Green Party Watch

I have the pleasure of being able to attend the Illinois Green Party’s State Membership Meeting this weekend (July 15-16) in Rockford, Illinois.

At this meeting, elections will be held for Chair, Secretary, and Membership Steward of the Illinois Green Party, and for delegate seats on the Green National Committee.

Presentations from local anti-nuclear power activist Stan Campbell and Nuclear Energy Information Service Executive Director David Kraft will highlight the meeting.

There will be no admission charge for the meeting. Donation will be accepted for extras such as a continental breakfast.

Friday night, a social event will be held at the Sweden House Lodge in the Scandia Room from 8:00 until midnight. Please bring your own food and drink as there are no dining facilities that serve the room.

Saturday evening, a fundraising dinner will be held at the India House, 6430 E. Riverside Blvd. in Loves Park. We are planning to have a private room with buffet style dinner of four entrees, salad bar, soda and non-alcoholic drinks, dessert, bread, rice, and an appetizer. Suggested cost is $40 or $25 for those with limited income.

The preliminary agenda for the meeting:

10:00 Sign-in, coffee, etc.
11:00 Welcome, Introductions
11:15 Agenda approval; call for officer nominees
11:30 Bylaws and related
* Proposed Bylaws Changes
* Authorizing the Coordinating Committee to approve 2012 Presidential Preference Process Rules.
1:00 Lunch
2:00 Officer elections
2:15 Presentation on nuclear energy with Dave Kraft of NEIS (Nuclear Energy Information Service) and Stanley Campbell
2:55 Announcement of election results
3:00 The next 18 months: Honoring Successful Candidates; Rethinking and Rebuilding Locals; Public Elections
5:00 Adjourn
7:00 Fundraising Dinner

From the Illinois Green Party Newsletter:

Several Greens are on the April 5 ballot for local offices in different parts of Illinois. Each campaign can use help up until Election Day, and especially on Election Day itself helping out at polling places. Please contact the campaigns directly if you’re able to help them out.

These are the hottest races we’re watching:

- JESSICA BRADSHAW for Carbondale City Council

Jessica is one of 12 candidates for three seats on the Carbondale City Council, which has been moving in a conservative direction in recent years. In the February primary, Jessica placed sixth, but only 100 votes behind the candidate in third.

Carbondale has suffered recently from declining enrollment at Southern Illinois University, an overbuilding of rental units, neighborhood blight, big box stores paying lower wages, and municipal pension and budget problems. At a March 21 candidate forum, Jessica called for innovative, sustainable alternatives, such as raising revenue through taxing the use of plastic bags, bottles, and Styrofoam; and filling in vacant property rather than continuing a sprawl which is overextending city services.

“If you renovate it, they will come. If you beautify, they will come. If we make Carbondale a better place to live, people will want to live here.”

http://bradshaw4council.wordpress.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Bradshaw-for-Carbondale-City-Council/126452204088134

- STEVE ALESCH for Warrenville Park District Board

Steve is one of three candidates for two seats on the Warrenville Park District Board. He would be the first Green to hold elected office in DuPage County. Greater sustainability of park district facilities and greater transparency in posting financial data on the district’s web site are his spotlight issues.

http://www.electalesch.org/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elect-Steve-Alesch-for-Warrenville-Park-District-Commissioner/205201262824079

- TONI WILLIAMS for Thornton Township District 205 High School Board

District 205 administrators and board members have been leading a push to convert Thornridge High School into an all-freshman center – but parents and other community members are not pleased with the move. Toni is running as part of a slate of three candidates opposing the move, and has been able to line up significant support from other elected officials across Thornton Township. Edward Crayton and Darren Robinson are also part of the slate.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Thornridge-Thornton-and-Thornwood-High-Schools-Its-As-Easy-As-1-2-3/174328122602803

- MATT HAWKINS & COURTNEY JOHNSON for East St. Louis City Council

At the beginning of 2011, East St. Louis had over 21,000 registered voters… but fewer than 17,000 residents age 25 or older. This is just a slice of the East St. Louis political experience. The East St. Louis Alliance for Change came together to work to improve this severely economically depressed community, and Matt and Courtney have taken the charge to bring these issues before the voters.

http://www.alliance1820.com/

Municipal Elections were held in Chicago Tuesday, in a low turnout primary election where if no candidate gets 50% of the vote there is a run off election. Two Greens were on the ballot, both losing in the primary.

In the 12th Ward, Alberto Bocanegra, Jr. came in 4th of 5 candidates, finishing with 321 votes (6.63%).

In the 47th Ward, Matt Reichel finished 3rd of 4 candidates with 605 votes (3.21%).

In a statement on Facebook, Bocanegra said: “Unfortunately we didn’t get the outcome we expected. People are so disgusted with politicians that they refused to come out and vote.”

WCT: What does it mean/matter that you are endorsed by the Green Party?

Matt Reichel: This is significant because the 47th Ward has been one of the top performing wards for the Green Party going back to [Ralph] Nader’s presidential run in 2000. There has always been a strong progressive and independent streak to this community, and so this would be a fitting place to elect the city’s first Green alderman. If elected, our ward organization will be converted into a coalition of community groups, oriented on civic service. We will not exist purely as a means of electing machine Democrats to higher office, as is currently the case. As such, a victory for me will be more than a victory for the Green Party; it will be a victory for all working people of the 47th Ward.

Matt Reichel is running for Alderman in Chicago’s 47th Ward. Read the entire interview here.

Alberto Bocanegra, Jr., Chair of the Cook County Greens, has apparently raised over $50,000 in his campaign for the 12th Ward Alderman in Chicago against incumbent George Cardenas and 3 other challengers. Cardenas has raised over $135,000 according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

From his website:

12th Ward Committeeman Alberto Bocanegra, Jr. was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and is a Native son of the 12 ward. Alberto graduated Shield Elementary, located in the 12th ward, and Curie High School. He also attended Fox College.

By the time Alberto was 20 years of age, he opened a successful Labor Employment Agency where he employed over 2,000 people every day. Throughout his business career Bocanegra demonstrated care and concern for people. His revolutionary policy of providing free transportation to job sites encouraged the city council to entertain an ordinance codifying a similar idea.

Alberto is a proud member of the organization that made the March 10th Immigration and May Day mega marches possible. He was featured on newscasts seen worldwide as he confronted Minutemen organizers. As the Chairman of the Cook County Green Party, Bocanegra has fought against corruption and injustice in all parts of the city. Alberto has fought hard for affordable housing, particularly in the 12th ward. Active supporter of F.A.D Families Against Drugs where he received a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of many selfless hours spent working to improve Brighton Park.

There was a candidate forum for the open 47th Ward seat in Chicago last night but no press about it today. Matt Reichel, one of 4 candidates seeking the open seat, claimed victory:

Reichel emerged from the debate as upbeat as ever: “This debate marked a clear victory for the Reichel camp. I was the most energetic, determined and progressive of the candidates, and provided the most well-founded and realistic solutions to the problems facing this city.”

While the debate remained civil throughout, the candidates did find room to inject friendly jabs at one another. In response to Reichel’s pleas to the community to join him in cleaning out the ward organization and removing the machine influence that exists there now, Tom O’Donnell disparaged Reichel and claimed “This isn’t about “machine” this or “machine” that. This is about getting things done.” Reichel retorted: “With all due respect, Mr. O’Donnell, the Democratic machine is very real, and poses a real road block to getting anything done for the 99% of us that are not integral members of it.”

Mr. O’Donnell is a long-time member of Ald. Schulter’s ward organization.

Reichel continued: “Our progressive and populist message resonated most with voters in attendance, who were also impressed by the enthusiasm of our campaign. Today, we have made a big step forward to victory on February 22nd.”

Emailed to contact.ipr@gmail.com:

After the announcement of incumbent alderman Gene Schulter’s departure from the 47th ward aldermanic election, Green Party candidate Matt Reichel has pronounced himself the favorite:

“I am the only remaining candidate who has been actively campaigning and organizing in this ward for nearly two years, as part of my congressional campaign. “

(Reichel was previously the Green party candidate for Congress in the 5th District.)

read more »

Two time Congressional Candidate Matt Reichel has announced that he will be running for Alderman in Chicago’s 47th Ward:

Matt Reichel, two-time Green Party nominee for Congress in Illinois’s 5th District, has announced to supporters that he will try to unseat 9-term alderman Gene Schulter in the upcoming municipal elections.

Reichel won about 1,000 votes in the 47th ward part of the 5th district in last week’s election, and believes he can make up the difference needed to beat Schulter. He told supporters:

Despite our vast disadvantage in resources and organization, we pulled nearly 1,000 votes in the ward for the Green Party vision. 1,000 votes for grassroots democracy. 1,000 votes for sustainable economics. 1,000 votes for peace. 1,000 votes for real monetary reform.

There are thousands of other progressives out there, who either voted Democrat out of fear of a Republican take over, or did not vote out of frustration with American electoral politics. There are thousands more, who are ready to join our movement, and make history in 2011.

The Chicago Reader has a feature on the Illinois Green Party’s post election mood. Below are some excerpts, but read the entire article at the Chicago Reader. What is interesting about this article is the depth it goes into the variety of positions, often contradictory, among the Illinois Green Party’s candidates this year.

The Greens, drastically underfunded and as a result excluded from most mainstream media coverage, are still struggling to get their message out. And that message can vary: the Green candidates in this election weren’t always on the same page. The party’s leaders say that’s just grassroots democracy in action. But the fundamental problem remains: the reluctance of liberal voters to vote Green when it could cost a Democrat an election.

[...]

In Jesse Jackson Jr.’s Second District, also extending from the south suburbs into the south side, Anthony Williams, an African-American pastor with distinctly un-Green views, got 6 percent. Williams is anti-gay marriage, anti-choice, and anti-immigration—but he’d beaten the endorsed Green candidate in the primary.

[...]

Huckelberry says Greens need to focus on “dinky little races” in smaller cities and towns where they can actually win and show in practice why Greens are worth electing. “We have to run for governor to be taken seriously by the electorate, so we’ll keep doing it. But we need to get more people on school boards, village boards, library boards, park boards, and build the idea of what it means to have Green elected officials.”

[...]

Amid the gloomy news, Green Party leaders take heart in some of the young volunteers they attracted this election—such as Lucky Mosqueda, a 22-year-old Latino from Albany Park who volunteered for Whitney. Mosqueda says most Latinos in his neighborhood have no idea who the Greens are. Nor did he four years ago, when he turned 18 and voted for Blagojevich. He soon became disillusioned with the Democratic Party because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the failure of Democrats to push harder for gay rights. Through connections with Gender JUST, an organization for LGBTQ youth, he learned about the Green Party’s gay rights and anti-war stances, as well as its support for universal health care. He thinks more young Latinos would embrace the Green Party if they knew what it stood for, and he’s optimistic about the Greens’ future.

“I’m a metal head, so my message to the Green Party is, just keep on rockin’,” he says. “Reach out to more people. Have round table discussions with pizza, tea, vegan food, whatever will bring people together. We’re minorities in every way, the Democratic Party isn’t representing us, so the Green Party should make more of an effort to let people know they are out there.”

I highly recommend reading the entire article. I pulled these teasers out but read the entire piece to put them in proper context.

53 Green Party candidates appeared on the ballot this November, one more in Washington was on the ballot in the Primary, and 4 more ran write-in campaigns. Of the 54 ballot candidates, results ranged from 0.16% to 8.32%, from 157 votes to 17,545 votes. The average percentage of the vote of all 54 races was 2.21% from 225,000 votes.

This is a decline from 2008, when the Green Party’s 59 US House of Representatives brought in over 500,000 votes, averaging 3.47% of the total vote. 2008 was unique in that the Arkansas Green Party had three candidates for three House seats that were unopposed by one of the corporate parties, resulting in finishing with 64,000 votes (23.33%), 58,000 votes (21.52%) and 31,000 votes (13.76%). There were some other very strong finishes in 2008 by Carol Wolman in California, Titus North in Pennsylvania, and Jason Wallace in Illinois.

In fact the 2010 results more closely resemble 2006, another mid-term election, when the Green Party fielded 43 candidates, netted 253,000 votes, averaging 2.74%.

One of the better finishes in 2010 came in California from Ben Emery, who finished with 17,545 votes (7.25%). Emery raised over $10,000 in individual contributions and ran hundreds of commercials on television. With a fraction of the budget of his Democratic and Republican opponents Emery worked it to get the 17,000 votes that he finished with.

The other four stronger finishes were in Illinois, where the 11 Greens running for the US House averaged two points better (4.31%) than other Greens running for the House (2.21%), and slightly better than they did in 2008 (4.00%). Robert Burns running in Illinois’ 4th Congressional District made up of two slithering slices of Chicago’s western suburbs, finished with 6,656 votes, 8.32% of the vote in a lower turnout district. This result turned out to be the highest percentage of any Green running for US House in 2010. Congrats, Robert! Another good finish was in the neighboring 3rd Congressional District where Laurel Lambert Schmidt finished with 9,864 votes (6.03%). Both Schmidt and Burns were first time candidates who improved the Green Party’s results in suburban Chicago districts.

Sheldon Schafer in his second run for US House in the larger Western Illinois 18th Congressional District improved both his vote totals and percentage of the vote from 2008, finishing with 11,244 votes (5.09%) compared to 9,725 (3.17%) in 2008.

But special props go to Bill Scheurer, a first time candidate running in the 8th Congressional District. Although his results weren’t outstanding (6,449 votes, 3.31% of the vote), Bill wins the honorable “Nader Award” (something we just made up), given out to any candidate that can inspire the media to accuse them of “spoiling” a race. Here is Eric Zorn in his own words:

The way I look at the numbers, the only thing the Green Party may have accomplished in the 2010 elections in Illinois is to help a tea-party-backed candidate win a seat in Congress. Other than that, nothing.

[...]

Bill Scheurer, seems to have drawn enough votes — about 6,500 — to hand a victory to tea party Republican Joe Walsh in the northwest suburban 8th District.

In fairness to the author, at least he sought and printed a reaction from Illinois Green Party chair Phil Huckelberry, who said: “Everyone in the party I’ve talked to can’t stand Melissa Bean and would never vote for her,” said Illinois Green Party chairman Phil Huckleberry when I asked him about this. “Any argument that says otherwise is silly.”

To view a Google Docs Spreadsheet of Green Party US House of Representatives Candidates and their election results click here. Note it also includes results from 2008 and 2006 but no further back than that.

From Illinois Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney:

November 4, 2010 – 12:34 am

Don’t Lose Heart! Cause for Hope Amidst the Disappointment
A “Final” Campaign Message (But Read On!)
by Rich Whitney, 2010 Green Party Candidate for Governor

To the hundreds of people who supported me in my campaign for Governor, and to the roughly 100,000 or so who saw fit to vote for me, despite the politics of fear that swept Illinois this election season, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

We acknowledge our disappointment but are not consumed by it. We will assess the causes of our disappointing results but will not be obsessed by them. We live to fight another day, and fight on we shall. read more »

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.

Last night the Green Party won ballot access in New York and Texas, retained it in Massachusetts and Ohio, lost it in Illinois and Wisconsin, and fell short of gaining it in Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, and Nevada. Here are the results by state:

Arkansas: Greens got on the 2010 ballot by petition, but failed to retain a ballot line when Jim Lendall got less than 3% of the vote for governor.

Illinois: Greens lost the ballot line and major party status gained in 2006 by Rich Whitney’s 10% for governor when Whitney got less than 5% of the vote for governor this year.

Maryland: Greens got on the 2010 ballot by petition, but failed to retain a ballot line when Maria Allwine got less than 1% of the vote for governor.

Massachusetts: Greens retain ballot access and party status after Nat Fortune earned 5% for State Auditor.

Minnesota: Annie Young’s 2.7% for State Auditor falls short of winning major party status, but retains minor party status for the Minnesota Greens.

Nevada: Greens fail to gain ballot access after David Curtis got less than 1% of the vote for governor.

New York: Greens gain ballot status through 2014 thanks to Howie Hawkins earning over 50,000 votes for governor.

Ohio: Greens retain ballot status thanks to Dennis Spisak earning over 1% for governor.

Texas: Greens gain ballot status through 2012 thanks to Ed Lindsay earning over 5% for comptroller.

Wisconsin: Greens lose ballot status after not running any statewide candidates who could qualify.

From Green Change:

Tonight, we will be focusing on the campaigns of 14 transformational Green candidates who are building the Green movement across the country. Some of these candidates are poised for history-making wins. Others are blazing the trail for future success by running party-building campaigns for statewide office.

14 Greens to Watch on Election Day

Jeremy Karpen for IL Assembly – Jeremy Karpen’s vigorous grassroots challenge to a Chicago Machine insider has earned him endorsements from the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Teacher’s Union, Independent Voters of Illinois, and even Chicago Progressive Democrats of America. Karpen, a strong supporter of single-payer health care, affordable housing, mass transit, and progressive taxation, has run a clean-money campaign as part of his commitment to reforming Illinois’ notoriously dirty pay-to-play politics.

Ben Manski for WI Assembly – Ben Manski’s insurgent run has earned the support of Madison’s teachers union, the Madison Capital Times, and leading progressives including Jim Hightower, Medea Benjamin, and Thom Hartmann. The outgoing Democratic assembly member revoked his endorsement of Manski’s main opponent, a Democrat who left the Sierra Club to lobby for the coal industry. Manski is racing to the finish line with the support of a broad transpartisan coalition of elected officials, unions, students, newspapers, and activists committed to renewing Wisconsin’s trailblazing progressive tradition.

Gayle McLaughlin for Mayor of Richmond, CA – With a population over 100,000, Richmond became the largest US city with a Green mayor when Gayle McLaughlin was elected in 2006. Since then, McLaughlin has made Richmond a center of the emerging solar industry, fought successfully to increase taxes on the local Chevron oil refinery while lowering them for small businesses, and brought down violent crime with expanded community policing. Her supporters, including Green For All founder Van Jones, hope that her record of positive accomplishments in office will carry Mayor Gayle to victory.

Hugh Giordano for PA Assembly – Hugh Giordano is a union organizer from Philadelphia’s Roxborough neighborhood whose people-powered campaign has electrified the race for an open seat in a traditionally Democratic district. After a CEO won the Democratic primary with only 30% of the vote, Giordano’s strong support for public education, single-payer health care, and worker’s rights has gained him the backing of local unions and maverick Democrats and made him a contender for the win.

Dan Hamburg for Mendocino County (CA) Supervisor – In a county the size of Delaware on the coast of California, former member of Congress and Voice Of The Environment executive director Dan Hamburg is running for supervisor to build a vibrant, sustainable local economy and protect the beautiful natural landscape for generations to come. Hamburg finished first in the 4-way June primary, and has been endorsed by the third-place finisher as well as local unions and environmentalists in his head-to-head race against the conservative, developer-backed candidate who finished a close 2nd in the primary. read more »

The Illinois Green Party is covering Election Day happenings with a live blog at their website. After it was revealed recently that Chicago voting machines were identifying Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney as “Rich Whitey”, it should be interesting to read about any other “irregularities” that might occur. The bloggers are already reporting that Rep. Toni Berrios, who faces a strong challenge from Green Jeremy Karpen in the 39th District, has been delivering pastries emblazoned with her campaign logo to election judges in an apparent violation of electioneering law.

On a related note, if you encounter any difficulties when voting, make sure to report them to your state Green Party as soon as possible, so that patterns of voter suppression can be identified before polls close.