Green Party Watch

2011 Green Party Election Wrap-up by the numbers

by Brent McMillan

104 green party candidates ran for election in 2011. By comparison 150 green party candidates ran for election in 2007, 277 green party candidates ran for election in 2003 and 96 green party candidates ran for election in 1999 (the year prior to the presidential election).

More than half of the offices that greens ran for in 2011 were partisan, by my count, 54.

22 greens were elected to office in 2011, 21% of those who ran.

Eleven of the 22, half, were incumbents seeking re-election. Two of these were partisan:

In the spring, Jason West made a come back and was elected to Mayor of New Paltz, NY.

In the fall election, Leif Smith was re-elected to Constable in Redding, CT.

Of note, there was a successful write-in campaign in Virginia. Ira Richards was elected to Lord Fairfax District Soil and Water Conservation Board. He was one of 2 candidates that ran for two seats receiving 135 votes or 3%. (There may have been another successful write-in campaign in VA but have not been able to confirm.)

Officeholder summary for 2011:

California:

Larry Bragman was re-elected to Fairfax Town Council (Fall Election.)

Matthew Clark was re-elected to Granada Sanitary District (Fall Election.)

William Hayes was elected to Mendocino Coast Park and Recreation District (Fall Election.)

Kathryn Marando did not seek re-election to the Tomales Community Services District.

Ryan O’Neil was elected to Fairfax Town Council (Fall Election.)

Vahe Peroomian was re-elected to Glendale Community College District (Spring Election.)

Richard Sloan left the Green Party.

Lew Tremaine did not seek re-election to Fairfax Town Council.

Colorado:

Pete Gleichman did not seek re-election to Mayor of Ward.

Tanya Ishikawa was elected in a come back to Federal Heights City Council Ward 1 (Fall Election.)

Connecticut:

Daphne Dixon lost her re-election to Fairfield Zoning Board (Fall Election.)

Hector Lopez lost his re-election to Constable in New Canaan (Fall Election.)

Leif Smith was re-elected to Constable in Redding (Fall Election.)

Ronna Suller lost her re-election to New London Board of Eduction (Fall Election.)

Illinois:

Steve Alesch was elected to Warrenville Park District Commissioner (Spring Election.)

Don Crawford was elected to St. Elmo Library Board (Spring Election.)

Michael Drennen was elected to Ridgeville Park Board (Spring Election.)

Peter Schwartzman was elected to Galesburg City Council Ward 5 (Spring Election.)

Toni Williams was elected to Thornton Township District 205 High School Board (Spring Election.)

Maryland:

Christine Nagel was re-elected to College Park City Council District 1 (Fall Election.)

New Jersey:

Gary Novosielski was re-elected to Rutherford School Board (Spring Election.)

New York:

Jason West was elected to Mayor of New Paltz (Spring Election.)

Oklahoma:

Ed Shadid was elected to Oklahoma City Council (Spring Election.)

Pennsylvania:

Sam Ettaro left the Green Party.

Leif Winter did not seek re-election to Franklin Township Auditor, Susquehanna County.

Virginia:

Kathleen Harrigan did not seek re-election to Tri County/City (Fredericksburg) Soil and Water Conservation District Board.

Daniel Metraux did not seek re-election to Headwaters (Staunton) Soil and Water Conservation District Board.

Ira Richards was elected to Lord Fairfax District Soil and Water Conservation Board (Fall Election.)

Chris Simmons was re-elected to Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District Board (Fall Election.)

Wisconsin:

JoEllen Gramling did not seek re-election to Schleswig Town Clerk.

Tony Palmeri did not seek re-election to Oshkosh Common Council. (Instead he sought election to Mayor of Oshkosh but was not successful.)

Bob Poeschl was re-elected to Oshkosh Common Council At-Large (Spring Election)

Marsha Rummel was re-elected to Madison Common Council District 6 (Spring Election.)

The Green Party starts 2012 with 125 elected officeholders, 21 of which are partisan offices.

MyCentralJersey.com has published interviews with New Jersey Green Party state assembly candidates Steven Welzer (14th District) and Michael Spector (26th District), as well as a letter to the editor from Welzer. An exerpt from Welzer’s interview:

How would you improve on your opponent’s record? I would bring an alternative perspective into a legislature that is bogged down in business-as-usual ineffectual polarization. Green Party positions are distinctive from those of both the Republicans and the Democrats. As might be expected, we are stronger on fighting environmental degradation. read more »

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 Green Party of New Jersey urges all public and private sector employees to attend organized labor’s rally at the Trenton State House on Friday, February 25, 12:00 noon, supporting Wisconsin workers right of unionized collective bargaining.

We must show both Governors of Wisconsin and New Jersey that we will not be intimidated by the attempt to erode our standard of living, while millionaires and bankers continue receiving subsidies and tax breaks.

Among the speakers will be national AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, and representatives from the Wisconsin state workers who will bring us up-to-date on the situation in Madison.

Unlike the two major political parties, the Green Party of New Jersey has always stood in the forefront of workers rights- from the streets of Cairo, Egypt to those in Madison, Wisconsin and Trenton, New Jersey.

Green Party of New Jersey
P.O. Box 9802
Trenton, N.J. 08650-9802

Tel:973-625-3352

There are 60 candidates running for the United States House of Representatives on November 2.

This is the first of three posts on Green Party House candidates, beginning with the Eastern portion of the United States. There are candidates running in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

Connecticut
Ken Krayeske (CD 1) – Krayeske is no stranger to media attention ever since his notorious challenge to UCONN coach Calhoun over his salary. Krayeske, now running for the US House, has been picking up a lot of media, most recently from a high profile endorsement from Ralph Nader. Krayeske has a nice website and a great campaign video. (GPW coverage of Krayeske)
G. Scott Deshefy (CD 2) – G. Scott Deshefy is a retired environmental analyst with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. He ran for this same seat in 2008, finishing with 6,287 votes (1.87%). I highly recommend his campaign blog.
Charlie Pillsbury (CD 3) – Pillsbury works part time for Mediators Without Borders. He is a veteran candidate, having run in 2008 for New Haven Registrar of voters (8.15%), in 2005 for Alderman (30.5%), in 2003 for Alderman (38.9%) and in 2002 for US House of Representatives (9,050 votes, 4.9%).

Florida
Nicholas Ruiz III (CD 24) – Ruiz is running a write-in campaign for US House in Florida’s 24th district. He has put out several campaign videos (find them on his website) and took part in debates as well. He is the author of America in Absentia (2008), Integral Reality (with Robert Hassan, forthcoming, 2010) and The Metaphysics of Capital, (2006). He is also the editor of Kritikos.

New Jersey
Mark Heacock (CD 1) – Mark Heacock is a Master Painter, Lacrosse coach and veteran candidate. He ran for New Jersey General Assembly in 2007 (2.86%) and 2005 (5.15%), and Borough Council in 2004 (24%) and 2003 (33%). Check out the videos on his site here.
Steve Welzer (CD 4) – Welzer has been a Green Activist for 20 years, a founding member of the New Jersey Green Party, and co-editor of Green Horizons Magazine. This is his first run for office. Watch his “Candidates on Demand” interview on Youtube here.
Ed Fanning (CD 5) – Fanning has worked for 29 years in the finance industry, and is the Secretary of the Green Party of New Jersey. He ran for this same seat in 2008, finishing with 4,950 votes (1.68%). See his “Candidates on Demand” interview on YouTube here.
Patricia Alessandrini (CD 9) – Alessandrini is a retired nurse who has run for Bergen Freeholder in 2008 and State Assembly in 2003 (1.48%). Watch her “Candidates on Demand” video on YouTube here.

New York
Anthony Gronowicz (CD 7) – A New York City native, Gronowicz was the Green Party candidate for Mayor of New York City in 2005, finishing third of 8 candidates. He has a PhD in New York City Political History and is the author of “Race and Class Politics in New York City Before the Civil War”. Here’s a clip of Gronowicz by Craig Seeman.
Hank Bardel (CD 13) – Bardel is a retired union worker and long time Green Party activist. He last ran for office in 2002 running for the US House and finishing with 1% of the vote. He has also run for City Council twice and State Assembly once. He did not get the signatures necessary to appear on the ballot so he is running a write in campaign.

Pennsylvania
Ed Bortz (CD 14) – Bortz is a retired engineer / electrician, and life long writer, poet, and Green Party activist in the Pittsburgh area. Here is a video of Bortz speaking at a Medicare rally that I highly recommend (watch the nervous people behind him.)

South Carolina
Faye Walters (CD 4) – This is C. Faye Walters’ fourth run for the US House as a Green Party candidate. She finished with 1.23% in 2004, 1.3% in 2006, and 3% in 2008. Furthermore she ran as a Natural Law Party Candidate for U.S. Congress District 4 Representative in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002. She has a rich and varied background, currently a small business owner in Greenville, SC.
Nammu Muhammad (CD 6) – Nammu Muhammad is a life-long resident of the threatened Waverly community in Columbia. An electrician, Nammu has worked against gentrification and the displacement of longstanding communities by a business driven and unaccountable development program.

Green Party Watch previously reported that New Jersey Green Party member and noted climate activist Ted Glick was facing potential prison time for unfurling a banner calling for green jobs on Capitol Hill. NJ.com reports that the judge has handed down a 30-day suspended sentence, 40 hours of community service, 1 year of probation and a $1,000 fine.

Ann Wilcox, Glick’s attorney, said the judge sympathized with Glick’s cause and was impressed with the hundreds of letters he received in support.

“The judge said it was disruptive,” Wilcox said, “but he didn’t think it was worth going to jail over.”

Glick, a long-time activist and former Senate candidate for the Green Party, said he is thrilled he avoided jail but feels his actions were warranted.

“I don’t regret the action in any way,” Glick said. “The action was needed. If anything, it’s a shame it took the Senate so long to finally focus on the issue of climate change.”

Read the full article at NJ.com.

Green Party candidates are seeking four New Jersey Congressional and two Freeholder seats this November, offering a viable alternative to the politics of war and fear engendered by the governing duopolies in Washington and Trenton, according to Michael Spector, State Party Chair.

Steve Welzer, 60, of East Windsor will be running in the 4th CD. Steve holds a Masters Degree in Economics from Rutgers University. A founding member of the Green Party of New Jersey in 1997, Steve ran for the same office in 2008 and for State Assembly in 2009. He’s running against Chris Smith (R).

Ed Fanning, from Dumont, is running in the 5th CD against incumbent Scott Garrett(R). Ed ran for the same office in 2008. He received an MBA from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business Administration, and is currently a Product Manager in the financial services industry.
read more »

The Gloucester County Times reports that 2 New Jersey Green Party members recently filed to run for office. Mark Heacock of Woodlynne filed to run for US House of Representatives in the 1st Congressional District, and Margie MacWilliams of Wenonah filed to run for Gloucester County Freeholder.

This is one of my favorite state green party newsletters, so I’m posting it in its entirety…

Green Party of New Jersey

The Green Party of NJ Bulletin – December 2009

* Campaign results and assessments
* County local reports
* Greens Say NO to Obama’s Escalation in Afghanistan
* CT GP would welcome Nader into race against Dodd
* GPNJ members represented in latest Green Horizon Magazine
* Events Calendar
* Links
read more »

NEW JERSEY:

Jason Koralja – Surf City – Borough Council, At-Large

Steven Welzer – General Assembly, District 12

NEW YORK:

Allen Carstensen – Ulysses – Town Supervisor

Bill Talen – New York City – Mayor

Cesar Malaga – Suffolk County – County Legislature, District 14

Darin Robbins – Corning – Alderman, Ward 7

David Pechefsky – New York City – City Council, District 39

Evergreen Chou – New York City – City Council, District 20

Howie Hawkins – Syracuse – Common Council, District 4

Jeff Peress – Nassau County – County Executive

Jennifer Dotson – Ithaca – Common Council, Ward 1

Joseph Duffy – Hornell – Mayor

Luke Gucker – Albany – Common Council, Ward 11

Lynne Serpe – New York City – City Council, District 22

Mary Jo Long – Afton – Town Council

Mike Sellers – Village of Cobleskill – Mayor

Russell Ziemba – Troy – City Council, District 3

Theresa Burgun – Lewisboro – Town Board

Walter Nestler – New York City – City Council, District 18

PENNSYLVANIA:

Andrew McDowell – East Bradford Township – Judge of Elections

Bert Taylor – Erie – County Council, District 6

Brenda Jo Samryk – York Township – Inspector of Elections

David Brooks – Conestoga Township – Auditor

Dean Hornberger – Exeter Township – Auditor

Diane White – Harrisburg – Judge of Elections, Ward 2 Precinct 2

Edward Gately – Manheim Township – Auditor

Frank Divonzo, Jr. – Paxtung Borough – Auditor

Greta Browne – Bethlehem – Judge of Elections, Ward 2

Jay Sweeney – Falls Township – Auditor

John Irwin – Martic Township – Auditor

Juanita Carra-Budzek – Lehigh – Township Supervisor

Kurt Reichenbach – East Buffalo Township – Auditor

Martin Boksenbaum – Lehigh – Township Supervisor

Mike Korsak – Franklin Township – Auditor

Phil Getty – Solebury Township – Auditor

Shawnya Calp – Penn Township – Inspector of Elections

Steve Baker – Springettsburg Township – Inspector of Elections

Thomas Davidock – Schuylkill – Borough Council

It’s a sad sign of how unreliable the Democratic Party has become on environmental issues: In New Jersey’s campaign for Governor, the Republican candidate (Christopher Christie) has criticized the Democratic incumbent (Jon Corzine) for not doing enough to promote sustainable energy. An Associated Press article on the subject leads with the headline, Christie wants N.J. to go greener.

Of course, if you really want to go greener in New Jersey, you ought to be supporting the Green Party of New Jersey. Unfortunately, there is no Green Party candidate for Governor of New Jersey this year. However, there is an independent candidate, Chris Daggett, who is a former Commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Steve Welzer, Green Party candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in New Jersey, is responding to the treatment he received by the Asbury Park Press in their article following a round table discussion between the Republican incumbent, Democratic challenger, and Green Party challenger with the Asbury Park Press Editorial Board.

The portrayal of that event in the Asbury Park Press apparently revealed the bias that paper had against Welzer’s campaign. They diminished his participation by stating only that “…Welzer stayed out of the fray for the most part,” and “…he often read directly from the Green Party platform.” Welzer took some heat for the way the paper presented him, so his response is appropriate and justified.

Below is what Steve Welzer wrote to Green Party Watch, followed by the Letter to the Editor he sent the Asbury Park Press.
read more »

In an earlier post I reported that New Jersey Congressional candidate Steve Welzer would prefer that the Democrat win the race, and asked that the Democrat endorse Instant Runoff Voting, which the Democrat refused to do. I did not provide a link to the news article I based that report on. That article can be found here.

In a reply posted at the earlier report Welzer responded. Because his reply explains in detail what is a complex position, it is copied and re-posted in it’s entirety here.

The context of my remarks needs to be understood.

The person who’s running as a Democrat, Joshua Zeitz, is unusually progressive and, through, our contact during the campaign, we’ve become pretty friendly. I intend to stay in touch with him because I believe I’ll have a chance of recruiting him to the Green Party (as Hugh Esco of Georgia did with Cynthia McKinney). Meanwhile, the Republican incumbent in this race happens to be radically bad on issues like militarism, abortion rights, women’s rights, and gay rights.

The three of us participated in an editorial board meeting at the offices of the Asbury Park Press. At one point in the discussion each candidate was given the opportunity to pose a specific challenge question to another candidate. I had been hammering on the theme: “open up the electoral system to more voices and more choices” – so I posed the following question to Josh Zeitz, the Democratic: “I’ve heard you say that you’re concerned about having the Green Party candidate drain away votes from you, votes that might make the difference in a close race. In that context, I challenge you to go on record as supporting electoral system reforms like proportional representation or Instant Runoff Voting.”

I said I was running for office for the first time, have much to learn, and it’s not likely that I’ll win in this particular race. I said that, unless there is a last-minute groundswell of support for my candidacy, I’d rather see Zeitz go to Washington than to have Smith re-elected. This was in the context of leading up to: “Mr. Zeitz, if you find it problematic that the Green vote might, from your perspective, be a ’spoiling’ vote in this race, then you ought to be able to see the logic of implementing Instant Runoff Voting.”

The press reported the responses from Zeitz and Smith as follows:

“Zeitz would not endorse that plan [IRV] because he said he did not have all the details, but he would consider options that would open up American politics to third parties. ‘Third parties reinvigorate debate,’ Zeitz said.

“Smith said third parties should be included in discussions, but he would not endorse a plan to open the American political arena to third parties.”

There was then quite a bit of discussion about IRV, proportional representation, how elections are run in other countries, and why the only-two-choices American system is deficient. So the bottom line is that I managed to get a considerable amount of time of the editorial board meeting devoted to the role of third parties and ways to open up our electoral system. My remarks about probably not winning the race and preferring to see Zeitz go to Washington were brief and peripheral relative to all the points I made in favor of true and full multi-party democracy in general and Green politics in particular.

It may be that the reporter at the meeting was not sympathetic to third parties. In another article he wrote that appeared in the newspaper the next day he said very little about my participation … and the little he did say was flat-out incorrect. I’ll file a protest with the newspaper about this flawed coverage.

Steve Welzer
Green Party candidate for US Congress in NJ’s 4th CD

In an interesting turn of events, New Jersey Green Steven Welzer, Green Party candidate for US House of Representatives from the 4th District, says he will not win the election in November, and says he would prefer that the Democratic Party nominee win the race. He called on the Democratic nominee to publicly support Instant Runoff Voting. The Democrat refused, saying he needed to learn more about IRV.

Illinois Green Sheldon Schafer is quoted at Central Illinois Proud website saying that his economic plan would not have included a Wall Street bail out.

Over at MN Sun, Green Party candidate for Minnesota House District 46B Allan Hancock is profiled. The article covers him and his issues, as well as the other two candidates in the race.

Over at The Wilder Side Connecticut Green Party leader Tim McKee explains that schools must inform students that there are more than two political parties, and encourages people who find out that schools are excluding information about non-corporate parties to contact him.

Over at Pen Street writer Erica Christoffer examines the Illinois Green Party and several of their 60+ candidates for office.

South Carolina Green Party leader Eugene Platt is profiled by the Charleston Post and Courier in his race for James Island Public Service District Commission. Platt, who won the Green Party nomination for State House District 115, has been removed from November’s ballot for that seat, but remains on the ballot in this non-partisan race while he continues to fight for his rightful place on the ballot as our candidate for the state house seat.

Finally, over at Medill Reports, Rob Runyan explains that Obama benefits from including the non-corporate candidates in the mix, with Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader, Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr taking more votes from McCain than Obama.

The Camden NJ Green Party will be meeting in Collingswood, NJ June 5th at 7 PM at the library at Haddon and Frasier Avenues.

The Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping will deliver the invocation at a Green Party conference set for NYC this Saturday. You gotta check this one out. It includes presenters like Lynne Serpe, director of FairVote, Joel Kovel, Gloria Mattera, Mark Dunlea and several prominent NYC Greens, as well as what I assume are several prominent non-Greens. The event is set for Hunter College in Manhattan, 105 Lexington Avenue (between 68th and 69th Streets)from 9 AM until 6 PM, and is sponsored by the Green Party of Brooklyn.

That’s all for now folks. More after a day’s work.