Green Party Watch

Hat tip to Ballot Access News for this story:

On February 6, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania jury convicted State Representative H. William DeWeese of using state resources to work on partisan political activity during the period 2000-2006. DeWeese was in the Democratic leadership in the House during those years. He directed staff to use government employees and government computers to help challenge the 2004 petition of Ralph Nader, and the 2006 statewide Green Party petition. See this story. DeWeese is currently in the legislature, and has been a state legislator since he was elected in a special election in May, 1976.

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.

The Pennsylvania Green Party will hold its annual state committee meeting on Saturday, December 3rd in Breezewood, PA. All are welcome. Check out the details at the GPPA’s facebook page for the event.

Philadelphia Green Party Sheriff candidate Cheri Honkala was recently interviewed on PressTV. Here is an excerpt of the interview, which is available on PressTV as both video and text:

Philadelphia, where I live, was just named the poorest city in the country. And we have children that go to bed every day in our country that are hungry. We have over 3 million homeless people. And like I said earlier, every 7 seconds a family is losing their home now in this country.

There is no reason for that; we have the ability to provide people with the healthcare. We have the ability to provide everybody with all the necessities of life. We just have a serious problem, we have one political party in this country and that represents corporate America. We don’t have a political system that represents the people, and that is the only reason that I have decided to run for Sheriff.

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 more »

Newsworks recently published an article about Brian Rudnick, a Green Party member who is running for Philadelphia City Council in the 8th District:

It’s 4:30 p.m., and Brian Rudnick’s campaign office swarms with staffers. About 15 field workers, many area college students, criss-cross the cozy, second-floor space on the 7100 block of Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy, chatting and grabbing a quick bite before hitting the street to canvass.

With weeks to go until Philadelphia’s general election,  the independent candidate for City Council has assembled a small army to help spread the word that the Eighth District ballot box will feature two hopefuls, a choice, in 2011.

Read the full article at Newsworks.

From the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street protests, Greens have stood in solidarity with the activists demanding changes from an out-of-control financial sector and unrepresentative government. The Green Parties of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania published statements yesterday declaring support for the protestors and decrying the use of excessive force against citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. From the Green Party of Massachusetts:

In response to the arrest of over 120 people early Tuesday morning, the Green-Rainbow Party (GRP) called for the City of Boston to find ways to accommodate the Occupy Boston demonstrators who have been gathering in the Dewey Square area of the City.  In response to the reported roughing up of members of the Veterans for Peace brigade, the GRP condemned any excessive use of force against peaceful protesters. (Read more)

From the Green Party of Pennsylvania:

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org ) supports the Occupation of Wall Street. It is a peaceful demonstration against a predatory financial order. GPPA supports the expression of direct democracy that this occupation embodies and encourages the participation of Green Party members. GPPA condemns the arrest of those who nonviolently exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to assemble and express their grievances. (Read more)

What are other Greens and allies doing to support the Occupy Wall Street movement? Let us know in the comments.

From the Weekly Press (Philadelphia) comes this piece from Chris Robinson, a Green Party organizer in Philadelphia:

Greens Oppose Philly’s Stop-and-Frisk
Weekly Press
• Wed, Aug 10, 2011

By Chris Robinson

“My father said if you are ever stopped by the police, you say, “Yes, Sir – No Sir.” Tell the officer what’s in your wallet. Don’t, don’t make no sudden moves and don’t run. Just get through whatever the situation is,’ Nutter said. ‘Those lessons stuck with me.’” [See, Philadelphia Daily News, June 22, 2011, page 3.]

During 2005, Philadelphia’s police made 102,319 pedestrian stops. When Michael Nutter became Mayor of Philadelphia in 2008, he ordered an increase in pedestrian stops under a policy commonly called “Stop-and-Frisk.” By 2009, pedestrian stops by police had increased 148 percent to 253,333. Of that total, 72 percent of the victims were African Americans, but only 8 percent of those pedestrian stops resulted in an arrest.

I, for one, would like to know what we should call the other 92 percent of those pedestrian stops. Were those 233,066 citizens “harassed by the police?” Were they “intimidated by the police?” Or should we say, “Their rights under the U.S. Constitution were violated?”

The Green Party has a history of opposition to stop-and-frisk. Under the heading “Racial Discrimination,” the Green Party national platform says, “We condemn the practice of racial profiling by law enforcement agencies, which are guilty of stopping motorists, harassing individuals, or using unwarranted violence against suspects with no other justification than race or ethnic background.”

At a Philadelphia City Council hearing on December 14, 2010, Green Party leader Hugh Giordano, who had run for PA House of Representatives, made it clear that stop-and-frisk targets, urban, minority and young citizens. “This law is a form of Jim Crow law,” said Giordano, referring to discriminatory laws used to maintain segregation of the races. “It attacks a certain group of people, and the numbers and testimony shows it.” Giordano also criticized Philadelphia’s City Council for allowing stop-and-frisk to continue unabated.
read more »

Kaitlyn Foti reports at Chestnut Hill Patch:

Chestnut Hill resident Brian Rudnick is hitting the street, trying in a short amount of time to get the signatures he needs to get on the ballot this November.

Rudnick decided late in July that he wanted to switch from a write-in campaign as the Green Party candidate for the 8th District City Council seat.

The Green Party candidate, and Chestnut Hill resident, has only a few days to gather 750 signatures.

…“There is a strong and determined minority that thinks the city should have a two-party system at least. Because the Republicans are so weak, we hardly have a two-party system. That second party could be the green party,” Rudnick said.

…As for the chances for the Green Party, he said, “They are a political force, and their values are peace, social justice, grassroots democracy and non-violence, and what I seek to exemplify in my life and as a council person.”

Read more at Chestnut Hill Patch or at Rudnick for Philadelphia City Council.

The Green Party of Philadelphia’s candidate for Sheriff, long-time activist Cheri Honkala, recently opened an official campaign office.  Other news from the campaign is also below, including a protest against the current Sheriff of Philadelphia resuming sheriff’s sales.

From the Daily Record, on the subject of her campaign’s office:

In celebration of the office opening, the campaign has released the first in a series of tracks contributed by artists from all over the country inspired by Cheri Honkala’s bid for Sheriff of Philadelphia and her promise of “Keeping Families In Their Homes” by halting all evictions based in foreclosure. The song entitled “My Name is Cheri Honkala” can be found at the campaign’s BandCamp page, www.cheri4sheriff.bandcamp.com, and can be downloaded for a $1 donation.

A slideshow to accompany the song featuring photographs from famous documentary photographer Harvey Finkle can be found at the campaign’s YouTube channel located at YouTube.com/Cheri4Sheriff,, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbbFJdZSQc8.

Supporters of the campaign can receive a print of one of the celebrated photog’s images that have documented Philadelphia’s activist community for decades with a $50 donation. Harvey Finkle was honored by the Bread and Roses Community Fund in 2009 and is actively documenting the Cheri Honkala for Philadelphia Sheriff Campaign.

From Philadelphia Weekly, regarding the sheriff’s sale protests:

Around 4:30 Monday afternoon, anti-poverty activist and Sheriff candidate Cheri Honkala stands outside Acting Sheriff Barbara Deeley’s Center City office. The veteran protester is joined by her son, Guillermo Santos, and a handful of supporters. She tells members of the press, some onlookers and passers-by that some day, she hopes we’ll all “live in a country that will make it against the law to throw families out on the streets, where people will stand up and say something.” She points at the office and tells the crowd that although 2,000 homes will be sold in sheriff’s sale the next day, “they haven’t even dealt with the corruption yet, in this office,” referring to $53 million the Sheriff’s Office hasn’t been able to account for.

Honkala has also been challenging the position of one of the several Democratic candidates running in a May 15 primary.  The candidate is generally seen as a reformer, and he would like to eliminate the office of sheriff entirely.  However,

Some critics of elimination, such as candidate Cheri Honkala say many sheriff responsibilities will be shifted to the courts if the office is eliminated, making it worse for those hardest hit by the mortgage crisis.

Finally, in a show of support from her hometown, a fundraiser is being held on April 29th in Minneapolis to benefit Honkala’s campaign:

Minneapolis – Artists Support Cheri Honkala for the “People’s Sheriff
Evictions and Sheriff’s-sale auctions of foreclosed properties are core issues for Cheri Honkala, this year’s Green Party candidate for Sheriff of Philadelphia. Originally from the Twin Cities, the two years that Cheri spent in Minneapolis between 2007 and 2009 strengthened her already firm resolve to struggle for the rights of homeowners during the onset of the foreclosure crisis.

The April 29th benefit at The Blue Nile in Minneapolis is one of many being held to support the Green Party candidate for Philadelphia Sheriff across the nation. Honkala is calling for people all over the country to run for Sheriff and put an end to evictions based in foreclosure in their communities. The candidate has received an outpouring of support from artists across the U.S., including the donation and dedication of original music to the campaign from artists Sir Ben Marx (NC), Shamako Noble (CA), Mic Crenshaw (OR) and many others. The election for Philadelphia Sheriff takes place in November, 2011.

A press release from the Green Party of Pennsylvania (the resolution is included below, as well):

Friday April 22 marks the 41st anniversary of Earth Day.  The seventies brought promise with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the passage of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act.  That promise fades with the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the damaged nuclear complex in Japan and the threat to Pennsylvania’s water, land and air from drilling for natural gas.

The Green Party of Pennsylvania calls upon Governor Corbett to fulfill his oath of office and the DEP to follow it’s mission and protect our environment.  “Natural gas drilling will consume the equivalent of Harvey’s Lake, the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania, in less than 2 years time.” states Green Party activist Jay Sweeney.  “The dumping of ‘treated’ wastewater into our rivers and streams is a public health threat as noted by Dr. Conrad Volz in his testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works last week.”

The Green Party of Pennsylvania has endorsed a resolution calling for a ban of the hydrofracking process. See below.

“The Corbett administration reminds us, day after day, of who helped get them get into office and who is really pulling their strings,” remarks I.K. Samways, Chair of the Green Party of Pennsylvania.  ”To treat a severance tax as a third rail while insisting on a political seal of approval for DEP inspection reports is irresponsible in the extreme.  Hydrofracking remains a volatile and poorly regulated process, where the very health of our citizens has become little more than a political trading horse.  A ban on the process, as called for in the Green Party’s resolution, will put an end to this blatant misuse of our natural resources and keep us on the road to a much more responsible and sustainable energy policy.”

“For years, we’ve been told that natural gas is cleaner than traditional gasoline, and so despite the concerns about water, it was still the more environmental thing to do.” adds former Chair, Hillary Kane.   “We now know that fracking releases so much methane into the air at the time of extraction that the carbon footprint of natural gas is actually worse than coal.  There is no reason to be doing this.”

The Green Party of Pennsylvania is also sponsoring Earth Day rallies outside DEP Regional offices on Thursday April 21.  On Thursday from 11 am to 2 pm, there will be a rally outside the DEP Northeast Regional office on 2 Public Square in Wilkes-Barre.  Also on Thursday from 4 to 6 pm, there will be a rally outside the DEP Southeast Regional Office on 2 E. Main St. in Norristown.  The Green Party would like to thank it’s Earth Day Coalition partners Citizens for Clean Water, NEPAGasAction.org, End Gasocracy Now!, Protecting Our Waters, Brandywine Peace Community, Buxmont Coalition for Peace Action and Saint Vincent’s Peace and Justice Ministry.  

New Green Party of PA Statement on Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale

Green Party of Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale Statement

Whereas Marcellus shale natural gas is not a transitional fuel, but an impediment to a clean energy policy that conserves energy and develops solar, wind, geothermal, micro hydro and other renewable technologies, and

Whereas methane (CH₄) a greenhouse gas and the principal component of natural gas is more harmful than carbon dioxide (CO₂), and

Whereas the Energy Act of 2005 exempted the oil & gas industry from the Safe Drinking Water Act, and

Whereas natural gas fracking results in a level of devastation on the scale of the previous oil, timber and coal exploitation of our natural heritage, and

Whereas the byproducts of the hydrofracking process include the release of radioactive materials into the environment, and

Whereas hydraulic fracturing squanders our precious water resources and poisons drinking water, private wells and public supplies, and

Whereas natural gas extraction poses dangers, including explosions, threatening those employed by the industry as well as the general public, and

Whereas Article 1, Section 27 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania states, “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people,” and

Whereas there is a total failure to regulate extractive industries including the failure to prevent illegal water withdrawals by the oil & gas industry in Western Pennsylvania, and

Whereas Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have passed ordinances calling for a ban and a moratorium, respectively,

Be it resolved that, we, citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and members of the Green Party of Pennsylvania, call for the termination and prohibition of all natural gas extraction involving the use of our Commonwealth’s water resources.  We call for a ban immediately stopping all high volume, slick water, horizontal fracturing of deep shale, including exploration, in Pennsylvania and worldwide.

Be it further resolved that the Green Party of Pennsylvania believes the short term economic benefits will be dwarfed by the long term economic and environmental consequences of natural gas extraction.  Any and all political and legal means must be employed to protect our environment.

In the interim, the right of local communities to protect themselves and assert their rights through local ordinance is supported by the Green Party of Pennsylvania.

From the York Daily Record:

York, PA - Demonstrators supporting Wisconsin unions waved and shook their signs at drivers who beeped their horns as they passed U.S. Rep. Todd Platts’ office in Springettsbury Township at rush hour Friday.Signs reading “Stand with Wisconsin workers” and “Support a teacher” were held by some in the group who decided to participate in the rally organized by Stephen Baker of the Green Party of York County.

“We’re here to protest Republicans trying to take away years of work on labor rights,” Baker, a Springettsbury resident, said.

A bill eliminating most collective-bargaining rights for Wisconsin’s public-employee unions was passed Thursday. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law Friday.

Friday’s protest in York County was one of several planned by the Green Party. One was held last week in Harrisburg, Baker said, where about 1,000 demonstrators showed support for Wisconsin unions seeking negotiation rights.

Cheri Honkala Announces Green Party Candidacy for Philadelphia Sheriff
Honkala vows to fill 40,000 empty properties & keep Philadelphia families in their homes if elected

by Belinda Davis
February 18, 2011

Cheri Honkala announced her intent to run as the Green Party candidate for sheriff at 10:00 a.m. on 2/17, addressing an overflow crowd of some 60 supporters and members of the press at 718 Market St. (the headquarters of Casino-Free Philadelphia). Before her announcement, Jim Moran led the crowd of chants to “keep families in their homes,” the echoing the central theme of Honkala’s anti-foreclosure platform. Next, numerous speakers offered their enthusiastic support, as Holly Walker interpreted their comments in sign language.

Rev. Robert Johnson, whose own family has suffered under foreclosure, asked the crowd to “put themselves in [his] shoes.” Esther Smith, whose family was able to avoid foreclosure, emphasized how Honkala had stood by her—and how she in turn stood by Honkala. Galen Tyler, of the PPEHRC, said that as the Green Party candidate for sheriff, Honkala would be “for the people, not for the corporations,” and urged everyone to “get their friends, families, and neighbors out to work for Cheri.”

Hugh Giordano, a union organizer speaking on behalf of the Green Party, stressed that Honkala “was what a Green Party candidate should be. The Green Party stands for people—getting candidates who stand for us, not the CEOs and the bankers.” He added that the Green Party does not accept contributions from corporations. “The Green Party stands for social justice, democracy, good public education, a living wage, union jobs—and keeping people in their homes. Everyone should be proud that Cheri Honkala is running for sheriff as a Green Party candidate.”
read more »

Monday Feb 14, the San Fernando Valley (CA) Greens met in Northridge, CA.

Tuesday Feb 15, the Logan Square Green Party in Chicago Illinois are meeting at the Green Party office on Fullerton Ave.

Wednesday Feb. 16 the Los Angeles Greens in California meet at 7 PM at the Peace Center on W. Third St.

Thursday Feb. 17 the Detroit Greeens are meeting with the Tri-County Greens at the Phoenix Cafe in Hazel Park, MI.

Do you know of local or state Green Party meetings or other Green Events that we should add to our Events Calendar? Post them here as a comment or send by email to GPW@GreenPartyWatch.org