Green Party Watch

In Portland, Maine’s largest city, the city’s first mayoral election in decades features two candidates from the Green Independent Party: former State House member John Eder and City Councilor David Marshall. Both have been featured recently in the Portland Press Herald.

In his interview, Eder said that affordable housing would be the central issue in his administration:

“We’re on the verge of the creative economy toppling the artists and workers who helped make Portland become what it is,” he said. “We can’t lose those people.”

Marshall pointed to a record of accomplishment in five years on the council and presented his plan:

Marshall’s five-point platform includes investing in the city’s school facilities, converting homes and businesses from oil to alternative fuels, and creating a streetcar line.

Those programs would cost a significant amount up front, as some opponents have pointed out. Marshall calls them “investments.” He points to a record of saving the city money.

The election will be conducted using instant runoff voting, which Green Anna Trevorrow played a key role in enacting as a member of Portland’s charter commission. Ben Chipman, an independent State House member who is closely aligned with the Greens, is also quoted in the article about Marshall.

Despite having a number of promising campaigns for state legislature in various states, Greens fell short of victory in every race – a few by painfully close margins. However, one former Green running for state legislature as an independent in Maine did win.

In Maine, Fred Horch of Brunswick finished with 34% in District 66, just 4 points (or 200 votes) behind the victorious Democrat. Anna Trevorrow finished 2nd with 31% in District 120, and Seth Berner finished 2nd with 28% in District 115.

In Massachusetts, Mark Miller of Pittsfield finished with 45% in a 2-way race in the 3rd Berkshire District.

In Wisconsin, Ben Manski finished with 31% behind Democrat Brett Hulsey, who had 49%. While Manski did better among voters who designated a candidate in the race, straight-ticket Democratic votes gave Hulsey the edge.

In Illinois, Jeremy Karpen finished with 35% to 65% for Democratic incumbent Toni Berrios.

In Pennsylvania, Hugh Giordano finished with 18% in a 3-way race.

In Maine, independent Ben Chipman won House District 119 with 54% of the vote. Chipman previously worked as an aide to John Eder, who became the second US Green to be elected to a state legislature in 2002. Chipman has also run on the Green Party line in previous campaigns. While not technically elected on the Green Party line, Chipman will no doubt be a voice for Green values in the Maine State House.

Tuesday’s primary election in Maine featured two contested Green primaries for state legislature, both of them in Portland. In District 119, Christian McNeil received 57 percent of the vote in his race against Kris Eckhardt. In District 120, Anna Trevorrow received 91 percent of the vote in her race against Charles Bragdon.

All 5 ballot questions, including four bond issues and repeal of a law that would lower income taxes while raising sales taxes, were passed. The Maine Green Independent Party had supported a yes vote on all five.

The Maine Green Independent Party has put out a Green voter guide for 2010 elections, which advocates voting Yes on all 5 ballot questions. The June primary will also feature 2 contested Green primaries for state representative: between Christian McNeil and Kris Eckhardt in District 119, and between Charles Bragdon and Anna Trevorrow in District 120. Read on for details about the ballot questions. read more »

From GreenChange.org:

Introducing 8 Young Greens to Watch: 8 young candidates who are running hard to bring our values into the halls of power. With your help, 2010 can be a breakthrough year for the Green movement from Maine to California.

At Green Change we’re committed to connecting you with candidates who share your Green values. And we’re passionate about inspiring young people to get active in the Green movement to transform politics in America.

Read about these 8 young Greens to watch, then spread the word!

LeAlan Jones gained international acclaim at age 13 for his work on the documentary “Ghetto Life 101″, a portrayal of life on Chicago’s south side. LeAlan is running for US Senate to work for single-payer health care, quality universal education, an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, public campaign financing, green jobs and transportation, and much more.

Hugh Giordano is an award-winning union organizer in Philadelphia with a Master’s degree in Legal and Ethical Studies. Hugh is running for Pennsylvania State House to work for green jobs, quality education, single-payer health care, workers’ rights and more.

Cynthia Santiago of Los Angeles is a law student and an activist for environmental justice for low-income communities. Cynthia is running for California State Assembly to work for environmental justice, youth violence prevention, sustainable development and investing in education instead of incarceration.

Dan Craigie of Minneapolis served four years as a Navy technician before working his way to a Master’s degree in public policy. Dan is running for Minnesota State House to work for renewable energy, single-payer health care, environmental protection, equal rights and more.

Anna Trevorrow was elected in 2009 to serve on the City Charter Commission in Portland, Maine, where she advocated instant runoff voting and other reforms. Anna is running for Maine State House to work for progressive tax reforms, living wage, single-payer health care, greater transportation choice and more.

Alberto Bocanegra is a Chicago community organizer who has been active in efforts for immigration reform and affordable housing. Alberto is running for Alderman to fight Chicago’s notorious corruption and ensure equal rights for underprivileged communities.

Erin Cianchette is a music teacher, peace and environmental activist, and graduate student in public policy and non-profit management from Cumberland, Maine. Erin is running for Maine State House to work for renewable energy, green job creation, single-payer health care, equal rights for all, and more.

Jeremy Karpen of Chicago is an anti-violence counselor and therapist for troubled youth. Jeremy is running for Illinois State House to work for single-payer health care, mass transit, affordable housing, quality public education, and political reforms to clean up Illinois’ notoriously corrupt politics.

You can help these young Greens build momentum by giving them a contribution and sharing this page with your friends and family.

Read and share the original post at GreenChange.org.

Three bits of good news for the Maine Green Independent Party:

According to a story at Independent Political Report about changes in party registration numbers since 2008, the Maine Greens have seen substantial growth in the last 1.5 years:

…in Maine the only state-recognized minor party is the Green Party, which has seen an increase of 8,790 or 34.1% since the 2008 presidential election.

The Maine Greens’ website announces the opening of a new office in Portland, and the election of a new steering committee:

Progressive politics in Maine has a new home. The MGIP announces its new office located in the heart of downtown Portland’s Government district.

As reported yesterday, Maine Green Anna Trevorrow was hoping to raise $500 from supporters. She called today to let me know that her goal was reached, with $2 to spare. Because Maine’s Clean Elections law limits how much a candidate can raise…in this case, $500, Trevorrow is no longer taking donations. Congratulations are due her and her supporters, some of whom came from us here at Green Party Watch.

In a message to supporters at Facebook, Maine Green Independent Party chair Anna Trevorrow issued an appeal for donations to her campaign. Please donate to her campaign here. EDITOR’S NOTE…this link has been disabled, as Trevorrow has raised all the money she is allowed to raise by state law.

Dear Friends,

As you may have heard by now, I am running for State House Representative in district 120, which represents Portland’s East End and Downtown peninsula neighborhoods. Today, I completed verification of 67, $5 qualifying contributions to the Maine Clean Election Fund. This means that I will qualify for Maine’s public campaign funding system, which levels the playing field for all candidates, and keeps private interest dollars out of campaigns.

NOW is the ONLY OPPORTUNITY for me to raise money (up to $500) from friends like you. Tomorrow (4/21/2010) is the deadline for raising this “seed” money. I am working hard this evening to raise some last minute funds to pay for sign materials to give me the edge in visibility at this early stage in the race.

Please consider making an online contribution to my campaign BEFORE the end of the day TOMORROW by clicking the donate button on this link:

www.trevorrow4tomorrow.blogspot.com

And, check out my campaign website at www.AnnaTrevorrow.org

Sincerely,

Anna

Maine’s Voter Owned Elections will only permit her campaign to raise a total of $500 in this last day. Any donations over $500 total will be returned to the contributor. Don’t let that be an excuse for not giving! Just think of it as a donation that might come back to you some day.

Trevorrow is an elected member of Portland’s Charter Commission, and will be the second Green elected to Maine’s legislature.

AUGUSTA- On Monday, March 15th, the Green Independent Party of Maine turned in signatures to qualify 18 legislative candidates throughout the state, the second highest total in 12 years of holding official ballot status.

“We made legislative recruitment a top priority this year. With sweeping changes in electoral reform that came out of Augusta last year, we no longer need the governor’s race to keep party status. We turned our resources toward legislative seats, where we have better opportunity for success,” said Anna Trevorrow, Chair of the state Green Independent Party.

The party has nearly doubled its number of qualified candidates from 2008, and has expanded its geographic outreach. The Greens have qualified 15 candidates for State House and 3 for State Senate.

“This year we are running a great slate of candidates from York to Hancock County and some of them have excellent chances to win, running in open seats where the incumbent is term-limited,” said Ben Chipman, Candidate Coordinator for the state party and former Legislative Aide for John Eder, a Green who served in the State House from 2002-2006. read more »

Anthony Zeli is running for school board in Portland, Maine. According to a post by Anna Trevorrow at Facebook, he has turned in the required signatures and a campaign kick-off party is planned for September 5th. Full details are behind the fold.
read more »

Dan Jenkins and Anna Trevorrow are both running for seats on the Portland City Charter Commission, a group to be elected to evaluate and restructure government in that city.

Trevorrow’s main issues include:
1. Move from an appointed to an elected Mayor
2. Create greater neighborhood representation by examining districts and at-large vs. district seats
3. Attain greater accountability for City Hall officials

Ben Chipman is also running for a seat on the commission, focusing on small districts for city races to avoid the impact money can have on a race covering a large number of voters.