Green Party Watch

MLive reports:

The Green Party of Michigan has scheduled its state membership meeting this weekend in Bay City, and several public panel discussions are on the agenda.

The party is one of only five in the state with guaranteed ballot access. Anyone who might be interested in running for office as a Green is encouraged to attend Saturday’s session, which is geared toward party business. read more »

From the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party:

The State Committee of the Green Rainbow Party approved a proposal for the formation of a Strategic Planning Working Group at the October 22nd quarterly meeting held in Amherst, Mass. We are pleased to present to you the initial findings in this document.

We believe strongly that the content of this strategic plan suggests a unique template for growing the Green-Rainbow Party.  It includes a consideration of historical approaches, discusses past failures, highlights successes, and puts forth possible solutions that could result in enormous growth in 2012.  Indeed, without growth, we have no power.  We hope all GRP members and leaders will devote attention to and thoughtful contemplation of its contents.

Read the draft strategic plan at the MA Green-Rainbow Party website.

UPDATE: Here are caucus results posted on the Green Party of Minnesota facebook page:

Minus one caucus reporting, here are the results of Tuesday’s straw poll:

Jill Stein, 92 votes
Roseanne Barr, 26 votes
Kent Mesplay, 22 votes
Harvey Mikkelson, 11 votes
No candidate, 9 votes
David Cobb, 2 votes
Ralph Nader, 2 votes
Winona LaDuke, 1 vote

The Green Party of Minnesota held Caucuses yesterday (Tuesday Feb. 7), and as of this afternoon there has been no official Caucus results released.

However, based on very unofficial (and anecdotal) comments on various Facebook pages, including the GP of MN page, it appears that Jill Stein won a number of the individual caucuses.

Green comments on Facebook include Jill Stein winning Washington County, North and South Minneapolis, and winning 3 to 1 in the 4th CD District in St. Paul, and another report indicates Stein splitting 50/50 with Roseanne Barr in another St. Paul Caucus.

Again, these are all UNOFFICIAL, we acknowledge that, but in lieu of an official media release or report on the Caucus results we felt like reporting *whatever* we could find.  The only msm news story we have found post-Caucus is from the Brainerd Dispatch which reports that two Greens showed up for their Caucus, but gave no Presidential results. From Facebook accounts, there were more Greens at other Caucus locations.

If you have any information about Green Party of Minnesota Caucus results we encourage you to post them here in the comments.

The Minnesota Green Party is holding caucuses on Tuesday, February 7th. The caucuses will make decisions about candidates for 2012 elections, including presidential candidates. Here is the list of caucuses from the GPMN website:

According to Ballot Access News, the Green Party and Constitution Party in Tennessee have won access to the Ballot in Tennessee via lawsuit:

On February 3, U.S. District Court Judge William J. Haynes invalidated Tennessee’s new ballot access law for minor parties. The case is Green Party of Tennessee and Constitution Party of Tennessee v Hargett, 3:11-00692. The decision is 90 pages. It strikes down the early April petition deadline, and also strikes down the 40,029 signature petition requirement. And, it says that it is unconstitutional to force minor parties to nominate by primary, at least in the context of an open primary state that doesn’t have party registration. It strikes down the 2011 law that reserves the best positions on the ballot for the two major parties.

The decision also puts the Constitution and Green Parties on the 2012 ballot, based on the evidence that in the recent past, both parties did collect several thousand signatures on petitions to get on the Tennessee ballot.

This is very big for the Green Party, which would have had a very difficult time getting on the Tennessee ballot if the new ballot access law remained in place.

Marcy Winograd, a well-known LA progressive who recently joined the California Green Party, on Monday guest-hosted the KPFK radio show Connect the Dots. One of her guests was Laura Wells, the California Green Party’s 2010 gubernatorial candidate. Listen to the January 30th episode of Connect the Dots with Marcy Winograd and Laura Wells at KPFK.

Marcy Winograd has also outlined her strategic vision for the California Green Party in an article at OpEdNews entitled “From Blue to Green: Power to the Cities!”

Having recently launched a redesigned website and statewide voter registration drive, the California Green Party is planning a money bloom for Friday, February 4th to help the party meet its goals. From the Free-Independent Sun: read more »

From the New York Green Party:

A Green Party of NY State Committee meeting will be held Saturday, Jan. 28, in Rensselaer, NY, at the First Presbyterian Church, 34 Broadway. All enrolled Green Party members are welcome to attend and will have a chance to address the State Committee members during the morning enrollee speak out. Contact chair@gpny.org for more information. (Read more for agenda and directions.) read more »

Hat tip to Independent Political Report for this news:

Ballot Access News reports that Marcy Winograd has changed her registration to the Green Party. Winograd challenged Democratic Congressmember Jane Harman in Democratic primaries, receiving 37.5% in 2006 and 41% in 2010 (she also ran in a 2011 special election). (Read more at Independent Political Report)

Marcy Winograd recently took part in a radio debate with a Progressive Democrats of America leader on the subject of whether progressives should leave the Democratic Party. Listen to the debate on the January 16th episode of Connect the Dots with Lila Garrett at KPFK.

The New Hampshire Green Party, which has lain dormant for several years, has recently been reactivated thanks to the efforts of Green organizers in the state. The party has also rolled out a new website at gpnh.org. The next meeting of the Green Party of NH will take place on Wednesday, January 18th from 10am-12pm at Keene Public Library in Keene, NH. For more information or to get involved, check out the new New Hampshire Green Party website.

Arizona’s current ballot access laws make it extremely easy to get on the Presidential Primary ballot – A notarized declaration of intent from the candidate. Consequently there are 23 Republicans on the Republican Primary ballot, and six Greens on the Green Party ballot.

The Primary will be held on February 28.

The six Greens include Kent Mesplay (CA), Jill Stein (MA), Gary Swing (CO), and three Arizonans: Gerald Davis, Michael Oatman, and Richard Grayson.

While Kent Mesplay and Jill Stein are running for the Presidential nomination nationally, Gary Swing is a candidate for the House of Representatives in Colorado’s first district.

Noticeably absent is a third National candidate, Harley Mikkelson of Michigan.

The Arizona primary results will determine the allocation of Delegates from Arizona to the Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention in Baltimore, MD in July. Arizona’s Delegates will be assigned proportional to each candidate’s results at the polls.

Posted at the Green Party of Oklahoma:

The Green Party of Oklahoma will be filing suit in February against the state of Oklahoma, to challenge the state’s ultra-restrictive ballot access laws.

Oklahoma was the only state in the union to allow only two choices for President in 2004 and 2008. Without a change in the law, this sordid history will repeat itself in 2012.

If you are an registered Oklahoma voter who would like to be a potential plaintiff in this case, please contact attorney James M. Branum.

We are also looking for donations to help fund the cost of litigation. Donations can be sent directly to the attorney with a credit or debit card via paypal by clicking here. Donations received will pay for the availability retainer, legal fees and costs of litigation.

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

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 »

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.