Green Party Watch

kat swift is running for Bexar (TX) County Commissioner.

Free and Equal and the Green Party of Texas have issued a joint statement on the media reports concerning the state party’s ballot access petition drive and Free and equal’s involvement in making it happen.

Free and Equal Issues Statement in Response to Recent Texas Media Reports

Free and Equal Elections is proud to stand next to the Green Party of Texas today to release this joint statement concerning Texas media reports involving Boyd Ritchie’s anti-democratic attack on the Green Party’s recent petition drive in Texas.

The statement from Free and Equal Founder and Chair Christina Tobin follows:

“Boyd Ritchie’s anti-democratic and anti-choice actions are shameful for a party leader. Free and Equal is a non-partisan organization that helps all parties, and Ritchie appears to have gone hysterical because a Green got on the Texas ballot this week. Ballot access and campaign finance are two completely different things. Ritchie is acting like a hot-headed party boss, not a party leader who deserves respect.”

“In Ritchie’s attempt to inflict harm on the Green Party, he will also harm voters by reducing their choices on Election Day. It’s a shame he would go to such lengths to keep a candidate from running, just because they aren’t a member of his party.” read more »

The following is an editorial, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Green Party of the United States or Green Party Watch.

This week it was revealed that:
a) a Republican consultant in Arizona arranged for…
b) a non-profit corporation in Missouri to pay $200,000 for…
c) a petitioning company “Free & Equal” to collect 92,000 signatures and…
d) give them as a gift to the Green Party of Texas to get a slate of candidates on the ballot.

Are Democrats pissed? You betcha. They are suing the Texas Green Party, Free & Equal, and “Take Initiative America” to delay the balloting of Green Party candidates until they can determine the source of the funding, and they are pointing fingers at Texas Governor Rick Perry.

The Green Party of Texas is cooperating by agreeing to delay submitting their slate of candidates until the courts rule on the matter. kat swift, State Coordinator of the Green Party of Texas, has been reported saying that they believe the petition drive was legal, but will wait for written assurance of that fact. swift also said that once the petition drive is determined to be legal, the Green Party of Texas will field a slate of candidates regardless of what individual funded the petition drive.
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Ben Philpott reports at KERA in Dallas:

Texas is considered one of the hardest states in the country for a third-party or independent candidate to get onto the ballot. The stringent ballot access laws have been one reason why the Texas Green Party hasn’t been on the ballot since 2002. But as KUT’s Ben Philpott reports – party activists hope that dry spell ends in 2010.

There were no TV cameras Monday in front of the Texas Secretary of State’s office building south of the Capitol. No crowd of cheering supporters. But statewide coordinator Kat Swift with the Green Party of Texas says the dozen or so boxes filled with signed petitions spoke louder than a roaring crowd.

Swift: “And we have with us – 93-thousand petitions roughly of Texas voters who did not vote in the primary – who want to see the Green Party on the ballot.”

Read the full story at KERA Dallas.

From the Green Party of Texas:

MEDIA ADVISORY
Green Party of Texas to Hold Press Conference

Turning in of Over 90,000 Petition Signatures
to Secretary of State on Monday

WHEN
Monday, May 24, 2:00 p.m.
Signatures will be turned in immediately after the press conference.

WHERE
Outside the Secretary of State’s office, Rusk Building
208 East 10th Street, 3rd Floor, Austin

WHAT
The Green Party of Texas will turn in over 90,000 signatures on Monday, in an effort to get the Party on the General Election ballot this November. If accepted, this will be the first time the Green Party has had ballot access since 2002. read more »

The Texas Green Party has launched an online ballot access signature drive in an effort to collect the thousands of signatures required by law to place Green candidates on the ballot. If the TX Greens succeed in collecting over 40,000 needed signatures by May 22nd, their 18 declared candidates for office will appear on the ballot this November. Also, since the Texas Democratic Party has no candidate for comptroller this year, it’s likely that the Green candidate for comptroller would earn at least 5% of the vote, thereby gaining ballot access for the Green Party through 2012.

Help the Texas Green Party give voters a choice: sign and share the online petition.

In related news, the Texas Greens have started hiring paid petitioners to gather signatures on the ground before the May 22nd deadline. From the Texas Green Party facebook page:

Get paid to petition to put Green Party in Texas – contact Sean Haugh at 919-402-3489 – start asap!

…and make sure you tell kat you are so we can ensure you are on our list too! – kat@txgreens.org

In Texas’ largest city, three Greens are making a team effort to get elected to Houston City Council. Deborah Shafto, Don Cook, and Alfred Molison are running as “The Progressive Coalition”, with a platform focused on public transportation, recycling, living wage, issue advocacy, policing, and public safety. They hope to guide Houston to a less car-centered future, introduce neighborhood programs like farmers’ markets and community gardens, implement a plan to reduce landfill waste by 90% by 2040, enact a citywide living wage, move to a medically-focused (rather than criminally-focused) drug policy, and convince the city council to voice support for the single-payer bill HR 676.

Texas, the second most populous state after California, has been hard for the Green Party to get a foothold in. Texas Greens briefly gained ballot status in 2000, but lost it and haven’t managed to get back on the statewide ballot since then. However, Green locals in Texas have remained active, and Kat Swift of San Antonio ran for the Green presidential nomination in 2008. Support for candidates like Deborah Shafto, Don Cook and Alfred Molison will strengthen Green locals in Texas, helping the Texas Greens build the organizational capacity to take on challenges like getting back on the ballot and promoting a clean energy future in the heart of America’s oil industry.

As part of their team effort, Shafto, Cook and Molison are sharing all funds they raise equally. You can help this trailblazing Green campaign to succeed, and promote Green growth in Texas, by donating to Deborah Shafto, Don Cook, and Alfred Molison today at their website progressivecoalitionhouston.com.

If you prefer to donate by mail, write a check payable to “Progressive Coalition” and send to:

Progressive Coalition
c/o Mary Cook
7954 Glenheath St.
Houston TX 77061

Please include a completed contribution form so that we can fulfill our disclosure reporting requirements.

Well, last week I interviewed Richard Carroll. As mentioned in an earlier post, I was unable to get the system to work properly, and the show was almost unlistenable. Some brave souls did though, so I decided there was enough interest that I needed to fix the problem.

I learned how to edit my audio a little bit and the result is a new version of my interview with Richard, and this one is better for sure. You can listen to the new version by clicking here

The most popular show so far was my interview with kat swift. To listen to that one, simply click here.

Today’s program featured Holly Hart, GPUS national Secretary. We talked about Iowa, her run for Lt. Governor, ballot access and so much more. You can listen to that program by visiting this “featured” show.

I learned from the editing process. I learned that I talk too much and don’t add a lot. I’m getting better folks. Soon hopefully all you’ll hear from me is “Our guest today is…” followed by thirty minutes on them talking about things that interest you.

Colin Young took some great photos at the Convention and sent them for us to use.

Cynthia and Rosa:

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For those of you not old enough to get the joke, sorry.

Deesings posted a weekly update from the McKinney campaign, but I wanted to bring the headline, as I see it, to your attention. The headline is, Cynthia McKinney is still in the running to secure federal campaign matching funds. How you may ask? By seeking the Peace and Freedom Party nomination in California, and they are not slated to finalize that decision for a couple of weeks. This means that we can secure more than $100,000 for the McKinney campaign. We know what McKinney’s goals are. They involve ballot access, so if you believe that is important, donate here. Her plans involve supporting local candidates, so if you think that is important, donate here. She has a vote goal of at least 5% nation wide, so if you think that is a worthy goal, donate now.

On a more personal side note, I would also like to encourage folks to also donate to Jesse Johnson’s campaign. He has campaigned actively and has worked to secure ballot status in other states.

kat swift has also led the way on ballot access, gathering signatures and campaigning hard across the nation. Her speeches were, by all accounts, well delivered and well received at the convention. Donate here to support kat’s hard work on our behalf.

Kent Mesplay has run for our nomination twice, and this run was both exciting and more expansive than the last run. As an actual scientist, Kent brought a sort of weight to his arguments that made plenty of Greens support him. You can donate here to his campaign.

kat swift told me last week on Green Party Watch Radio that she had donated $10 to each of the candidates because she knows money matters. I am here to tell you loud and clear, it matters a lot. We have a chance to put perhaps as much as $150,000 extra dollars in our candidate’s pockets by donating to her campaign. Give as much as you can possibly afford, minus $30. Give that $30 ten dollars at a time to the other three candidates, and you will be helping build up a karma bank we will always benefit from.

This post is a little long, my apologies, I threw in a lot of candidate opinion at the end.

The Friday night Presidential forum was moderated by Rich Whitney.

Before the Presidential forum, they gave time to SKCM Curry, who has been actively campaigning to be Vice President nominee of the GP. Curry is an incredible bundle of energy. She fires up the crowd like a cheerleader. She got the crowd on their feet, chanting “Paint – the White House – GREEN!” and got the mood of the crowd in the right place.

Whitney set the ground rules, and then introduced the candidates: Jesse Johnson, Cynthia McKinney, Kent Mesplay, and Kat Swift. The audience was overly enthusiastic about all four candidates; there was a real sense of respect and appreciation for all four candidates.
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Have you ever written something you think is pretty good, and then your computer burps and it all disappears? No, of course you don’t, because you use software that automatically saves your work as you go along, but noooo…I have to use a text editor instead, and lost every word when the lightening struck. Oh well…life goes on.

As I struggled through the first five or ten minutes of this week’s report I got a call from kat swift, candidate for the Green Party presidential nomination. I had tried to get kat on earlier, but we never linked up to make it happen until today.

There is no doubt that portions of the interview are difficult to understand since the audio is rough, but kat did make points many of you will like to hear. For example, kat has tried to focus on domestic violence, not only between adults, but between adults and their children. She’s also focused on not only closing down all foreign military bases operated by the United states, but also on repairing the environmental damage done by those bases over the years. She’s also focused on the broad range of sustainability issues Greens understand better than many non-Greens.

Perhaps the most exciting things to hear from kat were her encouragement of Greens to donate to Cynthia McKinney’s campaign in hopes of earning her federal matching funds, and her call for Green Unity.

Give a listen by clicking here.

Miller Politics at blogtalkradio reports that he will be hosting a debate for Green Party Presidential candidates Cynthia McKinney, Kent Mesplay, and Kat Swift. (Jesse Johnson is not taking part – I don’t know why). It is Saturday, June 21, from 8:00 – 9:30 PM (ET) airing online from www.blogtalkradio.com/millerpolitics.

The Green Party of Michigan’s State Convention will be held July 26-27 at the Franke Center for the Arts, 214 East Mansion Street, in Marshall, MI.

Among the candidates to be nominated at the convention
will be 17 electors pledged to vote for the Presidential
ticket of the Green Party of the United States. GPUS
will nominate candidates for President and Vice President
at its convention July 10-13 in Chicago.

GPMI will have 24 votes at the GPUS convention. In a
statewide membership poll this spring, former Georgia
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney got 64% of first-place
votes and earned 13 of 19 statewide delegate votes for
the first ballot. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader –
the 1996 and 2000 Green Presidential candidate, but
running as an independent this year as he did in 2004 –
finished second with 17% of the vote and three delegates.

Kent Mesplay of California and Kat Swift of Texas each
also earned one delegate; one vote in the delegation
will go to the convention uncommitted.

Five GPMI locals — Detroit Greens, Flint Greens, Huron
Valley Greens, Traverse Bay Watershed Greens, and Van
Buren County Greens — qualified to select and bind
one delegate each.

Thanks to Lou Novak for the information.

While Cynthia McKinney has not locked up the Green Party nomination yet, she is well on her way to sealing the nomination.

Which leads one to wonder – who will she select as her running mate? Based on previous GP rules, the Presidential Nominee names whom they want to be their VP, and the Delegates vote it up or down (at least that is how it was told to me).

So here is a speculative list of potential Vice Presidential running mates if Cynthia McKinney gets the nomination:

Jared Ball – Jared Ball of DC was a very promising GP Presidential candidate up until he dropped out of the race in January to endorse Cynthia McKinney. Ball, a Communications Studies Professor, an independent journalist, a veteran of the first Iraq War and a hip hop activist, would bring the “Capital Resistance” component of his campaign to the McKinney campaign. He would be a tireless campaigner, and an all African-American Green Party ticket would be a very interesting aspect to the 2008 “race”. I see Ball as a real possibility.

Mike Gravel – His campaign for President as a Democrat got him a fan base but no party support (probably due to calling all the other candidates ‘losers’ and challenging the establishment). He then sought the Libertarian nomination and got shoved aside by Bob Barr. Gravel could bring to the McKinney ticket a nationally known “name” (with youtube videos) and probably pick up voters who are younger, anti-establishment, but turned off by the ’seriousness’ of Ralph Nader. I have huge respect for what Gravel did as a Senator during the Vietnam War (had a role with ending the draft, for one), but I don’t think he would be the best choice as a running mate. He could even drag the ticket down.

Kat Swift – Kat’s youth and veteran Green Party activism would give the Green Party an all female ticket, supporting the Green Party’s value of “feminism” and potentially appealing to a broad segment of the electorate that may not be turned off by Obama, McCain, Nader, Barr, and all the other men on the ballot in November. Its too bad the Green Party won’t be on the ballot in Texas, Swift’s home state.

Rich Whitney – Rich Whitney’s major impact on the Illinois Governor’s race (10%) put the Illinois Green Party on the map. Putting Whitney on the ticket would help in Illinois, where McKinney should have a good showing already, might make sense. Whitney also has campaigning experience, fund raising experience (his 2006 campaign has already donated several thousand dollars to the McKinney campaign), and almost 350,000 votes in 2006 could add to the ticket.

Jesse Johnson – Jesse Johnson is a Third Party champion after two huge statewide campaigns for Governor and U.S. Senate with the West Virginia Mountain Party. In 2007 the Mountain Party “merged” with the Green Party and became the WV affiliate of the GPUS. Johnson has a lot of appeal among Greens, especially those whom he has met first hand, but he does not have the history of Green “Party Activism” that others do. While he would bring some color to the ticket and could influence votes in the “Obama-challenged” Appalachian region, I don’t think he is the strongest choice for Veep.

Matt Gonzalez – Unfortunately he’s taken. (Plus, per the U.S. Constitution the Prez and Veep must have different home states and now that McKinney hails from CA Matt would thus be ineligible.) Ralph Nader scored possibly the best Green running mate possible when he tagged Gonzalez to be his Veep. The former President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who almost defeated Gavin Newsom to become Mayor of San Francisco is a Green Party legend and hero.

Kent Mesplay – Another veteran Green Party activist and organizer who has run for major political office several times now. Mesplay would bring to the ticket a solid environmental / ecological component, which based on the four pillars (Grassroots Democracy, Peace, Social Justice, Ecological Wisdom) is probably McKinney’s weakest position. Mesplay would fill a hole in that area and in that ticket. Oh, wait, he’s a California resident as well…

Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry (aka SKCM Curry) – While SKCM Curry is the only “declared” candidate for the Vice President slot on the Green Party ballot, I have to again point out that she is a California Resident, thus can not be McKinney’s running mate. Curry is a Green Party activist in South Central LA. A video of her in 07 can be seen here.

Cindy Sheehan – “Peace Mom” Sheehan is a “Green Leaning Independent (GLI)” who was heavily recruited to seek the Green Party Presidential nomination herself. She would greatly add to the already strong anti-war positions of McKinney, as well as creating an all-female ticket, but she is running an Independent campaign for U.S. House against Democrat Nancy Pelosi. In California. Oh, right, she can’t be the Veep.

Other (unlikely) possibilities:
Winona LaDuke – 1996 and 2000 Veep on the Nader ticket, Native American from Minnesota. Ain’t gonna happen.
Pat LaMarche – 2004 Veep on the Cobb ticket, who surpassed 10% of the vote in her 2006 bid for Governor of Maine. She has been campaigning for Jesse Johnson. Does that take her out of the picture? Maybe not, but she would be an extreme long shot pick.
Ralph Nader – the “Dream Ticket” that never happened.

Who do YOU think should be considered for the Veep slot if McKinney gets the nomination?