Green Party Watch

From the New York Times (editor’s note: the NYT has conspicuously refused to cover Green Howie Hawkins’ surging campaign for NY Governor):

The Green Party candidate from Texas, Emily Sanchez, has few resources in her bid for the United States Senate.

She has no war chest to buy ads or television time. Her campaigning is limited because she holds a full-time job. She has no campaign staff to write speeches or set up rallies. She faces formidable and well-financed opposition.

What she does have is a nickname, SpicyBrown, that voters will see on the ballot. She hopes it will garner attention and spur voters to examine her political stances.

“A lot of questions I get on my page is why I have the name,” she said, referring to her Facebook page. “Afterward, I have people ask what my platform is about. It helps that way.” read more »

From KGNS TV:

Emily “Spicybrown” Sanchez, the Green Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, filed an Emergency Complaint with the Federal Communication Commission’s Media Bureau seeking inclusion in a Univision Dallas debate scheduled to take place Friday, October 24, 2014.

The complaint argues that KUVN-DT violated the Equal Time Rule by including Democratic and Republican candidates and excluding the Green and Libertarian candidates in its debate.

“Not only did Univision exclude all of the female candidates in the race, it excluded the only Mexican-American candidate and the only candidate that actually speaks Spanish,” stated Emily “SpicyBrown” Sanchez. read more »

KAIT ABC News 8 in Jonesboro reports:

The Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, Mark Swaney, wants to tell voters why he is running for office. Swaney said he has a number of issues that differ from his Democratic and Republican opponents. He is up against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Cotton and Incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Pryor.

Swaney said one of the most important issues on his platform is climate change. He would implement a tax on carbon to encourage people not to use it. Swaney wants the country to focus on alternatives that would not pollute the atmosphere.

Swaney said he will also fight to make things better for the working class. read more »

From UALR public radio:

Both the Libertarian Party of Arkansas and the Green Party have already submitted enough signatures to be on the ballot for the 2014 elections. On Saturday the Green Party announced a candidate for governor and US senate.

Hot Springs attorney Josh Drake is running for governor while Huntsville resident Mark Swaney is running for US senate.

The party’s public relations officer Rebekah Kennedy identified climate change, fossil fuel dependence, and the infringement of civil liberties as key issues in both candidates’ campaigns. read more »

From the Texas Green Party:

The Texas Green Party has recruited more than 50 candidates for state and local office across Texas to occupy the ballot in 2014. This is historically the largest number of Green Party candidates that will appear on the ballot in Texas.

“We are very excited to be running so many principled progressive candidates throughout the state,” said David Wager, co-chair of the Texas Green Party.

“Our goal is to provide a progressive alternative to the other two parties in Texas and offer voters more voices and more choices than they might otherwise have on the ballot,” Wager said.

The most widely known candidate is food safety advocate and whistleblower Kenneth Kendrick of Wilson, who is running for Agriculture Commissioner. read more »

This year there are six candidates on the ballot for US Senate on the Green Party line and one registered write-in candidate.

The first Green Party candidates for US Senate were Mary Jordan (AK) and Linda Martin (HI) in 1992, 20 years ago. Jordan got 8.37% of the vote, while Martin pulled 13.73% in a four way race. Since then there have been 67 US Senate campaigns by the Green Party, with 13 candidates in 2006 as the peak. The most votes won by a Green US Senate candidate was 326,000 by Media Benjamin in California in 2000. The highest percent of the vote received by a Green US Senate candidate was 20.56% by Rebekah Kennedy in Arkansas in 2008.

In 2010, 11 Green Party candidates ran for US Senate, with Tom Clements winning 9.37% of the vote in South Carolina and all candidates combined won over 500,000 votes.

2012 Green Party US Senate candidates:

Colia Clark (NY)

Colia Clark, a long  time civil rights, peace and women activist, was a Green Party nominee for U.S.  Senate in 2010 for the seat presently held by Chuck  Schumer. She won 39,000 votes for 1%, finishing 3rd of four candidates. Clark, a  resident of Manhattan, is a chair of Grandmothers for the Release of Mumia Abu  Jamal. During the Civil Rights era, Clark was a Special Assistant to Medgar W.  Evers, field Secretary for the NAACP. Clark later joined the Mississippi Student  Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) doing voter registration work. She was  the founder  and Coordinator for Poor Women Against  Vietnam War, and the former coordinator of the Social Justice Center in  Albany.

Colia Clark has been an outspoken critic of hydro-fracking, and the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant.

Here is Colia Clark after being endorsed by the Green Party of New York:

Martin Pleasant (TN)

Marty Pleasant lives in South Knoxville and is an employee with the Knox County Engineering and Public Works department where he works to implement green practices in storm water management. He and his wife also operate a small organic farm and community garden space. He has been a volunteer with Americorps, Community Creek Clean-ups, River Rescue and as a youth sports coach. He has degrees in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

Pleasant is running on the Green New Deal – supporting the restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act, phasing out non-renewable energy, ending US involvement in foreign wars, and fully funding public education.

David Collins (TX)

David Collins is a former teacher and current information services employee who lives in Houston Texas. He has been active with the Green Party since 1995, with the Harris County Green Party since 2000, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Houston Peace and Justice Center.

Collins is running for US Senate on the Green New Deal, and is an outspoken critic of the environmental damage being caused by the Keystone Pipeline as well as nuclear power plants across Texas. Breaking the US addiction to fossil fuels is one of his main policy positions, as well as ending wasteful military involvements and ending the war on drugs.

Harley Mikkelson (MI)

Harley Mikkelson is a retired public employee, Vietnam veteran, and active union member with AFSCME and UAW. Mikkelson has been active with the Michigan Green Party since 2000, and has run for office five times on the Green Party ticket. In 2002 he got 5,000 votes running for the House of Representatives, and 2,400 votes for the same office in 2004. In 2008 he was the Michigan Green Party candidate for US Senate, winning 43,000 votes, coming in 4th of 6 candidates. In 2010 he was the Michigan Green Party candidate for Governor, winning 20,000 votes and coming in 5th place. Mikkelson sought the Green Party nomination for President this year, losing that bid to Jill Stein.

The Green Party of Michigan has selected me to be their 2012 U.S. Senate candidate. This is a very important election. Social Security, Medicare, and public education are all under attack. Health care is becoming unaffordable. We have soldiers stationed all over the world, we are still involved in a war in Afghanistan, and the stage has been set for a war with Iran. Our environment is being ruined. There are way too many people unemployed. I am a working class person and it is the working class perspective I hope to bring to this race. I do not want the Green Party to be the party of a small group of left wing intellectuals. I want to represent people who shop at Walmart as well as Macy’s. During this campaign I will present Green alternatives to the policies of the Republicans and Democrats in power.

This video is from Mikkelson’s 2010 campaign for Governor:

Ken Wolski – NJ

Ken Wolski is the Executive Director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana – New Jersey, where he works to craft legislation and build support for the medical marijuana bill that passed in 2009 and was signed into law in 2010. Wolski has continued to push for implementation of the bill in the face of the Christie administration’s resistance. Wolksi is a public service nurse with a Masters degree in Public Administration. He is a strong advocate for a single payer health care system.

Andrew Groff – DE

Andrew Groff is a small business owner, running his own computer consulting business. Last fall he became involved with the growing Occupy movement, and joined the Occupy Delaware movement working on advocacy for home foreclosure victims. Groff wants to “return a citizen-representative to the US Senate to protect the needs of Delaware citizens and Delaware law. We endeavor to demonstrate that money need not be the deciding factor in electing a senator to Washington…We will not be slaves to corporate political party manipulation and will truly represent a government by the people and for the people.”

Jeff Russell – CT

Jeff Russell is running his second write-in campaign for US Senate in Connecticut. In 2010 he received 45 votes as a write-in candidate. He is also running on the ballot for Connecticut State Senate District 1.

From the New York Green Party:

Colia Clark won  the unanimous vote of the Green Party State Committee to run for US Senate at a  meeting held in Manhattan.

Clark, a long  time civil rights, peace and women activist, was a Green Party nominee for U.S.  Senate in 2010 for the seat presently held by Chuck  Schumer. (Watch the video of her 2010 announcement) Clark, a  resident of Manhattan, is a chair of Grandmothers for the Release of Mumia Abu  Jamal. During the Civil Rights era, Clark was a Special Assistant to Medgar W.  Evers, field Secretary for the NAACP. Clark later joined the Mississippi Student  Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) doing voter registration work. She was  the founder  and Coordinator for Poor Women Against  Vietnam War, and the former coordinator of the Social Justice Center in  Albany.

Announcement of  Candidacy of Colia L. Clark for the United States Senate from New York  State: read more »

From the Toledo Free Press:

Running for any seat in the Green Party is more like an obstacle course than a race.

First, you need to gather signatures to appear on the ballot. That number depends on what the desired seat is, but for the U.S. Senate election you’d need at least 500. (Major parties need at least 1,000.) If anyone signed a petition in a county where they are not registered, they don’t count. Current and previous addresses rule others out. And if some print their names rather than signing it, their names are disqualified, too.

“What most people don’t realize when you’re a minor party is that every election cycle,  you’re under a threat because the two major parties don’t want us to participate,” said Anita Rios, co-chair of the Green Party of Ohio and one of the candidates for U.S. Senate. She and Bowling Green resident Joe DeMare know this all too well.

Read the full article at the Toledo Free Press.

From the Sun Gazette:

Having tested the political waters last year, Kevin Chisholm appears ready to dive into a larger pool…

An engineer by profession, Chisholm retired last year as chief energy official for Arlington Public Schools. As the Green Party County Board candidate in 2010, he garnered just over 6 percent of the vote against Democratic incumbent Chris Zimmerman and Republican Mark Kelly.

Chisholm said he would be running as an independent because he sees himself “more a political centrist” than what is represented by the Green Party. He describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

In a year that has seen the biggest upsurge of activism against marijuana prohibition in American history, Green Party candidates across the country are leading the fight for marijuana legalization while Democrats and Republicans defend the failed, destructive “war on drugs” prohibition regime.

The eyes of Americans who oppose prohibition are on California’s Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. The California Green Party and its leading candidates, including gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells and US Senate candidate Duane Roberts, support Proposition 19, while the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor and US Senate all publicly oppose it.

Meanwhile, Green gubernatorial candidates like Howie Hawkins in New York, Rich Whitney in Illinois, and Jill Stein in Massachusetts have injected marijuana legalization into the public debate and rallied anti-prohibition voters, who number 46% in the latest Gallup poll, around an issue considered taboo by the political establishment.

All of these candidates, plus other Green gubernatorial candidates including Deb Shafto in Texas, Dennis Spisak in Ohio, Maria Allwine in Maryland, Morgan Reeves in South Carolina, and Jim Lendall in Arkansas as well as over 100 Green candidates for federal, state and local office, have signed onto a 10-point program called the “Green New Deal”, which includes legalizing marijuana and ending prohibition as one of 10 major reforms needed to put the country back on the right track. See Green Change for a list of candidates endorsing the Green New Deal by state.

By voting Green, you not only send a strong message that you want a sensible drug policy; in many cases, your vote helps the Green Party maintain its ballot line in your state, enabling Greens to run more and stronger campaigns in the future. If you want to legalize marijuana, vote Green.

Chicago Reader profiles Illinois Green Party US Senate candidate LeAlan Jones:

LeAlan Jones rushes onto the West Chatham Park practice football field and shoves his right outside linebacker: “Why are you waiting for him to come to you?” he demands, then shows the young man how it’s done, squatting into the stance of a linebacker like a velociraptor ready to spring. read more »

Illinois Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney was barred from participating in a League of Women Voters debate in Chicago Wednesday night, despite the fact that Whitney earned over 10% of the statewide vote in 2006, establishing the Green Party as a major party in Illinois. Whitney and a crowd of supporters protested the exclusion outside the debate venue. The previous night, Green Party US Senate candidate LeAlan Jones had also been excluded from the League of Women Voters’ debate. Watch Rich Whitney’s speech in this video from the protest:

Medill Reports published a video report from the protest.

In related news, Whitney will air ads on MSNBC and Comedy Central asking that he be included in debates:

Non-partisan electoral and ballot access reform organization Free and Equal will hold debates for the Illinois gubernatorial and US Senate races tonight with all ballot-qualified candidates invited. Illinois Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney and US Senate candidate LeAlan Jones will participate.

Both Whitney and Jones were excluded from a League of Women Voters debate Wednesday night in Chicago.

From Free and Equal:

U.S. Senate and Illinois gubernatorial candidates will debate on issues ranging from the economy to environmental concerns to the War on Drugs, in back-to-back debates today, Thursday, October 21, 2010, at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. The debates will take place in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in Holmes Student Center, with U.S. Senate candidates debating first from 6 – 7:30 p.m., followed by the gubernatorial debate from 8 – 9:30 p.m. read more »

The City Wire reports on a new poll including Arkansas Green Party candidates Jim Lendall for governor and John Gray for US Senate:

In the U.S. Senate race, Boozman’s margin over incumbent U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln has shrunk to 13 points as he now holds a 49-36% lead. Independent Trevor Drown and Green Party candidate John Gray each received 4% support, while 7% of voters remain undecided.

Beebe has seen a steady increase in his advantage — now 16 points — over Republican gubernatorial challenger Jim Keet, 50-34%. Green Party nominee Jim Lendall pulled 3.5%, and 12.5% remain undecided.

If Lendall gets at least 3% of the vote, the Arkansas Green Party will remain ballot-qualified for the next 2 years.

Here are some interesting recent articles about Gray and Lendall:

Arkansas Times: A conversation with John Gray, Green Party candidate for Congress

Arkansas News: Here’s your independent voice

Blue Arkansas: Is John Gray picking up steam?

Baxter Bulletin: Jim Lendall fights for legitimacy of Green Party

Last night West Virginia Mountain Party US Senate candidate Jesse Johnson joined a debate with Democrat Joe Manchin, Republican John Raese, and Constitution Party candidate Jeff Becker. Johnson stood out as the true progressive and the only candidate to oppose mountaintop removal coal mining. Watch the debate online at C-SPAN.

See also Jesse Johnson’s responses to questions from the Register-Herald editorial board: read more »