Green Party Watch

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.

The Tucson Weekly reports:

Green Party candidate Gary Swing is ready to rumble with his fellow Green candidates on Arizona’s Feb. 28 presidential primary ballot. When Richard Grayson, a Green Party rival, declared himself a “favorite son” is the race, Swing begged to differ, firing off the following press release:

Richard Grayson, a 2010 Arizona Green Party candidate for US Representative, recently announced that he has filed as a candidate for the Arizona Green Party’s Presidential Preference Election on February 28. In his campaign announcement, Grayson stated: “I am happy to be Arizona’s favorite son candidate in the Green Party presidential primary.”

Gary Swing, a cultural events promoter from Denver who ran as a Colorado Green Party candidate for US Representative, has also filed as a candidate for the Arizona Green Party’s Presidential Preference Election, and hopes to challenge Grayson for the position of favorite son candidate. According to an impartial and scientific survey that the Swing campaign conducted of Tucson resident Mary Swing, 100% of the respondent indicated that Gary Swing is her “favorite son” among the candidates in the Arizona Green Party’s presidential primary. read more »

Mary DeCamp, Green Party candidate for Mayor of Tucson, Arizona, has her campaign headquarters in a tent at the Occupy Tucson camp. While some politicians might be talking the talk but living comfortably, DeCamp is days away from being evicted as her home is about to face foreclosure.

From Reuters:

(Reuters) – There is no bank of telephones at Mary DeCamp’s campaign headquarters, no volunteers eager to bring her message to the masses.

The Green Party candidate for mayor of Tucson, who is days away from losing her home to foreclosure, is flanked by fellow Occupy Tucson activists as she directs her long shot bid for public office from a borrowed tent in a local park.

“November 10th is my eviction date,” the aptly named candidate said cheerfully on Friday, while unpacking signs after police had pushed Occupy Tucson campers from one park to another a night earlier.

DeCamp could have saved her house, she said, and could have taken handouts from friends and family to keep her mortgage current. But she said she gave up after months of phone calls from the bank hounding her about late payments as she fell further behind.

“I just shut down,” she said.
read more »

In Arlington, Virginia, the Sun-Gazette reports that the Green Party is planning a November 2nd meeting to discuss get-out-the-vote strategy for Audrey Clement, who is running against 2 Democratic incumbents for Arlington County Board.

In Tucson, Arizona, the Daily Star reports that Tucson City Council candidate Beryl Baker is making a controversial local development project a major campaign issue.

And in New York City, Green Party member Steve Syrek talked to the New York Daily News about the Occupy Wall Street movement and his role at the Occupy Wall Street library.

Arizona Green Party candidate for Tucson Mayor Mary DeCamp has been on Arizona public television twice in recent weeks, for a personal interview as well as a three-way debate. In the interview, DeCamp discusses her candidacy as well as her impending home foreclosure. From the Tucson Citizen:

On Tuesday October 4 DeCamp announced at a press conference at City Hall that her 2 bedroom/1 bath home in Tucson is being foreclosed, & she faces eviction on November 10, 2 days after the General Election. Her home has been sold by the bank in a foreclosure sale to a foreign company. Apparently Mary purchased the home in 2007 but experienced a costly bicycling accident in 2009, and then her employment at the U of A was scaled back due to the economy, causing her to miss mortgage payments.

Watch the interview with Mary DeCamp and Tucson mayoral debate at Arizona Public Media.

In Tucson, AZ yesterday a primary for Mayor was held that saw two Greens on the ballot facing off for the right to go to the November General Election. According to Arizona Public Media:

The Green Party also had a primary in the Mayoral race. Mary DeCamp won that race with 312 votes, which amounts to 70.27 percent. She beat long time Green candidate Dave Croteau, who picked up 109 votes, or 24.55 percent of the vote.

Below is a 24 minute forum featuring both DeCamp and Croteau on Doctress Neutopia’s Lovolution Village TV show.

Green Party Watch had to take some time off, but we are back and playing catch up on some great stories out there.

Arizona

In Tucson Arizona, Democrat Jonathan Rothschild has no Democrats or Republicans running against him for Mayor because “…those potential candidates either got bounced from the ballot or withdrew from the race for mayor in the face of challenges to signatures on their nominating petitions.” according to Inside Tucson Business. There is the minor technicality of two Greens facing off in an August 30 Primary, with the winner facing Mr. Rothschild in November:

At this point Rothschild’s only challenge is going to come from a Green Party candidate, which also has the only primary race, between Dave Croteau and Mary DeKamp. But fewer than 1 percent of voters are registered in the Green Party so it would quite the feat if either were to make a serious challenge in the November election.

Here is another article about the Green Party primary from the Tucson Citizen:

Her entry into the race could lead to a Green Party primary on August 30, as fellow Green Party candidate Dave Croteau entered the race a few weeks ago. He ran for Mayor before in 2007 against Mayor Bob Walkup and got 28.08% of the vote compared to Mayor Walkup’s 71.20 %. There are 636 registered Greens in the City of Tucson. (Another Green candidate Jon McLean entered this race for a few months but withdrew in May due to problems with his voter registration, and endorsed Republican Shaun McClusky.)

New York

In Rochester, New York, Alex White has announced he will seek a seat on the City Council after his failed bid for Mayor in March where he picked up 9% of the vote.

Massachusetts

In 2010 Mark Miller picked up 45% of the vote in a two way race for a State Legislative seat representing the 3rd Berkshire District. The Democrat that beat him has been appointed to a higher position, and Miller is back in the race for a special election to fill the vacancy. Miller will be running on the Green Rainbow Party ticket.

Miller, a former editor and co-owner of The Berkshire Eagle and a longtime former Democrat, joined the Green-Rainbow Party after becoming frustrated with the resistance to reform evidenced by Democratic Party leadership on Beacon Hill. Most observers were surprised by his strong showing in the 2010 race, considering the fact that it was his first run for public office and he entered the race rather late against a well-entrenched incumbent. This time around, Miller believes that an earlier start and an experienced campaign team will give him an excellent chance of winning.

The Republican candidate for mayor of Tucson, Arizona has dropped out of the race due to a signature challenge on his nominating petitions.  This is of interest to third partisans for two reasons.  First, it is rare that a major party is pushed off the ballot due to signature challenges (meaning that he didn’t collect enough valid signatures on his nominating petitions in order to meet the legal requirement).  It’s more common to see major party primary challengers and minor party or independent candidates pushed off the ballot in this way.

Second, this means that in the general election there will only be a Democrat and a Green.  That Green will either be Mary DeCamp, a City Council candidate in the past, or Dave Croteau, a past mayoral candidate.  There will be a primary to determine who will be on the ballot for the general election.  Another candidate who was running for the Green nomination dropped out of the race in order to support and work on sustainability issues with the now-former Republican candidate.

EDIT: Apparently, according to Jeremy Young and Richard Winger in the comments at IPR, as well as the blog Jeremy Young recommended, the Republicans can still nominate a candidate by write-in through their primary.  Also, in addition to the candidates mentioned, an independent was also thrown off the ballot.

From the Tuscon Citizen:

Mary DeCamp, who ran against Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich in 2009 has also entered the race for Mayor of Tucson…

Mary got 4429 votes (6.16 % of the vote) in the Ward 3 race in 2009…

Her entry into the race could lead to a Green Party primary on August 30, as fellow Green Party candidate Dave Croteau entered the race a few weeks ago. He ran for Mayor before in 2007 against Mayor Bob Walkup and got 28.08% of the vote compared to Mayor Walkup’s 71.20 %.

According to a post at Ballot Access News, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona has signed legislation which guarantees the Arazona Green Party access to the ballot in 2012 without having to re-petition to do so.

Among many other provisions, it says that when a party qualifies for the ballot, it gets the next two elections, not just the next election. Because the Arizona Green Party had successfully petitioned in 2010, it is now automatically on the 2012 ballot, even though it didn’t meet the already-existing requirements for a party to remain on the ballot (that it poll 5% for Governor, or that it have registration of at least two-thirds of 1% of the state total).

The Green Party of New Jersey is holding its 15th Annual Convention this Saturday at the Rutgers Labor Education Center from 9:30 to 4:30.

The convention will hear from Sheri Honkala, social movement leader and Green Party candidate for Philadelphia Sheriff. Also featured is Ray Stever, President of the NJ State Industrial Union Council, and leader of the One Nation, One Plan health initiative.

The convention, which is open to the public, runs from 9am-4:30 pm.

According to Mike Spector, Party Chair, encouraging political signs- from the Mid East to our own Mid West- point to a growing Green movement. We appeal to those dissatisfied with Democrat and Republican corruption and their inability to address the real needs of American voters.

And in Arizona the Yavapai County Green Party is meeting this Saturday, and the Maricopa County Greens are meeting this Sunday. See the events calendar for details.

The Arizona Green Party has increased Party registration to over 5,000 voters. According to the Arizona Green Party, this is an increase of almost 500 Greens since last August. From the AZGP:

2010 marked the 20 year anniversary of the Arizona Green Party and they look forward to broadening their base by educating voters on their progressive positions on local and national issues. “Most people have this notion that a stereotypical Green Party member is this hippy tree-hugging environmentalist, and that isn’t always the case,” says Luisa Evonne Valdez, who was recently elected as AZGP Co-Chair this month. “What people don’t see enough of is the social justice and economic reform that the Green Party fights for. We focus on 10 Key Values that encompass a wide variety of issues. We believe in Single-Payer Health Care for all, we have been against SB1070 from the beginning, we believe in Marriage Equality and Equal Rights/Protections for our LGBTQ communities, we want to Close Corporate Tax Loopholes, fight for fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget that is based on fair taxation and not dependent on sales tax or through slashing funding for our most vulnerable populations. We support conservation of our land and resources, protecting our parks and wildlife, as well issues like strengthening our middle class and increasing green jobs in Arizona through clean energy. The more we can create awareness for the diverse and all-encompassing issues we strive to achieve, the more people will understand that being Green is more than just hugging trees, it is about restoring civility and humanity through compassion and common sense.”

Does your Green Party local chapter have an upcoming meeting or event? Send the information to gpw@greenpartywatch.org and we’ll post it here and on our events calendar page!

Thursday Jan. 27, 2011, 7 PM The People Speak – A Community Screening

The Green-Rainbow Party is sponsoring a free screening of the documentary “The People Speak,” which is based on Howard Zinn’s writings and the book “Voices of the People’s History of the United States.” This event is occuring on the first anniversary of Prof. Zinn’s death. Lenox Community Center, 65 Walket St., Lenox, Massachusetts 01240

For more information, please contact Berkshire Greens at:
berkshiregreens@gmail.com

Sunday Jan. 30, 2011, 1:30 PM – Green Party of Maricopa County (Arizona) Organizational Meeting

Sunday, January 30th, 2011—1:30pm to 3:30pm (arrive early!)
Phoenix Public Library (Mesquite Branch—meeting room)
4525 Paradise Village Parkway North, Phoenix AZ 85032
(the library is located on the north side of Paradise Valley Mall; across the parking lot from Dillard’s)

Tentative Agenda

• Election of GPMC Officers/Steering Committee for 2011-12
• Update of Arizona Green Party (AZGP) ballot status petition drive for 2012; recruitment of volunteers
• GPMC Goals for 2011
• Fundraising—recruitment of monthly sustainers

ARIZONA – The Arizona Green Party is both saddened and outraged in response to the acts of domestic terrorism that plagued not only the City of Tucson this weekend, but our whole nation. Our hearts go out to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as well as all the victims and their families, friends, and communities affected by this senseless tragedy. Our sincerest condolences to those lives that were lost devastatingly on Saturday and we hope for a speedy recovery to those beginning their healing process.

Nonviolence is one of The Ten Key Values of the Green Party. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace. Peace is not just the absence of violence; it is a willingness to resolve conflict in a constructive manner with a spirit of good will and respect.

Violence is never an answer. We, the Arizona Green Party, will continue to advocate for peace and non-violence in the wake of this tragedy in Tucson and everyday; that bloodshed and brutality are not replacements for compassionate dialogue and diplomatic action.

Contacts:
Marcus Bellamy, AZGP Media Outreach Coordinator, (602) 703-6243, trotmium@hotmail.com
Angel Torres, AZGP Co-Chair, (623) 202-3747, info@azgp.org
Luisa Evonne Valdez, AZGP Co-Chair, 602-413-3182, lehallvaldez@gmail.com
Celeste Castorena, AZGP at-large member, (602) 430-9714 (bilingual media contact)

Here is the first installment of comprehensive Green Party election results from the November 2010 elections, starting with Arizona, Arkansas, California and Colorado:

AZ:
Jerry Joslyn, US Senate: 19,118 votes, 1%
Leonard Clark, US House AZ-3: 2320 votes, 1.5%
Rebecca DeWitt, US House AZ-4: 1652 votes, 2.6%
Richard Grayson, US House AZ-6: 2461 votes, 1.3%
Deborah Odowd, State Rep AZ-6: 3857 votes, 5.8%
Justin Dahl, State Rep AZ-12: 4778 votes, 6% read more »