Green Party Watch

Dr. Jill Stein, a Green Party Candidate for President in 2012, makes her first campaign swing to the Mid-Atlantic region this week with visits to Occupy Wall Street protests in three cities, and fundraisers in three states plus the District of Columbia.

A full listing of events is located here: http://www.jillstein.org/events

A summary of Dr. Stein’s published schedule is as follows:

WEDNESDAY: Arlington, VA Reception for Jill Stein

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 07:30 PM
1812 N. Huntington Street, Arlington, VA 22205 in Arlington, VA

THURSDAY: Occupy Delaware – Dover

Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 01:30 PM
Legislative Mall in Dover, DE

THURSDAY: Occupy Delaware – Wilmington

Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 03:00 PM
Spencer Plaza in Wilmington, DE

THURSDAY: Baltimore, MD Reception for Jill Stein

Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 07:00 PM
2813 Maisel Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 in Baltimore, MD

FRIDAY: Occupy the Courts

Friday, January 20, 2012 at 12:00 PM
U.S. Supreme Court (meet at Area 9) in Washington, DC
Occupy the Courts will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012. Please join Dr. Jill Stein, and her campaign manager, Ben Manski, as well as 2004 Green Party presidential nominee David Cobb and former Green Party Senate candidate Media Benjamin at the Occupy the Courts rally in our nation’s capital.

FRIDAY: D.C. Reception for Jill Stein

Friday, January 20, 2012 at 07:00 PM
La Orilla ~ The Home of Dave and Olivia Bosserman in Washington, DC
Meet and greet Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate, in her first campaign visit to the nation’s capital. This “Green Soup Party,” a La Orilla tradition, will be a great opportunity to connect with this year’s most exciting and important election campaign.

Audrey Clement is a co-chair of the Green Party (US) Steering Committee and a tireless petitioner – she has traveled around the country gathering signatures to get the Green Party on the ballot in states such as Arkansas, Virginia, and Maryland among others. She herself ran for County Board in Arliington, Virginia last fall. Now she is running in a special election to fill a vacancy on the County Board. From the Sun-Gazette:

Audrey Clement has made it official, formalizing a bid to run under the Green Party banner in the March 27 County Board special election.

Clement was busy collecting petition signatures at the Jan. 2 County Board organizational meeting. Virginia does not recognize the Green Party as an official political party for ballot purposes, so those running for office as a Green must submit paperwork as an independent to get onto the ballot.

Clement made her first bid for elected office in the November 2011 general election, trailing Democrats Walter Tejada and Mary Hynes.

“Arlington is a great place to live. But the Arlington County Board is out of touch with voters on key issues like development, escalating rents, high taxes and expensive projects that county residents don’t want or need,” Clement says in campaign literature. “The result: a bloated budget, deteriorating public services and lack of citizen input on decisions that affect us all.”

The March 27 special election was called to pick a successor to Barbara Favola, who was elected to the state Senate. Democrats will choose their nominee in a party caucus later in the month. Republicans continue to search for a candidate.

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.

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 »

In Arlington, Virginia, the Sun-Gazette reports that the Green Party is planning a November 2nd meeting to discuss get-out-the-vote strategy for Audrey Clement, who is running against 2 Democratic incumbents for Arlington County Board.

In Tucson, Arizona, the Daily Star reports that Tucson City Council candidate Beryl Baker is making a controversial local development project a major campaign issue.

And in New York City, Green Party member Steve Syrek talked to the New York Daily News about the Occupy Wall Street movement and his role at the Occupy Wall Street library.

Green Party candidate Audrey Clement took part in a recent candidate forum for county board candidates in Arlington, Virginia. The Arlington Sun-Gazette reported on the forum:

“The County Board is in bed with developers,” Clement charged at the forum, using a line of attack that has been familiar fodder for the Green Party during recent runs at the local level. Although County Board members tout their commitment to environmental sustainability when it comes to development, “the only thing green about it is the dollars in developers’ pockets,” Clement said. “I pledge to make developers pay their fair share.” read more »

The Arlington Sun Gazette reports:

Green Party candidate for County Board Audrey Clement will be the featured speaker at a discussion of solar options for Arlington County on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Northside Social Restaurant and Cafe, 3211 Wilson Blvd.

For information, see the Web site at www.audreyclement.org or call (571) 830-8889.

In an article published at The Hill.com, South Carolina Green Party candidate for US Senate Tom Clements addressed the risks exposed by the earthquake in Virginia.

“This event affirms that reactors located outside active earthquake zones are also at risk and that increased steps to protect against earthquakes must be implemented at all sites. It is time to push aside industry and NRC foot-dragging and strengthen nuclear reactor safety regulations.”

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.

Local Chapters of the Green Party are meeting across the Nation this week. Does your local chapter have a meeting or event coming up? If so, let us know! GPW@greenpartywatch.org See our Events Calendar for other meetings and events.

Tuesday February 1, 2011 – Hernando Greens (Florida)

6 PM at the Spring Hill Library, showing the film “Capitalism: A Love Story” followed by a meeting and discussion.

Wednesday February 2, 2011 – Arlington Greens (Virginia)

7 PM at the Clarendon Silver Diner, 3200 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA

Thursday February 3, 2011 – Alleghany County Greens (Pennsylvania)

7 PM at Citizen Power, 2121 Murray Ave, 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA – General Assembly meeting, electing new officers.

Thursday February 3, 2011 – Long Beach Greens (California)

7 PM at Polly’s Coffee, 4606 E. 2nd St., Long Beach CA – Meeting

Friday February 4, 2011 – Clark County Greens (Nevada)

6 PM Meeting, contact them for location: http://clarkgreens.org/

Friday February 4, 2011 – Phily Greens (Pennsylvania) Tom Neilson Show and Fundraiser

7 PM, Roxborough Development Corporation, 6156 Ridge Avenue, Roxborough, Philadelphia. $20/person cover (includes food and drinks). Tom Neilson, www.tomneilsonmusic.com, specializes in songs of nonviolence, liberation and human rights.

Sunday February 6, 2011 – Orange County Greens (California)

2 PM – Super Slow Food Bowl Party! Featuring speaker Heather (Stoltzfus) Westenhofer for our February General Meeting. She will be serving up a Power Point presentation, along with bread and butter made on the spot in a Super Slow Food Bowl gathering! We hope you can join us for this special get together. Irvine Ranch Water District 15600 Sand Canyon, Irvine, CA

The Northern Virginia Green Party will launch its new Internet Radio Show Thursday, the 29th, at 10 p.m. It is called NoVa Greens Talk and will feature Bo Webb, an anti-mountaintop removal activist. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nova_greens/2010/07/30/nova-greens-talk-ending-mountaintop-removal

The Sun Gazette has a feature on Arlington Green Party candidate for County Board Kevin Chisholm:

Transportation and energy efficiency will be two hallmarks of the County Board campaign of Green Party candidate Kevin Chisholm, a 29-year county resident but political newcomer who was nominated by the party in May to take on Democratic incumbent Chris Zimmerman.

Declining to criticize Zimmerman directly – in fact, calling him “competent” at the job – Chisholm instead argued that new ideas are needed on the County Board.

“People want to aim a little higher, see Arlington be a more shining example of what can be done,” he said in an interview. On a number of issues, he suggested, the current board (Democrats all) has proved to be “too timid.”

Read the full article at the Sun Gazette.

From the Virginia Green Party:

The 2nd Quarterly business meeting of the GPVA will be held on Saturday May 22nd from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Five Points Community Farm Market in Norfolk. read more »

From the Sun-Gazette:

The Arlington Green Party has nominated a candidate to take on Democrat Chris Zimmerman in November’s County Board election.

The party is backing Kevin Chisholm, formerly chief energy manager for Arlington Public Schools and a resident of Arlington for 29 years.

During his years in Arlington, Chisholm has been active in groups ranging from the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN) and Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment to Habitat for Humanity and the Better Sports Club of Arlington. He also served on the Environment and Energy Conservation Commission.

The Green Party has fielded candidates for County Board each of the last five election cycles. Last year, its candidate, John Reeder, won 32 percent of the vote against Democratic incumbent Jay Fisette. (Republicans did not field a candidate in that race, and thus far have not fielded one for the 2010 race.)

Maryland’s Green Party has four candidates this year, one of whom has already been elected to office. Mike Cornell was elected to the Village of River Hill city council in April of this year. On the ballot Tuesday are Christine Nagle who is running for city council in Prince George’s, Dan Robinson who is running for town council in Tacoma Park, and George Gluck who is running for County Council in Montgomery County.

In Virginia three candidates will be offering on Tuesday. John Reeder is running for county board in Arlington, Josh Ruebner is up for House of Delegates in the 47th district, and Mark Antell is running for the House of Delegates in the 48th district.

The Florida Greens are offering Javier Del Sol for Mayor of Lake Worth.