Green Party Watch

With the late addition of Roseanne Barr to the race, we are now looking at a four way Green Party Presidential race.

The Green Party nominates its Presidential slate at the Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC) in Baltimore, July 12-15, 2012. Delegates to the Green Party’s PNC are elected by the various State Green Parties and Caucuses. The exact number of Delegates and the distribution of them among the states and caucuses has not been determined since the last proposal on the matter was rejected in October 2011.

Although some State Parties will have state run primaries, namely Arizona (Feb. 28), Massachusetts (Mar. 6), DC-Statehood (Apr. 3), and California (June 5), most state parties and caucuses will elect their delegates at state conventions. If you don’t know when and where your state party’s convention is, go here, find your state, and find out.

Here are the candidates:

Kent Mesplay – Dr. Kent Mesplay is an air quality inspector in San Diego County. Dr. Mesplay has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. He was born in Papua New Guinea, raised there for the first 10 years of his life. He identifies as 1/16th Blackfoot, and has a strong identification with indigenous peoples and their struggles around the world. Environmental issues and working towards sustainable, localized communities is at the core of Mesplay’s Campaign.

“Sustainability is Security. Humanity must do everything possible to stabilize the climate. Climate change is a public health and safety issue of epic proportions. It has been called the World War III of our time. Cutting way back on carbon emissions is a key step, requiring a change in our lifestyle as U.S. citizens. Scientifically, there is no debate that this is a real issue, that human behavior affects the climate, and that public policy and private action must be geared toward recognizing and correcting the problem.”

Dr. Mesplay previously sought the Green Party nomination in 2004 and 2008.

Jill Stein – Dr. Jill Stein is a mother, housewife, physician, longtime teacher of internal medicine, and pioneering environmental-health advocate. She was the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party’s candidate for Governor in 2002 and in 2010, and ran for Massachusetts Secretary of State in 2006 and picked up 350,000 votes. She has twice been elected to town meeting in Lexington, Massachusetts. Jill Stein has built a strong campaign team, led by former Green Party co-chair Ben Manski, that has hired on three staff and raised over $40,000 through mid-January. Jill’s campaign has already committed staff to national ballot access, and Dr. Stein has campaigned so far in California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia, DC, Massachusetts and Delaware. She has spoken at Occupy Wall Street events from Dover to Sacramento. The “Green New Deal” is at the center of the Stein Campaign. In her words:

“First, we will guarantee the economic rights of all Americans, beginning with the right to a job at a living wage for every American willing and able to work. Second, we will transition to a sustainable, green economy for the 21st century, by adopting green technologies and sustainable production. Third, we will reboot and reprogram the financial sector so that it serves everyday people and our communities, and not the other way around. Fourth, we will protect these gains by expanding and strengthening our democracy so that our government and our economy finally serve We the People.”

Harley Mikkelson – Harley Mikkelson is retired from a 26 year career with the Michigan Departments of Community Health, Education, and Human Services. He graduated from Michigan State University, served in the U. S. Army and spent one year in South Vietnam. He was an active American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and United Auto Workers (UAW) member, and he has held several union offices. Labor issues are at the core of his platform:

“It is the working class perspective I hope to bring to this race. I do not want the Green Party to be the party of a small group of left wing intellectuals. I want to represent people who shop at Walmart as well as Macy’s. I want to represent working people such as teachers, factory workers, farmers, government employees, health care workers, etc…”

Harley Mikkelson has not filed with the FEC to date.

Roseanne Barr – Comedian, Actress, and Author Roseanne Barr first announced her intent to run for President on the Green “Tea” Party ticket last summer, and made her intent to seek the Green Party nomination official in the last week. Her late entry into the race has prevented her from appearing on primary ballots in California, Arizona, Massachusetts and DC. Roseanne Barr may be more commonly known as a comedian, but she has been an outspoken social justice advocate for decades.

“Both the Democratic and Republican parties are bought and paid for by corporate America and cater to the needs of the highest bidder as opposed to the people they claim to represent. I cannot be bought. I have been a tireless advocate of Occupy Wall Street since Day 1 when I delivered my campaign speech in Liberty Plaza on September 17th, 2011.”

She supported the 2008 Green Party slate of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, and supported Cindy Sheehan’s 2010 congressional run against Democrat Nancy Pelosi. Ms. Barr lives in Southern California. You can find out more about Roseanne Barr at her personal website, Roseanneworld.

Additionally, in Arizona, which has very open ballot access laws for Presidential Primaries, six candidates will appear on their ballot. Besides Jill Stein and Kent Mesplay, on the ballot will be Gary Swing, who is also a Congressional Candidate in Colorado, and three Arizonans: Gerald Davis, Michael Oatman, and Richard Grayson. Grayson was a candidate for Congress in 2010,
but was embroiled in a controversy with the Arizona Green Party, which had identified him as a “sham” candidate.

Green Party Watch will be providing regular updates to the Green Party Presidential nomination news section as we hear it.

We will also be posting a Presidential Poll on Wednesday February 1.