Richard Carroll jumps ship, joins Democrats
April 29, 2009 in State Party News
Richard Carroll, the only Green currently in a state legislature, has announced that he plans to leave the Green Party to become a member of the Democratic Party. The Associated Press has an article here and IPR has one one here. In addition there are articles at WXVT, Arkansas News, and The Arkansas Project.
GPW will attempt to reach Arkansas Green Party leaders and report more as more comes in.
anonymous said on April 29, 2009
Good. He was a most un-Green candidate from the start. Check out campaign finance records at
http://tinyurl.com/dgn8nk (just one of several reports), where he lists a number of contributions from PACs, union funds, and the RJR Reynolds tobacco company (!). I’m glad he left the Green Party before his campaign financing was exposed publicly and we would have had to ask him to leave the party ourselves.
PTK said on April 29, 2009
I am kind of shocked to see you GP folks to be happy about this. At first I thought y’all would be hurt by this.
anonymous said on April 29, 2009
I’m not happy that he betrayed Green Party principles by taking PAC and corporate money, including contributions from a destructive cigarette company. If I had to ignore that to be happy that he were still a Green or be sad that he isn’t, I would acting against my values. I wish that he were still a Green AND acted like one when it came to funding his campaign, but if I can’t have both I’ll be happy with neither.
PTK said on April 29, 2009
I understand how you guys fell, well you guys can be happy next time when u get a REAL Green to defeat him in the next election.
Nebraska Left said on April 29, 2009
Well, I think this shows that minor parties need to be careful who they choose to run for office. The ideal are those who are truly committed to building the party and not someone just trying to find a creative way to start their political career.
St. Fu said on April 29, 2009
Bullshit. Holding every Green to a narrowly defined dogma is ridiculous and a great way to have NO candidates. Carroll wasn’t a Green before this opportunity came along but he met Greens half way. He introduced good legislation into the Ark Legislature that was good for Greens. I thought Richard Carroll was a fine Green Elected, even if he wasn’t a Green at heart.
Sucks to see him change parties though.
Too bad Specter didn’t change from Republican to Green. That would have showed them!
Green Ferret said on April 30, 2009
“Too bad Specter didn’t change from Republican to Green.”
That’d be a lark, but I think we would’ve had to say No thanks.
I’m glad that Carroll introduced legislation aimed at making the rules for third parties fairer. However, it’s disappointing that after the Democrats torpedoed his ballot access bill – because it helps them by stifling the Greens, obviously – he went ahead and joined them anyway.
Oh well. Don’t mourn, organize, and all that. Give your energy and donations to Reverend Billy Talen – who most certainly will not leave the Greens after he’s elected mayor of NYC!
Gregg Jocoy said on April 30, 2009
More press reports:
Times Record Online
Fox 16
Ross Levin said on April 30, 2009
There’s nothing wrong with taking money from PACs, and be careful about saying where candidates got money – sometimes donors are listed by their employer, meaning that it could have just been a tobacco company employee that donated to him.
Also, it’s not like it affected his voting decisions. He was the deciding vote in the House on a public smoking ban in Arkansas.
I just hope that he continues to be sympathetic to the Green Party and listens to what they have to say to him (as long as they’re coherent…).
Jayne Lattka said on April 30, 2009
2nd Comments. It would have been Great! to see Arlen Specter join the Green Party.
Let’s thank Mr. and Mrs. Carroll for their service to the Green Party, and respectfully wish them well.
It’s all about putting Green Party candidates on the ballot.
local. state. federal.
The more Green Party candidates on the ballot, the more Green Party candidates get elected.
anonymous said on April 30, 2009
There is a wide variety of opinion among Greens, but there are two things that ALL Greens agree on: 1. Our Ten Key Values, and 2. not taking money from PACs and corporations. If anyone wants to correct me, please do so.
I don’t think individual donors are ever listed under their employer’s name. That was corporate contribution. We don’t know how contributions affect voting decisions, which is why we err on the side of not accepting their influence.
Eric Prindle said on May 1, 2009
Greens have differing opinions on most campaign finance matters. I, for one, think that a party should be fundamentally defined by its political positions. My concerns about Carroll have less to do with his campaign financing than with several of the positions (on abortion, prisons, NCLB, “workfare,” etc.) articulated here:
http://votesmart.org/npat.php?can_id=109695
Carroll himself deserves credit for not trying to hide his views on the issues, and it makes perfect sense that he has now joined a party that is more in line with the views he has articulated all along. This is a lesson in why the Green Party should nominate candidates who agree with our platform.
Gray Newman said on May 1, 2009
For several years I was the only Green elected official in NC and am still a member of the NCGP and a lifetime member of my local. Since the NCGP does not have ballot access in NC we can also register with a ballot approved party. I was first elected in 2002 running exclusively as a Green, it was a non partisan race but during that campaign I received more donations of both time and money from Democrats, my largest donor was the Democratic Women of Mecklenburg County. I rejoined the Dems in 2005 right before my re-election in 2006. The NCGP and my local were big helps in both of my campaigns especially during my first one when my father died two months before the election and I had to step back for a little while and I appreciate everything they did. I had Greens who drove three hours to work a poll on a rainy and cold day and they definetly helped get me elected. I won by 205 votes out of 144,000 cast that day.
The difference in support from running as a Green (2002) and running as a Dem (2006) was amazing. I was able to raise more money, got more publicity and was included in party litachure. In 2002 I asked many times for help from the graphic designers in the party to put together a professional looking handout, I ended up doing something myself and printing them on my printer at home.
If I want to get anything done, I have to be a Democrat also. I had to make a choice whether I wanted to sit on the sidelines with all my principles in tact or compromise some to help the people who need help the most.
One other point I would like to make is the fact that Greens need to step up to the plate and be willing to serve on appointed local boards and committees. My board has had openings through the years due to resignations and I have tried to get Greens to apply to it but no one has. Here is a chance to get experience governing with a board that has a $500,000 budget and serves 900,000 people. Here is a chance to prove Greens are good stewards of public money and can work with others but I have not had anyone volunteer. We administer local, state and federal programs, do education in the schools and offer assistance to homeowners, schools and churches on ways to reduce erosion and conserve water, a perfect place for a Green to serve.
Maybe this is a discussion that can be held at the ANC here in NC this summer.
Gregg Jocoy said on May 1, 2009
Eric,
Thanks for the link.
The decision to run Carroll was Arkansas’. They decide who is and who is not “Green enough” for Arkansas.
I appreciate your readership and comments, but I swear that I can’t remember you ever having anything positive to say. Is there anything about the Green Party that you like?
Gregg Jocoy said on May 1, 2009
Gray,
You attended precious few CAGP meetings, did not bother to tell the local when you decided to run for the CCC, did not bother to tell your local when you decided to run for co-chair, and never came to a stream clean-up as far as I can recall.
You accepted donations from your employer, a company involved in land development, and yes, I did stand in the cold for hours, and yes, the precinct I stood at provided you with your margin of victory, as many did no doubt.
You never thanked me. You stopped attending CAGP meetings immediately after election. You dissed the GP to your Democratic Party cronies, even going so far as to write that the Democratic Party needed to “watch” the McKinney supporters because they might draw votes from Obama.
How many executions has Obama commuted? When does Obama plan to shut down the School of the America’s?
You suggest that the Democratic Party’s organization and cash made you join the Democratic Party. I am sure that is so, but if those were your criteria, why did you ever get involved in the Green Party?
Some believe that you did/do so to report to the Democratic Party in hopes of currying favor. I tend to believe you are just an opportunist.
Gray Newman said on May 1, 2009
Greg – I am not sure where this venom is coming from. You seem to have a very selective memory. The CAGP and the NCGP were both advised that I planned on running for these positions and I attended several of the stream clean ups. As for not attending meetings, you might want to check the minutes again. I not only attended meetings but represented the Soil and Water Board at several Green Party events. I attended the national meetings in 2002, ’03, ’04, and ’07. I testified for the NCGP in Superior Court during their latest court case against NC and until I got laid off last Dec was a sustaining donor to the national party.
I am sure I can find posts where I thanked the members of our local after both my elections. Sorry if I didn’t send you a personal message.
The last person to run under the Green Party banner here in NC was Denny Best and that was in 2003. Why has no one stepped up and run for the 1000′s of non partisan races here?
My boss gave me $10.
Ronald Hardy said on May 1, 2009
Gray,
You are very correct about the boards and commissions. I and two other local greens serve on our city’s Energy & Environment Advisory Board. There are other boards where we could use Green perspectives, both in the city and with the County Government. This kind of “civic” service is experience, influence, and can build support for running for office in the future should one want to.
Eric,
Yes, Carroll is not the first pro-life Green to run for office. There are many folks who identify with the Green platform but are also pro-life. I believe they are typically alienated or driven from the Green Party based on this.
I personally am pro-choice and also want to grow the Green Party, and I try to be open to Greens with fundamental differences with key issues. I guess I try to focus on the common values, but it is often hard. I am friends with a Green who believes violence can be a valuable tool. I am friends with Greens who always vote Democrat at the top of the ticket. I state my position but without pushing them away. It ain’t easy, and I think each of us probably has a certain line or lines that we feel can’t be crossed. For some it is PAC contributions. For some it is a woman’s right to choose. For some it is a commitment to the principles they claim to carry.
I think the last, “commitment to the principles they claim to carry”, is my line that I don’t like to see Greens cross.
Eric Prindle said on May 2, 2009
I have been involved in the Green Party for almost a decade. I have put a lot of energy into the party in the past and have frankly not seen much come of it. It is true that I have reached a point where, while I am happy to continue to support many of the candidates who run under the Green banner, I am not very happy with the party as a whole. This is partially due to developments within the party and partly due to my own political development.
In any case, if “decentralization” means anything (and I increasingly doubt that it does, analytically), surely it does not mean that someone in Arkansas or Mexico or wherever can take an action that impacts the reputation of the Green Party worldwide (including my little corner of the world) and I can’t criticize it.
A party that is united by nothing other than a vague sense of political ethics, some easily malleable “values,” and a notion that to be united by anything more would be a violation of “decentralization” is not a party at all, just an attempt to create a new “big tent” electoral machine.
Ronald Hardy said on May 2, 2009
Eric,
I don’t believe people should be muzzled from criticizing what they don’t like. My comment was about my own personal struggles between being critical of a candidate’s positions versus supporting their campaign.
You keep doing what you are doing. You have great insight and always speak rationally when you speak up. No complaints here.
Third Party Revolution said on June 14, 2009
I always keep wondering to myself. Why did Richard switch to a party that will in a couple of years collapse? There is obviously no purpose to that.
Dave Schwab said on June 15, 2009
TPR – Richard was elected in a district that has been dominated by the Democrats in recent years. In several news stories, Democratic party officials openly said that if he stayed Green, they would support a challenge against him; whereas if he switched to Democrat, they would let him stay. To add to the pressure, the (anti)Democratic party killed his ballot-access and debate-access bills; so that if he ran as a Green in 2010, he would have to petition for a place on the ballot, and could possibly even be excluded from debates!
The last thing that Arkansas Democrats want is a successful Green Party. Richard Carroll no doubt knew that he would face a well-funded challenger next year unless he played ball with the Dems. Also, he didn’t exactly have a long history with the Greens; altho I think he is sympathetic to certain progressive viewpoints, he apparently wasn’t invested enough in the party to risk his re-election prospects.
I think Richard Carroll could still be a good ally for the Greens on many issues, including electoral reform. Also, no one can take away the fact that he was elected on the Green line to the Arkansas state legislature. I think we’re going to see a lot more good work from the Arkansas Greens.