Green Party Watch

The Steering Committee of the Green Party (US) consists of 7 “co-chairs”, plus a Treasurer and a Secretary. Four of the seven co-chair positions are up for election with 10 days left in the discussion period before a seven day voting period begins.

The debate among the National Committee, which elects the Steering Committee, has been intensifying over the last five days, however the debate has not been about the future direction of the party, but over challenges to two of the nominees qualifications. Steering Committee co-chairs have to be Delegates to the National Committee, but what isn’t clear is whether they have to be Delegates at the time they are nominated, or at the time they are elected.

The intense debate (hundreds of emails) has led to one of the challenged nominees, former presidential candidate kat swift of Texas, to withdraw her name from consideration. kat swift is currently an Alternate Delegate representing the National Women’s Caucus. kat swift ran for the Green Party’s presidential nomination in 2008 and in 2004, was a Green Party candidate for San Antonio City Council in 2007, and was co-chair of the Texas Green Party.

The other nomination being challenged is Nick Mellis, State Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey who is currently an Alternate Delegate representing New Jersey. Nick Mellis was a co-founder of the Green Party of New Jersey in 1995, helped organize the national Campus Greens in 2000, and was a candidate for New Jersey State Assembly in 2007. The Green Party of New Jersey State Council is currently debating a proposal to allow Mellis to switch places with one of their current delegates, however even this attempt is being challenged based on various bylaws and rules for GPUS and the GPNJ.

Also being elected at the same time is the Secretary position. Current Secretary, Holly Hart (IA) is seeking re-election. The other candidate is Audrey Clement (VA), who has been a Green Party member since 2005, a Delegate to the National Committee, and co-chair of the Bylaws, Rules, Policies & Procedures (BRPP) Committee. She was instrumental in securing ballot access in Virginia for Cynthia McKinney in 2008. Although debate on issues has been stifled due to the debate on candidate eligibilities, current Secretary Hart has been taking a lot of heat from the some of the Delegates/Alternates that have been most vocal in challenging the eligibility of Mellis and Swift, claiming that she should not have permitted them to be nominated.

The other six candidates for co-chairs of the GPUS Steering Committee to fill four seats are:
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Voting has begun this week on four proposals before the GPUS National Committee, and official discussion has begun on one more. There could be some exciting and interesting discussion on the National Committee lists about a few of these, namely voting online for Steering Committee Officers, the resolution affirming opposition to the death penalty, and in the queue a resolution declaring the International Committee “inactive until committee Rules, Policies & Procedures are adopted”.

We are trying something new on Green Party Watch – embedding polls into the post so that you can chime in both in the comments and on the poll! (note: online polls are not scientific and very little in terms of security is in place, much like our presidential elections in America)

Prop 382: Resolution Against the Death Penalty

Yes, the Green Party already opposes the death penalty. This resolution is in response to the Green Party of Mexico, El Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM), which has been publicly advocating a return to the death penalty as part of an anti-kidnapping campaign in Mexico. This is actually not as simple as it might seem, there are complexities of the international Green movement involved as well as complexities within the Federación de Partidos Verdes de las Américas (FPVA), and the role of the GPUS International Committee within the FPVA. European Greens recently issued a strong condemnation of the Mexico Greens, and this Resolution, which did not come from the GPUS International Committee but the Green Party of California, appears to be echoing that sentiment. However there is concern that the language of the resolution is not very diplomatic. One Delegate wrote: “In sum, our relationship with the Mexican Green Ecologist Party is more deeply-rooted and complex, than suggested by the somewhat condescending, judgmental tone of Resolution 382.” The International Committee is apparently considering a better worded resolution than this one. The vote on this resolution will likely be closer than one might think, and I suspect it might fail.

The resolution with background as submitted can be read here.

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Prop 383: Election of the Officers of the GPUS by Online Elections

Under current practice the Officers of the GPUS, including Secretary, Treasurer, and Steering Committee members, are elected by National Committee Delegates present at the Annual National Meeting, with each delegate present allowed to cast one proxy vote for an absent delegate. This proposal would be a bylaws change that would allow for all National Committee Delegates both present and absent to vote for the GPUS officers online the same way that Delegates currently vote for resolutions such as this one. One concern about this resolution is that it may make the Annual National Meeting “irrelevant” or indirectly reduce the number of delegates that will travel to North Carolina for the 2009 ANM. However if passed it will allow the entire National Committee to vote on the leadership of GPUS rather than only those who could make it to North Carolina this July. I expect this will pass.

The resolution with background as submitted can be read here.

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Prop 384 & Prop 385: Green House Campaign Committee and Green Senate Campaign Committee Election Revote

These two propositions are back on the voting docket after failing earlier due to a lack of a quorum. Seven candidates for the Senate CC are on the ballot to fill seven seats; 3 candidates for the House CC are on the ballot to fill 9 seats. The candidates are all the same as the previous vote. The House Committee will hopefully be able to fill the rest of their seats soon, assuming these two props pass this time. The House Committee has the potential to be really exciting. I expect these to pass.

Prop 384 with background as submitted can be read here.
Prop 385 with background as submitted can be read here.

Discussion Phase: Prop 386: Declare International Committee Inactive Until Committee RPPs are Approved

This proposition, presented by the Green Party of California, is going to result in a lot of dirty laundry fluttering in the wind. The International Committee apparently pre-dates GPUS and has long operated under pre-GPUS rules and procedures. The International Committee is also apparently one of the more active and cohesive committees given its long history and relatively consistent membership over the years. There has been pressure on the International Committee to submit updated Rules & Procedures to the National Committee for approval but it has never done so. It looks like it will likely do so now very soon. However, complicating things is the fact that the BRPP (Bylaws, etc) Committee is currently re-writing the International Committee’s Rules for them, and not with their permission. It is looking like the BRPP vs International Committee in a cage match with the Steering Committee as Referee and the National Committee as judges. The International Committee just elected new co-chairs in the last several weeks and is expected to be taking on its own Rules shortly. It could be a race to the finish line.

And all of these interesting subjects will make for a not-boring week for the National Committee.

The National Committee is meeting now (Sunday morning).

Sanda Everette, Jill Bussiere and Craig Thorsen were elected to the Steering Committee, and Jody Grage was continued as Treasurer.

Cynthia McKinney spoke to the NC about the campaign, her needs, the Green Party needs, etc. I missed half of this but the Wilders report on it, check there coverage out.

In terms of ballot access, Phil H. led the NC through a state by state plan to boost ballot status for McKinney to 46 states if possible. He ran down each state that already had ballot access or that had completed their drive, and then assigned those states other states to go help. This makes a nation wide ballot access drive, the only way to pull it off.

For example, Arizona is done, they are assigned to help Utah. Arkansas should go help Missouri. Wyoming has no one on the ground working for 4,000 signatures, no drive yet at all. Colorado was assigned to get Wyoming ballot status. Alabama needs help from Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. New Hampshire and Vermont needs Maine to go down and coordinate the petition drives in those two states. Indiana and Illinois need to get Kentucky going, Nebraska needs to get Kansas going, Michigan should help Ohio, Maryland and DC should finish off Virginia’s drive then turn to Pennsylvania, where there is still a drive to get on the ballot. Wisconsin and Illinois should help Iowa finish off their drive. Rhode Island and Massachusetts need to get McKinney on the ballot in Connecticut.

It is a good strategy if people step up. The Ballot Access Committee will steer the helpers to the states that need help.

It has been suggested that the costs associated with attending the nominating convention in Chicago will be so high that some delegates will not be able to attend. For some states I imagine the costs are always high. Hawai’i (I think that’s the preferred spelling, no?), Alaska, Maine, states with big areas with sparse numbers like Texas, Montana, the Dakotas. I can see how costs for those folks can be prohibitive.

So, what to do? Apparently the GNC is debating the prospects of charging states to cast their proxy votes. At $250 a pop, these proxy votes may not be cast by some states just to save money. I am not sure if that cost estimate is accurate.

Over the next few days I hope to get information to share with you about how the process works, what costs are involved, how different people and states are handling the costs, and what impact this may be having on the four Presidential campaigns. I hope you’ll stay tuned.

The Green National Committee(GNC) is the Federal Elections Commission recognized policy making body for the Green Party of the United States. They are currently in the discussion phase on three issues to be decided in the next few weeks.

The first proposal, Proposal 345 covers Presidential Nominating Convention Rules, Amendments, and to Provide for Credentialing of Delegates. Sponsored by the Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures committee(BRPP), the proposal was put forward by Audrey Clement of Virginia and Hugh Esco of Georgia. Supporting documents can be found here and over here.

Proposal 346 discusses an Amendment to the Bylaws of the Green Senatorial and House Campaign Committees. Sponsored by the Green Senatorial Campaign Committee(GSCC), the proposal would mainly do what one might call “house cleaning”, such as changing the name of the committee and terms of it’s members. Teresa Keane of Oregon and Brent White of Washington developed the proposal. Supporting documents can be found here and by clicking here.

Finally, Proposal 347 would Approve Ruth Gabey, MGIP, for GPUS Finance Committee(FinCom). Her membership is proposed by the national Steering Committee(SC) and she has been fully vetted by the Maine Green Independent Party. In her bio she says, persuasively,

From Ruth Gabey -

I have been a member of the Maine Green Independent Party for about 13 years and was its treasurer for 3 years. In addition, the Board of Directors of the Maine Green Independent Party unanimously supported my appointment to the US Green Party Finance Committee.

My Green values carry me to the Maine State Legislature on many occasions to testify on legislation. I have worked for and financially supported Green candidates and have run for the Maine House of Representatives as a Green in order to bring the Green Party name into households in Maine.

I believe that the Green Party is needed as a voice in this political vacuum. My car carries Green Party bumper stickers as well as others such as REAL HUNTERS DON’T BAIT BEARS and OUT OF IRAQ, plus more.

I am 77 years old and a product of the Great Depression and know how to stretch currency.

If you desire further information, I will be glad to oblige.

Ruth Gabey