Green Party Watch

State Green Parties in New York, New Mexico, Hawai’i, Maryland, Michigan, Maine, and California are holding meetings in coming weeks to nominate candidates, discuss strategy, and get to know new members. If you are near one of these upcoming state meetings, we hope you will attend.

The Green Party of New York State convention will be held in Troy on May 17th. More information is available here on the party’s website.

The Green Party of New Mexico is also holding its state convention on May 17th. Click here for more information. Read the rest of this entry »

On Saturday, May 3rd, the Green Party US livestream channel will feature the New Jersey Green Party‘s state convention, as well as 30th anniversary celebration of the Maine Green Independent Party. The Connecticut Green Party and South Carolina Green Party also hold their state conventions on May 3rd. From Green Party US:

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party TV will air special events planned by two state Green Parties on Saturday, May 3 on the party’s Livestream channel (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus). Read the rest of this entry »

Portland-Green Party Senate Candidate Asher Platts is calling legal shenanigans over the fact that Democratic Party Staffers are trying to block his run for Portland State Senate District 27. On Monday, Platts, who also happens to be the Chair of the Maine Green Independent Party, received notice from the Secretary of State’s office that Democratic Legislative Aide, and Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign Staffer Anya Trundy, represented by the law firm of Bernstein Shurr, had challenged primary nomination signatures that Platts turned in to qualify as a Green candidate for the June primary ballot in that district.

Asher Platts is running for State Senate in Maine

“I once worked in the Democratic Party, for candidates like Dennis Kucinich. I left the Democratic Party because I saw disgusting skullduggery like this all the time. They’re so afraid they’ll lose if voters hear from young working class candidates with real world experience and proven, real-world policy solutions, that they are willing to use their lawyers to deny voter choice by keeping folks like me off the ballot”,  said Platts. “I was attracted to the Green Party because they have long advocated for more democracy, more citizen participation, and more choices at the ballot box– not limiting choice for voters, like I have seen the Democratic Party do using legal maneuvering, over and over.”

As a first time candidate in 2012, Platts garnered nearly 30% of the vote against Justin Alfond, the incumbent President of the Senate. Green’s have been improving their numbers with each successive run for the Senate District 27 seat. Platts’s impressive 2012 electoral showing was 5% more than that of the previous Green candidate Bill Linnell.

 “This is a sure sign of fear by the establishment”, said John Eder, Platts’s Campaign Coordinator. “They see us making steady electoral gains in the district of the type that lead up to my victory in 2002”, said Eder who represented Portland’s West End in the Maine Legislature as the nations highest elected Green. “I feel for the guy, I’ve been in Asher’s position before”, Eder continued, “they’re using dirty legal tricks against Asher like they used the redistricting process to try to get rid of me. That backfired on them then and this will backfire on them now. Voters don’t appreciate this type of thing, it just looks real ugly.”

Platts, known to fans of his podcast as the Punk Patriot, is working on finding a lawyer to represent him  pro bono at the Challenge Hearing in Augusta to be held Monday. Mach 21^st . “They’re trying to throw road blocks in my path by disrupting my work week, disrupting my collection of Clean Elections Fund donations, and forcing a low income person like me to retain a lawyer on short notice”, said Platts. “I’m not daunted. Since becoming an activist outside the two party system, I’ve always had to work 10 times harder to challenge the entrenched power structures, and I’m not backing down now.”

From Green Party US:

With elections coming this November, many state Green Parties are holding meetings to nominate candidates, discuss strategy, and get to know new members. If you are near one of these upcoming state meetings, mark it on your calendar!

The Green Party of Pennsylvania is meeting in State College on Saturday, March 1st. Click here for details.

Also on March 1st, the Green Party of Tennessee will hold its statewide meeting in Nashville.

The Green Party of Texas is planning its next state meeting for April 11-13 in Travis County, TX. Details are available on the party’s Facebook page here.

The Green Party of Wisconsin is meeting in Madison on Saturday, April 12th. Click here for details.

On May 3rd, Maine Greens are holding an anniversary dinner in Augusta to celebrate the founding of the state party. Click here for more information.

And don’t forget, the Green Party of the United States is holding its Annual National Meeting in Saint Paul, Minnesota this July 24th-27th. Hundreds of Greens will be there. We hope to see you!

Click here to purchase registration, food, and lodging for our Annual National Meeting.

Minneapolis, MN – Green Cam Gordon is reelected to the City Council, representing Ward 2.

Green-endorsed candidate Ty Moore received 1565 of 4310 votes, or 36.3%, in second place behind Democrat-Farmer-Labor candidate Alondra Cano, who has 39.4% of first-round votes (and who was endorsed by former Green vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke). There were four other candidates in the race (see full results). Since Minneapolis uses instant-runoff voting, election administrators will begin round-by-round counting on 11/6, and continue until one candidate has at least 50% plus one.

Syracuse, NY – In unofficial results, Kevin Bott is at 2,305 votes for Mayor, or 15%, slightly behind Conservative Ian Hunter. Democrat Stephanie Miner wins the race.

Howie Hawkins is at 995 votes, or 40%, for District 4 City Councillor, behind Democrat Khalid Bey. As when Hawkins ran for the same seat in 2011, the Working Families Party invested resources in his opponent in the final days of the campaign. “Every Green vote was a conscious vote”, wrote Hawkins in his reflections on the campaign.

New York City, NY –  Anthony Gronowicz received 4,741 votes, or 0.5%, for Mayor.

Julia Willebrand received 19,544 votes, or 2%, for Comptroller.

James Lane received 16,088 votes, or 1.7%, for Public Advocate.

Carl Lundgren received 1,358 votes, or 1.1%, for Bronx Borough President.

Henry Bardel received 476 votes, or 0.7%, for Staten Island Borough President.

UPDATE: With 100% reporting, Lynne Serpe has 2,412 votes, or 15% for New York City Council District 22, behind Democrat Constantinides who has 67%. Serpe finished ahead of the Republican candidate, who took 11.2%.

Other City Council races:

District 2: Miles Budde received 1,359 votes for 6.8%.

District 6: Tom Siracuse received 690 votes for 1.9%.

District 7: Christina Gonzalez received 1,581 votes for 8%.

District 11: John Reynolds received 481 votes for 2.6%.

District 12: Trevor Archer received 243 votes for 1.3%.

District 18: Walter Nestler received 302 votes for 1.9%.

District 20: Evergreen Chou received 373 votes for 3.4%.

District 43: Patrick Dwyer received 342 votes for 1.7%.

Cleveland, OH – Cleveland City Councilman Brian Cummins, a Green, defeated challenger Brian Kazy 917-892 to win reelection to his Ward 14 seat. Cummins’ challenger was endorsed by Cleveland’s mayor, who had pushed a trash-to-energy plant that Cummins opposed.

Bangor, ME – Josh Plourde, a 22 year-old Green, was the top vote-getter for 3 spots on the Bangor City Council.

Portland, ME – Anna Trevorrow was the top vote-getter for 2 seats on Portland’s School Board.

Portland voters also passed a ballot question legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, with about 70% voting in favor. Portland’s Green Party was a strong supporter of the initiative.

California - Sixteen California Greens were elected to local government on November 5th, bringing to 18 elected overall in 2013, an all-time high for the party in an odd-numbered year – and bringing to 54 the number of California Greens currently holding public office statewide. Full story at gp.org.

Marnie Glickman, who ran in a competitive race for Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District Board, appears to have come just short of winning a seat. Glickman took 21% of the vote, compared to 23.7% for the candidate who took the third of three seats.

Arlington, VA – Audrey Clement earned 31% of the vote for Arlington County Board, finishing behind incumbent Democrat Jay Fisette.

Seattle, WA – Kshama Sawant, a Socialist Alternative candidate for Seattle City Council District 2 endorsed by the Seattle Green Party and 2012 Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, is at 46.7% of the vote to 53% for incumbent Richard Conlin with slightly less than half of ballots now counted. A victory for Sawant is still plausible in this tight race.

New London, CT – Mirna Martinez was elected to the New London Board of Education, the sole non-Democrat on the 7-member board.

Pennsylvania – The Green Party of Pennsylvania reports the following election victories:

Neil B. Haagen III was elected to Snow Shoe Boro Town Council.

Tausif Khan was elected Judge of Elections in Falls Township.

Eric Hamell was elected Inspector of Elections in Philadelphia.

Albany, NY – Theresa Portelli received 665 votes, or 4.5%, for Mayor.

Peter LaVenia received 55 votes, or 12.6%, for City Council Ward 11, finishing second ahead of the Republican, Independence Party, and Working Families Party candidates in the race.

Rochester, NY – Alex White received 1,690 votes, or 5.16%, for Mayor.

Emily Good received 12,952 votes, or 11.97%, for Monroe County Sheriff.

Three Greens running for 5 open seats on Rochester City Council fell short, with all five seats going to Democrats. Dorothy Paige received 3,426 votes for 3.05%, David Atias received 2,997 votes for 2.67%, and Drew Langdon received 2,814 votes for 2.5%.

In the race for School Commissioner, Lori Thomas finished 6th of 8 candidates for 3 seats with 2,775 votes for 3.89%.

Fall River, MA – Green-Rainbow Party candidate for Mayor Joe Carvalho came short of unseating incumbent Mayor Will Flanagan. Carvalho received 3,792 votes, or 31.4%, in Massachusetts’ tenth-largest city.

Holyoke, MA – Rick Purcell fell short of winning an at-large seat on Holyoke City Council, receiving 1,717 votes for 4%.

Pittsfield, MA – Mark Miller fell short of winning one of four at-large seats on Pittsfield City Council, receiving 2,378 votes, as compared to 3,459 for one incumbent who won reelection.

Cambridge, MA – In Cambridge’s at-large city council election, which uses a form of proportional representation, Elie Yarden finished 19th of 25 candidates for 9 seats.

The Maine Green Independent Party saw three local candidates win elections on Tuesday:

Greens in Portland won several races: City Councilors David Marshall and Kevin Donoghue easily won re-election to third terms on the City Council while Holly Seeliger won the open seat for the School Board District 2 (West End, Parkside). Congratulations to David, Kevin and Holly for running terrific, grassroots campaigns and for showing that Greens can govern. Are you ready to run in 2013? Form a municipal committee? Contact us today! info@mainegreens.org

While the Greens running for State legislative seats once again performed well but lost, one Green was re-elected to the state assembly as an Independent. Ben Chipman, who is a Green, wound up running for State Assembly in 2010 as an Independent and defeated his Republican and Democratic opponents. This year he won re-election:

Maine House District 119
Herbert C. Adams (D) 1,272 36.63%
Benjamin M. Chipman (I) 1,884 54.25%
Gwendolyne Elissa Tuttle (R) 317 9.13%

Green Party Presidential candidate Dr Jill Stein has been campaigning tirelessly across the United States, including three days this weekend in Maine:

Thurs.Aug.30th:

Green Party Rally
12-1PM [Monument Square Portland]

Dinner with Local Greens 5PM
[Local Sprouts 649Congress St. Portland]
RSVP: Jacqui jacquio50@yahoo.com [need reservation]

Fri. Aug.31st:

Farmer’s Market 10AM-12PM
[Brunswick Mall]

Dinner with local Greens 4PM
[Frontier Cafe Brunswick]
RSVP:Jacqui jacquio50@yahoo.com [need reservation]

Open House Party 7PM
[Fred Horch's house 44 Pleasant St.Brunswick]

Sat. Sept.1st:

Farmer’s Market 10AM-12PM
[Deering Oaks Park Portland]

Atlantic CannaFest 2PM [Keynote speaker]
[Deering Oaks Park Portland]

Dinner with local Greens 4PM
[Mesa Verde 618 Congress St. Portland]
RSVP: Jacqui jacquio50@yahoo.com [need reservation]

House Party 7PM
RSVP:Jacqui jacquio50@yahoo.com [need reservation]

One of our favorite candidates this fall, Asher Platts (a.k.a. the Punk Patriot), is launching a series of house parties for his campaign for a State Senate seat in Maine:

PLATTS CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES FIRST IN SERIES OF “PUNCH, PIE, & POLITICS” PARTIES TO BE HELD THIS SUMMER

PORTLAND – Asher Platts, Green Independent candidate for Senate District 8 in Portland, will hold the first in a series of campaign house parties on Friday, July 27th from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at 51 Myrtle Street, the home of Anna Trevorrow and Anthony Zeli in Bayside. Members of the public are invited.

“The aim of the house party series is to get to know all the wonderful folks that make up this district in its many neighborhoods, to get neighbors to meet each other to share food and laughs, and to share my campaign’s message that whether it is addressing climate change, fixing our broken government and economy – together we can get it done,” Platts said. “I’m really interested in building communities of citizen power from the ground up that will last through this election for years to come.”

Platts is known nationally as an Occupier-turned-candidate. He spent the fall of 2011 documenting the Occupy Movement on Wall Street and in D.C. before returning to his hometown of Portland to run for State Senate this year.
Read the rest of this entry »

Two years ago, Brunswick resident Fred Horch finished just 140 votes behind the Democrat in a three way race for the Maine State House District 66. He beat the Republican by over 250 votes in an incredibly close election. From our race round up in 2010:

State Representative District 66, ME
Alexander Cornell du Houx (D) 1,409 (38.08%)
K. Frederick Horch (G) 1,272 (34.38%)
Jonathan Crimmins (R) 1,019 (27.54%)

Here is the story we posted in 2010 about the Fred Horch campaign.

Fred Horch is giving it another shot this year, and I think it will be one of the top races to watch in 2012. From the Maine Green Independent Party:

PRESS ADVISORY, 07/06/2012
CONTACT: ASHER PLATTS, 207-776-5448

Greens Caucus this Sunday for Closely-watched Brunswick House Seat

Fred Horch to Seek Green Party Nomination for District 66 on Sunday

BRUNSWICK, ME – 07/06/12 The Brunswick committee of the Maine Green Independent Party (MGIP) will caucus Sunday, 07/08/2012 to nominate a candidate for State House District 66. The race in the Brunswick district has grasped public attention recently due to criminal allegations surrounding the incumbent Democrat Representative.

Fred Horch, founder of popular Maine Street business, F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies, is the only declared candidate for the Green Independent Party ticket. Horch was the Green Independent candidate for the same seat in 2010, finishing a close second in a three-way race and garnering 34% of the overall vote.

“In 2010 Fred Horch came a hair-shy of winning the election. The MGIP is excited that this year, he is already emerging as the district’s favorite,” said Asher Platts, Chair of the MGIP.

Horch lives on Pleasant Street with his wife, Bowdoin Professor and neuroscientist, Hadley Horch and their children. He counts Founder of the Brunswick Sustainability Group and Board Member of the Northwest Brunswick Neighborhood Association among his many roles as a volunteer within the Brunswick community.

“Our Party will be proud to count Fred Horch as our candidate for many reasons from his background and credentials to his deep Brunswick-community roots,” Asher Platts said.

The nominating convention will be held on Sunday, July 8th at the Curtis Memorial Library, beginning at 11:00 a.m.

According to the Convention Minutes of the Maine Green Independent Party, at the Party’s May 5th meeting in Portland the Party voted by Caucus resulting in 7 Presidential Delegates for Jill Stein and 6 Presidential Delegates for Roseanne Barr. Maine is allotted 13 Delegates to the Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention in July.

The May 5th meeting follows county caucuses that were held between January and March of this year. According to the meeting minutes, “15 caucuses convened, small portion took a vote, most decided not to vote, those that did vote voted unanimously for Jill Stein, excepting Portland which went 90% for Jill Stein.”

An unofficial delegate count, including the latest results from Maine and Arkansas, puts Jill Stein with 78% of allocated presidential delegates:

• Jill Stein: 96.5
• Roseanne Barr: 18.5
• Kent Mesplay: 6.5
• Harley Mikkelson: 1.5
• Unassigned: 6

Jill Stein has taken her campaign from Florida to Maine this week. This coverage is from Maine Public Broadcasting Network:

One presidential candidate has made it part of her campaign platform to erase student debt and make college more affordable. In fact, Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein would make enrollment in a public college or university free. It’s all part of what she calls her Green New Deal. Stein was in Maine today for a campaign swing through Portland just two days before the Maine Greens hold their party convention.

Follow the link to the story at MPBN for an audio as well, but here is the text of the article:

With her 150-pound great dane, Bandita, by her side, Dr. Jill Stein (left) strolls into Monument Square looking very little like a traditional presidential candidate.

There’s nothing traditional about Stein, who would cut the defense budget by at least 30 percent, expand Medicare, make health care a human right, end bailouts and free loans to Wall Street and legalize marijuana.
Read the rest of this entry »

Rob Richie and Dorothy Scheeline of Fairvote have written some interesting analysis of last week’s elections that used instant runoff voting, aka ranked choice voting. Instant runoff voting was used in San Francisco, CA, St. Paul, MN, and Portland, ME; in all three cities, Greens both helped enact IRV and ran in last Tuesday’s elections. For the mayoral elections in Portland and San Francisco, Fairvote has graphs that show the breakdown of votes round by round until someone takes a majority (in Portland, Greens David Marshall and John Eder finished 4th and 12th of 15; in SF, Green Terry Baum finished 11th of 16). In a Huffington Post article, Richie and Scheeline focus on the story of IRV’s success in Portland:

Repeatedly, we are seeing RCV winners being the candidates who do a particularly effective job at reaching out to voters, often with direct contact involving community debates, local events, and door-knocking. One Portland candidate, David Marshall, said he knocked on 20,000 doors. He didn’t win, but it was ballots from his supporters that provided a particularly strong boost to the new mayor’s win total.

On November 8, Portland Maine will hold an election for the first popularly elected Mayor in over 80 years. Furthermore, voters will get to rank the candidates as the election will be using Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), which will be very interesting given that there are 14 candidates on the ballot.

One of those candidates, John Eder, is a former State Legislator, one of a handful of Greens ever elected to State Legislative office in the U.S. Eder, however, did not get the endorsement of the Maine Green Independent Party (MGIP), which has instead endorsed sitting City Councilor David Marshall, also a Green:

“Let there be no mistake about it, David Marshall is the Green choice for Portland’s mayor,” states Nate Shea, MGIP Chair. “His leadership on sustainable transportation, green development, and the creative economy places him among the strongest elected Greens in the nation.”

The Green Independent Party endorses Marshall because of his vision to create a modern streetcar line in Portland, to convert homes and businesses off of oil to cleaner fuels, and to grow the population density to create a more sustainable city as well as his longstanding commitment to helping constituents cut through city bureaucracy. For these reasons, the Green Independent Party strongly urges its members to rank David Marshall as their first choice for Mayor.

On Tuesday, John Eder came out and put his support behind one of his opponents, Ethan Strimling.

The endorsement comes as somewhat of a surprise because of Eder’s background. Eder helped mentor City Councilor David Marshall, the other Green Independent Party candidate running for mayor.

But Eder said Marshall is already on the City Council and “doing great work,” and the city needs fresh leadership. He said with Marshall still there, and Strimling as mayor and Eder advocating from the outside, “we’re going to make a great team for this city.”

There are two more Greens running in Portland on November 8. Josephine Okot is running for Portland School Board, and Jack Safarik is running for Portland Water Board.

Below is Mayoral Candidate David Marshall.

From the Green Party of the United States:

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party candidates have continued to receive endorsements in local races across the US.

59 Greens will be on ballots in the November 8, 2011 general election. Ten Greens have been elected to public office in elections held earlier this year, out of 34 candidates who competed.

Green candidates in St. Paul, Minnesota, received several endorsements. For the first time, St. Paul will use Ranked Choice Voting (also called Instant Runofff Voting) in City Council elections, which will increase the chances of a Green election victory.

TakeAction Minnesota, a progressive grassroots coalition, has endorsed Jim Ivey for Ward 2 (http://iveyforsaintpaul.org) and Bee Kevin Xiong (http://xiongforsaintpaul.org) for Ward 6 in City Council races.
http://www.takeactionminnesota.org/_assets/document/St._Paul_City_Council_Endorsements.pdf
http://iveyforsaintpaul.org/news/jim-ivey-endorsed-takeaction-mn

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1189 has also endorsed Mr. Ivey and Mr. Xiong.
http://www.ufcw789.org/newsletter/vol2issue5.pdf
http://iveyforsaintpaul.org/news/united-food-and-commercial-workers-endorse-jim Read the rest of this entry »

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.