pm -1:30pm: How to organize information and process registration materials
1:30pm -2:00pm: How to train and coordinate voter registration volunteers in your county

Learn more, questions, or housing: Contact Marnie at 415.259.7121 or marnie@cagreens.org.

To RSVP: http://cagreens.nationbuilder.com/voter_registration_training

Here are some excerpts regarding the founding of the California Green Party

The Green Party of California (GPCA) was founded on February 4th, 1990. It achieved ballot status as of January 1st, 1992. It has maintained ballot status ever since.

The Founding Meeting (February 1990)

The founding meeting of the GPCA occurred on February 4th 1990, at Cal State Sacramento. Approximately 65 Green delegates and observers from 30 Green locals gathered from across California and debated whether to start a new political party. The meeting was co-facilitated by Mike Feinstein (Santa Monica, Westside Greens) and Mindy Lorenz (Oxnard, Santa Clara River Greens).

The Ballot Drive (January 1990 – December 1991)

To qualify for an ongoing place on the ballot, California Greens needed to gather a number of registrants equal to 1% of the number of people who had last voted for Governor (in 1988) – that number amounted to 78,992.

By December 1st 1991, registration had reached 60,000 and the goal was near. Then a large, last minute large donation came in that would help pay to hire some professional registration gatherers. This spurred Greens on even more furiously, with the added confidence that the needed total would be achieved. After registering 60,000 people in the preceding 23 months, Greens registered 40,000+ people in December to ‘go over the top’ and reach 103,903, securing a place on the ballot for the GPCA. About 65,000 came from Northern California, evidencing the strength of Hoffman and the Q Group’s efforts there, as well as reflecting the strength of the Green movement in Northern California.

The complete story can be found here http://www.cagreens.org/history/founding

The Green Party of California is receiving a higher concentration of donations since the inception of its new website and donation link, which can be found here. https://cagreens.nationbuilder.com/donate

You also have the option of publishing your donation on the website, letting other people know that you contributed.

The Greens in California are undertaking a monumental effort to register 100,000 new Greens by the end of the 2012 election year.

From the New York Green Party:

Governor Cuomo’s agenda for 2012 is designed to maintain the power and wealth of the 1%, promoting austerity rather than prosperity for the vast majority of New Yorkers.

“If we follow Governor Cuomo, the richest 1% of New Yorkers will still receive 34% of the state income. The janitor at Trump Tower will still pay a higher rate of state and local taxes than Donald Trump and Mike Bloomberg. The state Capitol will remain a source of corruption. The minimum wage will remain a poverty wage and hydrofracking for natural gas will harm our environment and health,” said state co-chair Howie Hawkins. read more »

Dr. Jill Stein, who is seeking the Green Party nomination for President of the US, intends to follow President Obama’s January 24 State of the Union with her own “People’s State of the Union” on January 25:

On Wednesday, January 25th, at 8:30pm Eastern, we invite you to participate in The People’s State of the Union: A Green New Deal for America. You’ll hear a realism about America’s situation –and the ways to overcome it– that Wall Street an the Washington establishment don’t want you talking about. We can have an economy that provides jobs for everyone without depressing wages or destroying the environment. We can get Wall Street off our backs and win control of our lives and common future.

Through this special online broadcast, you will hear presidential candidate Jill Stein describe the Green New Deal that can reclaim our future and fulfill the promise of America. Lines will be open for your questions and ideas. All you need is an internet connection and a computer.

Here’s another idea: Host a People’s State of the Union House Party. Use the occasion to share some good news. Your vision for people, peace and the planet finally has a political voice! So invite friends to come listen, celebrate, and consider ways to strengthen our voices in the coming year.

* If you’d like help publicizing the party, just register your house party here: http://www.jillstein.org/register_house_party
* And if you want some ideas on how to organize a super house party, read this: http://www.jillstein.org/how_to_host_house_party

What’s most important is that on Wednesday evening, January 25th, you join us. Whether that’s by your lonesome, with a few friends, or with a house filled with people is up to you. Let’s make 2012 a transition year for America and the world.

Audrey Clement is a co-chair of the Green Party (US) Steering Committee and a tireless petitioner – she has traveled around the country gathering signatures to get the Green Party on the ballot in states such as Arkansas, Virginia, and Maryland among others. She herself ran for County Board in Arliington, Virginia last fall. Now she is running in a special election to fill a vacancy on the County Board. From the Sun-Gazette:

Audrey Clement has made it official, formalizing a bid to run under the Green Party banner in the March 27 County Board special election.

Clement was busy collecting petition signatures at the Jan. 2 County Board organizational meeting. Virginia does not recognize the Green Party as an official political party for ballot purposes, so those running for office as a Green must submit paperwork as an independent to get onto the ballot.

Clement made her first bid for elected office in the November 2011 general election, trailing Democrats Walter Tejada and Mary Hynes.

“Arlington is a great place to live. But the Arlington County Board is out of touch with voters on key issues like development, escalating rents, high taxes and expensive projects that county residents don’t want or need,” Clement says in campaign literature. “The result: a bloated budget, deteriorating public services and lack of citizen input on decisions that affect us all.”

The March 27 special election was called to pick a successor to Barbara Favola, who was elected to the state Senate. Democrats will choose their nominee in a party caucus later in the month. Republicans continue to search for a candidate.

Better late than never, we’ve put together the following Top 10 Green Party stories, taken from a combination of hits on Green Party Watch and other criteria to build a summary of the year. We have modeled this after our Top 10 Green Party Stories for 2010. We are well aware that there were many other stories we could have included here, feel welcome to include your own in the comments. We sincerely hope that 2012 will have plenty of Green Party to Watch!

March 2011 – German Greens Historic Victory

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition was defeated in Baden-Württemberg as support for the Greens surged to a record, putting the anti-nuclear party within reach of leading the state government. The opposition Greens took a record 24.2 percent, while the Social Democrats, which said they’ll rule with the Greens, won 23.1 percent. “There won’t just be a changing of the guard in Baden- Wuerttemberg, there will be a change of politics,” Greens national co-leader Claudia Roth told reporters in Berlin. Winfried Kretschmann was later named the new governor of Baden-Württemberg.

March 2011 – Alex White for Mayor of Rochester, NY

Small business owner Alex White ran a spirited campaign in a special election for Mayor of Rochester, NY, challenging the status quo of local politics. White ran on a “Platform of Hope“, which he says “…grows Rochester through jobs for all, more community involvement, greater transparency, community policing, and a public utility.” Ultimately White finished with 9% of the vote.

Later in the year Alex White ran for City Council, finishing with 11% of the vote.

April 2011 – Ed Shadid wins seat on Oklahoma City Council

After a long and particularly nasty campaign, Ed Shadid survived the negative smear campaign against him and won a seat on the Oklahoma City Council with over 60% of the vote. Shadid, a spinal surgeon, who ran as an Independent candidate for State Assembly last year with the backing of the Green Party, defeated Charles Swinton, a banker, and the PAC “Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum”, which spent over $100,000 in ads opposing Shadid, accusing him of being a socialist who wanted to legalize marijuana. Check out some of the negative attack ads here.

May 2011 – Elizabeth May First Green Party Member of Parliament in Canada

In the May 2 Federal Elections in Canada, Elizabeth May became the first Green Party candidate elected as a Member of Parliament. Preliminary results show that Elizabeth May won the May 2, 2011 election with 48.13% of the vote, defeating Conservative MP Gary Lunn (33.73%) and NDP candidate Edith Loring-Kuhanga (12.28%). Elizabeth May, 56, has been the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2006, vowing to raise the Green Party’s profile in Canada, particularly in the nationally televised debates. Although she was included in a debate several years ago, this election she was barred from the debate, which she used as a campaign issue in her campaign for MP representing Saanich-Gulf Islands on Vancouver Island.

July 2011 – Annual National Meeting in Alfred NY

The Green Party (US) Annual National Meeting was held in rural Alfred, NY, in conjunction with the biennial GreenFest. Among the speakers were leaders in the campaign to ban hydrofracking (hydraulic fracturing), an environmentally destructive and dangerous technique for accessing gas in the Marcellus Shale beneath Pennsylvania, New York, and other states. Also 2004 Presidential Candidate David Cobb, Philadelphia Sheriff candidate Cheri Honkala, Canadian MP Elizabeth May, and author David Korten addressed the Meeting.

September 2011 – Strong special elections showings by Mark Miller (MA) and Farheen Hakeem (MN)

In Massachusetts, Mark Miller ran a strong campaign for a vacancy in the State Legislature, finishing in second place of four candidates, just several hundred votes short of victory. Miller was endorsed by Planned Parenthood, Mass Alliance, and the UAW.

In Minnesota, Green Party (US) Steering Committee co-chair Farheen Hakeem ran for an open State Senate seat. Hakeem finished second with 22% to 68% for Democrat Jeff Hayden. Hakeem outpolled a Republican and an independent in the race.

November 2011 – “Poor Peoples Advocate” Cheri Honkala’s campaign for Sheriff of Philadelphia

Cheri Honkala announced her candidacy for Sheriff of Philadelphia on February 17, 2011, and ran a high-profile campaign that brought issues to the table that would never had been brought forward otherwise. She got good media, interviewed in Yes! & endorsed by NOW, interviewed on Press TV, the campaign made effective use of Youtube in promoting the campaign. Ultimately, in the 3-way race for sheriff, Cheri Honkala finished 3rd with over 10,000 votes for 6.6%.

November 2011 – Fall Elections

In November’s elections, Greens won local races in California, Colorado, and Connecticut. Tanya Ishikawa was elected to the Federal Heights City Council (Colorado) with 67.5% of the vote. Larry Bragman took first place in his race for City Council, receiving 43.88% of the vote. This will be Bragman’s third term as a Council Member. Additionally, Ryan O’Neil won his first term on the City Council, helping maintain a healthy Green Party presence in the Northern California City.

In other races of interest, Portland City Councilor David Marshall finished with 7.74% in Portland, Maine’s first IRV election for Mayor. In Philadelphia, Cheri Honkala received 6.56% of the vote in her effort to be elected Sheriff of Philadelphia. She ran on a “No Evictions” platform. Brian Rudnick, running for City Council, received 11.8% of the vote. In Syracuse, NY, Howie Hawkins received 48.15% of the vote, narrowly losing to Democrat Khalid Bey. In Toledo, Ohio, Anita Rios finished with 26% of the vote in her campaign for City Council, and in St. Paul, Bee Xiong received 42% in the first round of voting for a City Council seat, not enough to win.

December 2011 – Presidential Candidate field set

The Green Party field of Presidential Candidates fluctuated throughout 2011. Roseanne Barr jumped in and then out, Socialist Stewart Alexander jumped in and then out, but by the end of the year, three candidates are seeking the Green Party Nomination for President. Kent Mesplay (G-CA) was the first to officially declare his candidacy in June. Jill Stein (G-MA) officially entered the race in October. Harley Mikkelson (G-MI) entered the race in November.

Harley Mikkelson is retired from a 26 year career with the Michigan Departments of Community Health, Education, and Human Services. Mikkelson was the Michigan Green Party candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 and 2004, for the U.S. Senate in 2008, and Governor in 2010.

Kent Mesplay is an air quality inspector in San Diego, California. He sought the Green Party Presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.

Jill Stein is a physician and community health advocate who ran as the Green-Rainbow Party candidate governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010.

The 2012 Green Party Presidential Race will be followed closely right here at Green Party Watch.

December 2011 – 2011 Election Recap

With over 100 candidates across the United States, the Green Party candidates won 22 races, or 21% of the races they were in. The Green Party starts 2012 with 125 elected officeholders, 21 of which are partisan offices. A recap of the 2011 Election by former Green Party (US) Executive Director Brent McMillan.

MarketWatch.com reports:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — On Tuesday, January 3, representatives of the Libertarian Party and the Green Party will join the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT*) — a national coalition of major Muslim organizations — and other civil liberties group leaders at a news conference in Iowa to express their opposition to the unconstitutional nature of the National Defense Authorization Act’s detention provisions.

This news conference is intended to convey a broad-based public response to President Obama’s signing into law of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that authorizes the military to arrest and indefinitely detain American citizens suspected of terrorism without charge or trial.

See the details at MarketWatch.com.

Green Prophet has published a detailed article about the Egyptian Green Party:

Egypt’s green environmental party was founded 25 years ago for green and social change – long before the Arab Spring. The Green Party is working to show Egyptians and the Arab world the connection between their issues and the environment. read more »

Jill Stein’s Green Party campaign for president has been covered by Counterpunch in an article entitled “A Green New Deal?”:

The centerpiece of Stein’s plan is a commitment to end unemployment through direct federal action to create the jobs needed to end the “Bush/Obama recession,” she said in her Oct. 24 announcement release. Calling President Barack Obama’s jobs plan a “Wall Street-first approach” and “fundamentally misconceived,” she said it is too small and gives more money to the financial elite in hopes that they will decide to create jobs.

Read the full article at Counterpunch.

In other news, the Stein campaign has asked supporters to make suggestions for an upcoming redesign of JillStein.org:

We are beginning the process of redesigning our current website. We expect to continue to use NationBuilder as our underlying technology. Yet we also expect to have some flexibility in terms of what the website looks like, what tools it has, where various things are located on the website, etc..

We’d like to see your ideas. Pretend we’re starting with a blank slate, so criticisms of the current website won’t help. Please tell us what we should have on the new website: http://www.jillstein.org/website_suggestions read more »

As reported here in October, the Illinois Green Party has filed a lawsuit against the State Board of Elections over their interpretation of the “Established Party” statute. The Examiner (Chicago) has an excellent update on the status of the Illinois Green Party’s lawsuit for Ballot Access on behalf of Congressional Candidate Laurel Lambert Schmidt and others.

Some excerpts:

Laurel Lambert Schmidt will be traveling to Springfield (Illinois) on Tuesday, December 27th to file her 1315 petitions that she and about a dozen volunteers collected in the 3rd Congressional District to run again in the 2012 election in the same district, now redrawn. She only needed 600 petitions to be placed on the ballot as a member of the ILGP.

However, The Illinois Board of Election (ISBE) will likely not accept her petitions as an Illinois Green Party candidate this time, because the IBSE no longer recognizes the ILGP as an “established political party.” For Schmidt to gain ballot access for the 3rd Congressional district, she would now need 5000 signatures.

On the status of the lawsuit so far:

The ILGP had lost its first case in Cook County Circuit Court before Circuit Judge Edmund Ponce de Leon, who is also the Presiding Judge for the 4th Municipal District. The court cited the precedent of Vestrup v. DuPage County Election Commission, which was a 2002 case involving a Libertarian Party candidate.

The Illinois Green Party (ILGP) suffered another setback on Thursday in their bid to gain “ballot access” for several of its candidates statewide in Illinois. The First Judicial District Illinois Appellate Court (5th Division) ruled the Green Party cannot be on the March primary ballot in Illinois. The order to affirm an earlier lower court ruling was signed by Appellate Court Justices James R. Epstein, Joseph Gordon, Margaret Stanton McBride, and Nathaniel R. Howse Jr.

Bring it home, Andy Finko:

Andrew Finko is adamant about the cozy relationship between the court and the Democratic Party. “In Cook County, all the trial court and appellate court judges are Democrats and owe their jobs to the Democratic party that endorsed, promoted, and made it possible for them to be elected. Outsiders do not get elected to judge,” said Finko.

He added, “Regardless of the appearances, they all have an inherent, non-waivable conflict of interest when presiding over political cases. Whether directly and/or indirectly, they all want to help their team and keep their good relations with the party that gave them their jobs.”

I highly recommend reading the entire piece at The Examiner.

http://www.examiner.com/city-hall-in-chicago/it-s-not-easy-being-the-green-party-the-state-of-illinois

A last minute change in Ohio Election Law has Greens scrambling to meet a December 30 deadline for candidate petitions, a deadline that was in March until a state law changed that deadline last week.

According to WTOV:

Ohio’s county boards of election will be under a tight deadline to get ballots to overseas members of the military after the new filing deadline for some candidates.

The state’s elections chief directed the boards that the deadline for presidential and U.S. House candidates to file to get on the ballot is Dec. 30 under a law signed by Gov. John Kasich (KAY’-sik) on Thursday. Boards then have 22 days to put together military ballots to mail them out 45 days in advance of the March 6 primary, as required by Ohio law.

For Green Party candidates for President who want to be on the Ohio Primary Ballot in March, that means they now have 8 days to collect and submit 1,000 signatures in Ohio. Jill Stein’s campaign put out an urgent call for support:

We have just learned that we have eight days to stop political dirty tricks.

Ohio’s political establishment cut a deal last week. They changed the deadline for submitting signatures to get on the presidential primary ballot from March of next year to December 30th. This means that Ohio Greens have only eight days to get Jill Stein’s on the presidential primary ballot.

The Stein campaign is asking for donations so they can hire petition circulators in Ohio to work over the holidays, no easy task.

Arkansas

Meanwhile, Ballot Access News is reporting that the Arkansas Green Party has submitted 14,000 signatures this week for Full Ballot Access in 2012:

On December 20, the Arkansas Green Party submitted approximately 14,000 signatures, to gain a place on the 2012 ballot for all partisan office. 10,000 valid signatures are required. This is the fourth election year in a row in which the party has petitioned.

If the signatures clear challenges, the Green Party will be on the ballot in Arkansas yet again.

From Jill Stein for President: