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Scores of Greens on the ballot line

September 25, 2012 in 2012 Fall

A highlight of 2012 Green candidates from across the country
By David McCorquodale, Green Party of Delaware

This election cycle has brought forward a new group of Green candidates in several states. In total, hundreds of candidates will be running for positions— from seats in the U.S. Congress, to state legislatures, to city, county and township positions, to seats on boards, such as water commissions and school boards. Some of the numbers, as of late August: 10 candidates for U. S. Senate, 67 for U.S. House, 11 state senate candidates, and 50 candidates for state house (or assembly or representative).

Some states are putting up about the same numbers as in the past: Colorado (8), Con­necticut (11), Maine (9), Michigan (23) and New York (20). But the Illinois party has only a handful of candidates, compared to dozens four years ago. California has 21, which is a relatively small number, considering that the registered Greens from that state comprise about one-fourth of all registered Greens. Meanwhile, Greens in southern states seem to be coming on strong. Arkansas is fielding 14 candidates. Relatively new parties in Tennessee (12) and South Carolina (7) are doing well. But the state party to have the most candidates is Texas with 51, including six U.S. House candidates, 16 Texas House candidates, and two each for the State Board of Education, Texas Supreme Court, and Texas Railroad Commission.

Below are profiles for some of the Green candidates from around the nation

Remington Alessi

Remington Alessi
Sheriff, Harris County, Texas

Alessi is a young man who has a degree in criminal justice. He has studied professional standards files and thought about scientific ways of approaching criminal justice. He believes a “small minority of peace officers act cavalier with regard to accountability” and become “bullies with badges and guns.” He believes problem officers need to be dealt with before “they spoil the whole bunch.” He also notes that the newest officers are often assigned the least desirable work shifts—in the middle of the night—where they encounter “drunks and other bad elements. Such experiences harden their outlook and lead them to treat ordinary citizens with the same ap­proach as criminals.

Having been in the Occupy movement in the past year, Alessi believes this outlook gives him an advantage over his more ex­perienced opponents, who have not been trained in such a perspective. He opposes private prisons for profit, enforcing “vice crime” and drug laws, rounding up undocumented workers who contribute “more tax revenue” than would come from a person with full citizenship and the idea of “being tough on crime.” He advocates for more mental health services for those encountering the criminal justice system.

remingtonforsheriff.com

Colin Beavan

Colin Beavan
8th Congressional District, New York

Beavan is a long-time activist on climate crisis, who rose to prominence as a spokesman after making the documentary No Impact Man, which followed the yearlong experiment of his family in extreme environmental living. Previous media ex­posure of No Impact Man has given Beavan more coverage than most Green candidates—he has even appeared on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

Beavan addressed the 2012 Green Presi­dential Convention, detailing his reasons why Greens should run for office.

In his campaign Beavan expresses not only concern for urgent work on climate change, but also the importance of involving citizens again in the political process. He believes that people must act based on their ideals, bringing civility back into politics. He talks about issues that the Dem­ocrats and Republicans ignore. He spends time on weekends in subway stations, trying to encourage more people to register to vote. He hopes his campaign will promote community involvement and lead to community self-determination.

votecolin.com

Carol Brouillet

Carol Brouillet
18th congressional District, California

Brouillet is a long-time media activist working to raise consciousness about critical issues that are ignored or censored by the corporate media. Much of this work has focused in recent years on the cover-up of facts behind the events of 9/11. She co-sponsored the first Local Currency Con­ference and printed various demonstration currencies, such as the “Perception Dollar,” and speaks frequently about the topic on her show on the Progressive Radio Network. Brouillet ran for Congress in 2008, but that attempt was hampered by health concerns.

Brouillet has created a platform that clearly explains her positions on the issues, but also frames her larger vision: Truth before profit in the media; Peace—ending the bogus war on terror and replacing global militarism with a peacetime economy; Justice—human rights above corporate greed; Ecological Wisdom; and Time for the 99 percent to organize and Occupy Congress.

Brouillet has challenged the positions of Democratic incumbent Anna Eschoo, claiming that she does not support making banks accountable for their misdeeds, that Eschoo supports bills that favor the pharmaceutical industry instead of health care for all, and that she is more concerned with allowing Israel to project its power in the region than bringing peace to the Middle East. Brouillet was arrested this spring on Good Friday in front of a Lock­heed Martin building in a protest against military spending and U.S. military combat overseas. She pointed out that the in­cumbent has repeatedly supported the funding of military spending and “has chosen war over peace.”

www.carol4congress.org

Colia Clark

Colia Clark
U.S. Senate, New York

Colia Clark grew up in Jackson, Miss., and was active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Over a lifetime, she has been fighting for human rights, women’s rights, worker rights and the rights of the homeless and youth. More recently, she has been involved in Haitian relief efforts, but unlike most charitable organizations, she draws attention to the culpability of U.S. policies toward Haiti for almost 100 years in creating the current situation. Clark ran against Chuck Schumer in 2010, receiving almost 1 percent of the vote.

This year Clark is running against Kirstin Gillibrand, who was elected to the senate in a special election in 2010. With Repub­lican challenger Wendy Long only poll­ing about 25 percent, perhaps more voters will be persuaded to vote their conscience this time.

While taking positions on numerous issues that Greens espouse, Clark’s top issue is education. She believes that America’s youth is its treasure and that educating them is a national priority. She would:

  • Support the creation of Independent Parent Advocacy Boards in each school district;
  • Oppose the use of any public funds for charter schools;
  • Advocate for a more rounded curriculum, including arts, music, sports and agriculture; and
  • Fund those programs by deeply cutting the military budget.

www.coliaclark.org

Henry Cooper

Henry Cooper
148th State Representative District, Texas

Cooper is a native Houstonian, married, with two children. He’s a machinist who has worked for more than 20 years in the gas and oil manufacturing industry.

“I’ve seen how oil companies have grown and profited through the years, and yet the good old jobs have vanished, outsourced, or transferred to subcontractors to lower the cost of labor,” he said.

Cooper, who is Hispanic, recently was re-districted into the area served by the chairwoman of the House Democratic Caucus, Jessica Farrar, who faces no Republican op­ponent in the solidly Democratic district.

So why would Cooper run against her? As he points out, Farrar has revealed through her actions that she doesn’t represent the best interests of her constituents. While Cooper, even though employed in the resource extraction industry, is pushing for alternative technologies to carbon based fuels, Farrar supports the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring “dirty” oil into the Houston area for refining. Farrar also supported Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and his vigorous efforts to execute the Obama administration’s controversial Secure Communities program, which has been termed a “backdoor effort at a National ID.”

Cooper and his wife Alma are conducting a low-budget campaign of walking sections of the district to meet people and attending any public forum. Regardless of his chances, it will be interesting to see how much support Cooper receives through his efforts against a powerful nine-term incumbent, but with no other election opponent.

brainsandeggs.blogspot.com/2012/08/brainy-endorsements-henry-cooper.html

Bob Fitrakis, second from left, with Ohio Greens , Earth Day 2012

Bob Fitrakis
3rd Congressional District, Ohio

Bob Fitrakis is a political science professor, journalist and radio talk-show host. He is also co-chair of the Ohio Green Party and ran for governor in 2006. Fitrakis co-authored What Happened in Ohio?, a documentary record of theft and fraud in the 2004 election, and has authored or co-authored eleven other books. Fitrakis recently co-authored an article detailing the ways Republicans are planning to control the 2012 election in Ohio, “The Ohio GOP has already moved 3 ways to steal America’s 2012 election.”

As a candidate, Fitrakis plans to advocate for:

  • Full employment through a Green Jobs Initiative that creates manufacturing jobs in Ohio in renewable technology;
  • Single-payer health care;
  • A constitutional amendment making voting a universal right and the overturning of Citizens United;
  • Supporting the Occupy movement and adopting policies which expose the power and privileges of the 1 percent; and
  • The closing of Ohio’s nuclear power plants and halting all hydrofracking practices in the United States.

Fitrakis’s website also makes a strong appeal to the working-class tradition in Ohio by detailing the position of the Green Party on unions and workers’ rights. It lists the PAC contributions that incumbent Joyce Beatty (D) has received and asks, “Who do you think she’ll represent in Congress?”

fitrakisforcongress.org

Andrew Groff

Andrew Groff
U.S. Senate, Delaware

Groff is a recent convert to the Green Party. A former employee for several shoe companies, including Nike, he says his ex­perience as an executive informed him about the exploitation of workers in Asia and the way international corporations hide profits by transferring them overseas.

Having moved back to his home state of Delaware several years ago, Groff became involved in the Occupy Delaware movement last fall. That movement constantly made the point that “Banks got bailed out; we got sold out!” Delaware is the corporate home to several of those bailed out banks, including Bank of America, which bought the credit card operations of MBNA, Citi­bank, and Citizen’s, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Delaware’s congressional delegation is highly supportive of legislation favorable to banks. With Sen. Tom Carper (D) up for election, “Andy” took the next steps, deciding to run against Carper and join the Green Party. Through his efforts, along with those of Green U.S. Rep. candidate Bernard August, more than 100 new members of the Green Party of Delaware were registered to meet new ballot access requirements.

Since a few key members of the Liber­tar­ian Party of Delaware were also involved in Occupy Delaware and had become familiar with Andy, and the LPDE was not running its own candidate for senate, the LPDE endorsed Groff for the office. Groff be­lieves the distinctions between the political left and right set up false divisions among people. He believes that being able to speak as a small businessperson can help to break the barriers and garner votes from a constituency that has not considered the Green Party in the past. An alliance of small parties in Delaware may be helpful in opposing restrictive debate forum rules, which act to keep ballot-qualified candidates from smaller parties from participating.

www.andrewgroffforsenate.us

Anthony Gronowicz

Anthony Gronowicz
14th Congressional District, New York

Gronowicz teaches and has headed institutes at several colleges in the New York City area. He is an author of scholarly works, including what has been termed a “classic” study: Race and Class Politics in New York City Before the Civil War (1998). He has previously run for State Assembly, for mayor of NYC, and for the same congressional seat in 2010 against the same opponent, Joseph Crowley (D), who supported the Iraq war.

Gronowicz supports the Green New Deal, first proposed by the Stein presidential campaign. He cites what he terms the shortest campaign speech on record: “I believe in the five-finger exercise: jobs, the environment, health care, housing and education” which he reels off on each finger of his right hand. “Together they spell, ‘Power to the people,’ ” and he raises his right hand in a clenched-fist. He runs for office to give people a meaningful choice on the ballot.

votegronowicz.info

 

Rebekah Kennedy

Rebekah Kennedy
3rd Congressional Distric, Arkansas

Kennedy has been active in the Arkansas Green Party since 2002 and serves as co-chair. A practicing attorney, she has run previous campaigns for State Attorney General (2006, 2010) and U.S. Senate (2008). In the 2008 senate race she received more than 206,000 votes, more than any other third-party candidate in the nation. In the 2010 AG race, she got 197,000 votes or 26.8 percent. Unlike that race, when the incumbent Democrat had the support of the AFL-CIO, in this congressional race the umbrella union group is supporting her. In this race the Democrat withdrew amid questions about his claims of being in the special forces in the military.

Given the fact that Kennedy has had little money to spend on her campaigns, the number of votes she has received is testament to the need of Arkansans to have democratic choices at the polls. This time is no different, with the campaign still developing a website and looking for a volunteer tech person who will help create a contribution link.

Kennedy commented at a recent interview that she couldn’t believe that the topic of cutting Social Security is a campaign issue. “Cutting it or privatizing it shouldn’t even be on the table.” Meanwhile, cutting any of the 752 overseas military bases never comes up. Her staff member, Mark Swaney, adds that issues like global warming are still considered fringe topics “when 80 percent of the U.S. is in a drought.”

votesmart.org/candidate/biography/104896/rebekah-kennedy

Martin Pleasant

Martin Pleasant
U.S. Senate, Tennessee

With two degrees in engineering, Martin lives in South Knoxville and is an employee of Knox County Engineering & Public Works department, which solves drainage problems and restores unhealthy creeks. His service includes working to craft new ordinances, which will foster a new era of green practices in the development of communities. He and his wife Virginia, along with their children, put these principles to action at home, operating a small organic farm and community garden space near the community of Vestal.

The most important reason Pleasant is running for Senate is that the restrictive ballot access laws of Tennessee require a party to receive at least 2.5 percent of the vote in a state-wide election in one cycle in order to automatically be on the ballot the next cycle. Pleasant’s presence as a candidate doubles the Green Party of Ten­nessee’s chances, with presidential candidate Stein also on the ballot. With incumbent Bob Corker (R) a seeming shoo-in and the Democrats apparently only putting up a sacrificial candidate, the chances that Pleasant’s appearance on the ballot will help the Green Party of Tennessee gain ballot access are good.

The party had to sue the state of Ten­nes­see to force it to accept the Green candidates on the ballot this year. But the state is still refusing to list the Green candidates on its website, which also means that they won’t be receiving candidate questionnaires or getting invited to forums, making it difficult to connect with people who pay attention to politics.

www.facebook.com/martinpleasnt

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Is the Green Party evolving through its presidential campaign?

September 25, 2012 in 2012 Fall

An editorial by David McCorquodale, Green Party of Delaware

Jill Stein & Cheri Honkala

I have been stunned by the strength and successes of the Stein-Honkala ticket! Re­gardless of the electoral outcome, make no mistake about it: this campaign is an improvement over our past presidential campaigns.

Here’s a brief review. In 1996 and 2000 Ralph Nader was the party’s standard-bearer. At neither time was Nader chosen through a primary pro­cess. Rather, he was an endorsed candidate. His candidacy showed both the benefits and the limitations of a campaign centered on an almost mythical personality figure. While he could personally draw in millions in contributions, the commitment was more to him than the party.

The focus of the current campaign is clearly about building the party and has largely taken over the ballot access duties from the national party.

When Nader decided to forego primary campaigning in 2004, instead hoping for another endorsement, even though he wasn’t a registered Green, the Party nominated an actual Green, David Cobb. When Nader formed his own independent campaign, the contributions left with him. The Cobb-Lamarche campaign was run on a shoestring-budget, but I understood that a number of state Green Parties would lose ballot access if we did not put up an actual Green as a candidate. Contrary to the accusations that the campaign would only go into “safe states,” the real limitation was that the candidates could only campaign when a state party could raise the money for transportation and come up with a place for a candidate to sleep.

Cynthia McKinney

When former six-term Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia began to participate in Green state party primary debates for the nomination in 2008, there was justifiable excitement. Someone who had actually been elected to the highest legislative body in the country was running for the Green Party. During the now expanding primary and debate season, it was clear that the other candidates knew McKinney would be the nominee. How­ever, after the McKinney-Clemente ticket was formed in Chicago, things started to unravel. The campaign obviously expected much greater support from the party. The party members expected a much stronger campaign organization. Neither side could deliver.

Between 2008 and the beginning of 2012, numerous state party organizations got even weaker. That weakness was reflected in the lower numbers of active participants in the National Committee and other GPUS committees, which had gone dormant for lack of members. Who would want to run a presidential campaign in such a situation? How could it possibly work?

I don’t know the inner details, but into the breach stepped the pairing of Dr. Jill Stein as candidate and Ben Manski as campaign manager. Dr. Stein had taken her activism on health issues to a higher level when she ran for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 (against Mitt Romney). By all accounts she presented herself as the best candidate in that race. Since then Stein has run in several other Massachusetts races and was twice an elected representative of the town meeting of Lexington. Seasoned through a half dozen campaigns, the former singer in a folk band knows how to address a crowd and to focus discussion on the issues.

Ben Manski, though young compared to the typical nationally involved Green, has a long history of participation in the party. An attorney and the editor of Liberty Tree Journal, Manski has been both a candidate (for state assembly in 2010), a member of the Steering Committee of GPUS, and in­volved in fundraising as Chair of the Co­ordinated Campaign Committee of GPUS. I believe Manski saw the strengths and weaknesses of the national party and formulated a vision of what a presidential campaign had to accomplish in order to move the Green Party forward.

Green Party at OWS

From its’ beginning the Stein campaign began to seek out Occupy groups to address. With the addition of Cheri Honkala, long-time advocate for the homeless and of those who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure, as the vice-presidential candidate the identification of the campaign with the dispossessed has be­come even stronger. This is changing the stereotypical view that Greens are only concerned about the environment. In formulating the plan for a Green New Deal, the campaign has created a ready set of discussion points which can help to change the focus of any debate toward our vision that all issues are interconnected and of the proper role of government in implementing such a vision.

Early in 2012, with Greens viewing Stein as a viable candidate and with a constantly updated campaign website, contributions started to flow. Already the campaign has achieved a historic first for a nominated Green presidential candidate of raising enough money ($5,000) in enough states (20) during primary season to receive federal matching funds. The campaign may not reach the level of money that Nader could raise, but it will certainly outpace the last two Green presidential campaigns’ fundraising.

Once it became clear that Stein would win the nomination, something remarkable happened! The campaign began to assume a role that we might expect the National Party to fill, but which it currently can’t do for lack of money and volunteers. It began to lead efforts to secure ballot access in various states, starting with Illinois, which was a huge task, but was ac­comp­lished. After the presidential convention, focus shifted to other states and ballot lines were se­cured in Pennsylvania, Mary­land, New Jersey, Oregon, Kan­sas, Iowa, Wash­ington and Wis­consin. The ticket will be on the ballot in at least 34 states (as of mid-August) and continues to work.

So what is going on here? I believe we are seeing the evolution of the way the Green Party must operate in order to move forward. The presidential campaign, being the only electoral campaign of the national party, must have a bigger role in that process. The focus of the current campaign is clearly about building the party and has largely taken over the ballot access duties from the national party. People are not easily motivated to give money to support abstract principles and ideals. There is an apparent need to provide faces and personalities as the literal embodiments of those ideas. It takes special people to step into such a role without being caught up in ego. The Stein-Honkala campaign has raised the bar and shown us where we must start to continue growing as a party.

David McCorquodale is Treasurer of the Green Party of Delaware, and co-chair of Green Pages.

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The color of Green

September 25, 2012 in 2012 Fall

An interview with Theresa Anderson, candidate for Oakland City Council

Theresa Anderson

Why have you joined the Green Party?

I joined the Green Party because I liked their progressive alliance, and the platform they stood for. I like their policies. Dem­ocrats and Republicans have made a mess of what we have today. Something different and refreshing is inviting, and that’s why I joined.

What do you think are the most pressing issues of the country?

I believe our most pressing issues are with our youth, the police, and the high rate of joblessness. I feel like we need to meet our youth where they are in order to get them to where they need to be. And it wouldn’t take much for us to start implementing policy or programs for our youth to give them something to do. Something small and easy could be to start off with a turf dance program*, where they would go and do their dances, and that way we could develop and form relationships with them, and we can take it from there to help them with the needs that they have. I feel like we need to implement policy to control the police. We need a panel that has the power to discipline the police and oversee what they do here, and how they work.

What do you think the Green Party should focus on?

I think they should focus on housing the homeless, and on implementing a minimum-wage policy nationwide. We need transparency for our budgets so that people can understand it more. I think that we should also work on banning the box nationwide. Banning the box means this: once people from our prison system have done their time and paid their debt to society, that box on job applications that asks if you’ve been arrested—that box should be taken off of those applications. It will give these people an equal chance with everyone else to find employment, which will help them stay out of jail and become productive citizens.

What do you think Greens can do to enhance diversity within the party and in general?

I believe that to enhance diversity, once again you need to meet people where they are. Everyone in every culture is different, and they have different needs. To do that, you need to meet them where they are in order to understand where they need to be.

With what race or culture do you identify?

I would want to say that I would mostly identify with the African-American culture because that’s what I am: African-Ameri­can. But deep down inside, I identify with all races, because I don’t see color.

Could you please give a brief bio of yourself?

I’m a 50-year-old woman. I’ve lived in Oak­land all my life. I worked for attorney John Burris for five or six years. After going to school and getting a business degree, I started my own company, Dandell Enter­tainment. I’ve been really active in the last 11 years, in my community in the North Oakland area: advocating, mediating, and being a liaison for my community to help them with a lot of the problems they have in life—just everyday problems. You can help them and make a big difference just by doing that.

To help Theresa Anderson’s campaign for Oak­land City Council, please send PayPal donations to anderson4citycouncil@gmail.com.

* Note: Turf dance is a form of art developing in Oakland and other cities across the US.

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Mayor of Fairfax addresses presidential convention

September 24, 2012 in 2012 Fall

by David McCorquodale, Green Party of Delaware

Pam Hartwell Herraro addressing the 2012 Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention

Pam Hartwell-Herraro, the current mayor of Fairfax, California spoke at the Presi­dential Nominating Convention of the Green Party. Her talk highlighted some of the points covered in the last Green Pages issue (“What happens when Greens run the town”), but also had some news. She started by mentioning that a fourth member of the five-member non-partisan-elected city council had joined the Green Party. Since the mayor is a council member and chosen by the council majority, Fairfax will continue to have a Green mayor for years.

Hartwell-Herraro went on to illustrate the various ways in which the town is trying to operate on Green principles. Her proudest achievement was negotiating a trash-hauling contract which insures that 94 percent of the waste will be diverted from landfills to recycling, possibly the best standard in the nation. Other economic initiatives include: a fair wage ordinance, the banning of national chain stores within the city limits, and the introduction of “fair bucks”, a system of local currency which may only be spent in Fairfax, insuring the money circulates within the community.

Hartwell-Herraro maintains that a strong local Green Party isn’t the reason for such success; it’s that the residents of Fairfax have a green outlook and so Greens running for council fit what its citizens want in their council members. But the list of accomplishments show what can be done when Greens are in charge.

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Who’s new on the Steering Committee?

September 24, 2012 in 2012 Fall

Some comments from new members

As of this July, The Green Party of the United States has a newly elected Steer­ing Com­mit­tee. This committee is composed of nine members and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the national Party. The committee ad­ministers funds, oversees staff, assists other committees and state Parties, and carries out directives of the National Commit­tee. This year’s new members are: Darryl! Moch of Washington D.C., Charles Ost­diek of Nebraska, AJ Segneri of Wiscon­sin, Steve Welzer of New Jersey, and Karen Young of New York. Farheen Hakeem of Minne­sota is the longest standing member serving on the committee since 2009. Jeff Turner of Hawaii has served since 2010 and is currently treasurer, Susan Chunco of Cali­fornia and Budd Dickinson of Wash­ing­ton, who is currently secretary, both joined the steering committee in 2011.

Green Pages asked members to say a little about themselves and what they would like to accomplish while on the Steering Committee.

AJ Segneri

AJ Segneri, Illinois, aj.segneri@gmail.com

My name is AJ Segneri. I am a delegate from Illinois where I have been involved in politics and activism for over 12 years. I also operate a nonprofit, Foundation for a United Front, a community-building organization. As a Green I have worked on state and federal campaigns and served in a leadership position on the state level. I have been treasurer and membership steward for Illinois, was the co-chair for the Wisconsin Green Party when I lived in Milwaukee, and am currently on the Speak­er’s Bureau. As a Steering Committee member, I would like to do at least three things. First, I would like to expand our organizational network. Second, I would like to improve our election aspect to GPUS by working with our current elected officials and reinvesting in our Co­ordi­nated Cam­paign Committee. Finally, I am working with our Fundraiser Committee on how to draw in major donors.

 

Darryl! Moch

Darryl! L.C. Moch, Washington, DC, nubianphoenix1@gmail.com

Why did I join the Greens? Well, to be honest, I felt that it was time to present some alternative views and promote a different approach to political change. While it is my intention to run for office and be elected, my immediate interest is to build a stronger party. GPUS needs a strategic plan; one we can all agree on as part of the process of building a strong voice and body politic in this country. We need party structure that will help us respond in real time to the changing political needs and climate. We need people committed to change and improvement and less on “having it my way.” Change, progressive, and evolution are NOT dirty words and we should use them as our guide forward in this critical and pivotal political moment for GPUS.

Darryl! works as the Executive Director of the Labor Heritage Foundation, an arts and culture non-profit, and also provides consulting services to communities and non-profit organizations. He is a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and a member of UAW/National Writers Union. His work as an organizer has spanned the country. His current work in DC includes arts and culture of the labor movement and other progressive issues for working people, the poor, and HIV/AIDS education/prevention. Darryl! holds a BA in Theatre, Dance and Psychology (Clinical counseling) and a Masters of Education in Counseling from Alfred University (’91, ’92); he also has earned a Masters Of Fine Arts in Theatre: Directing (’96). He is also director of the Charm City Labor Chorus.

Currently Darryl!, serves on the DC State­hood Green Party Steering Committee (and is a delegate to the USGP National Com­mittee), USGP Black Caucus, USGP Plat­form Committee, and USGP Media Com­­mittee. He recently ran for DC City Coun­cil in the 2010 DCSGP primary. Darryl!, is an ordained minister and has served in various organizations and ministries across the country. He served as executive director, CFO, and/or board member for non-profit organizations including: ITLA, Al-Sura, Inc., BroadArts Theatre, McKenzie River Gathering Foundation, MBK (My Brothaz Keeper), Inc., and others. He is a former editor and features writer for local and national magazines. He is also part of the Center for New Community program Which Way Forward, confronting the anti-immigration wedge issues targeted to the African American community. He is the founding secretary of the Interna­tional Fed­eration of Black Prides. His motto: “Re­mem­ber to live in Love and let LOVE live in you, around you, through you, and…AS you.”

Karen Young

Karen Young, New York, karenyoung521@yahoo.com

I am thrilled to be serving for the first time on the Steering Committee. My hopes and dreams in this new role include: developing a strategic plan for the party; strengthening our national committees, so that all state parties can benefit from our collective knowledge, experience, and creativity in many areas, including Merchandise, Electoral Campaigns and Communica­tions; and working with the other Steering Com­mittee members, many of whom I have known and worked with for years to build a more productive and leadership-oriented Steering Committee.

I was ecstatic to see all the young people at our national convention in Baltimore, and especially to see so many of them in leadership positions in their states. The speech from Wisconsin’s 19-year-old Leland Pan was the highlight of the whole event for me. I hope to see our Youth Caucus grow strong and keep growing the influence of these young leaders in the party.

I have been active in the Green Party since 2002, first in the Illinois Green Party, and then in the Green Party of New York State since 2008. Professionally, I worked in commercial radio for 25 years, both on the creative and business sides, in many different roles. For the last few years I have worked as a strategic researcher for the Writers Guild of America, East, a labor union of film, television and new media writers. I live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brook­lyn, New York.

Charles Ostdiek

Charles Ostdiek, Nebraska, iconofcharles@gmail.com

I became a vegetarian over twenty years ago and one year later helped to open what has become an internationally raved, organic restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. Mc­Fos­ter’s Natural Kind Café gave me my first practical experience in understanding environmentalism. I have had the opportunity to study our global food systems and economies, and to originate and develop some of the best practices for the sourcing of products for our diverse menu. Mc­Foster’s also presented me with my first political experience as a volunteer for the Nader/LaDuke presidential campaign in 2000. In December of that year, I helped to found The Nebraska Green Party, and have participated in electoral work to grow our party for each of the five election cycles since then. In 2008, I was selected as one of Nebraska’s delegates to The National Committee where I have had profound de­light in meeting some of the finest and most knowledgeable people in the world. The work we are doing in concert with other Green Parties around the planet is vital to our future as a people on this singularly precious Earth. My education in philosophy at Creighton University has well prepared me for facing the ethical and ecological concerns arising from the technocracies challenging modern civil society.

I’m looking forward to collaborating with our fresh Steering Committee to create a culture of sustainability for the nation, and for my family, friends and neighbors here in the heartland. This has begun with work toward electing Jill Stein to the presidency. My electoral work for the party this season will for the first time also in­clude facilitating the election of other Green candidates to office all across this land. Another of my priorities is to change our country’s energy policies to the use of highly efficient and renewable sources rather than the violent and destructive fuels we currently use. A part of that goal is the de­commissioning of the dangerous Ft. Cal­houn Nuclear Station, here on the recently flooded banks of the Missouri River. My ongoing work includes a devoted intention to reinvigorate the national dialog about food choices and the public health consequences of those decisions, both at consumer and institutional levels. Thank you, all, for this wonderful opportunity.

Steve Welzer

Steve Welzer, New Jersey, stevewelzer@msn.com

I’ve proudly been a social change organizer since entering college during the revolutionary year of 1968. Recognizing the Democrats and Republicans as the problem, not part of the solution, I’ve always voted for the best alternative candidates I could find on the ballot. I hold a Masters degree in Economics from Rutgers Univer­sity (where I might have possibly been the last graduate student allowed to get an advanced degree studying only Marxian Economics!).

I’ve been a Green movement activist for over twenty years, an alumnus of the fourth national Green Gathering (the one held at Elkins, WV in 1991). After coordinating the Nader campaign in New Jersey in 1996, I was part of establishing the Green Party of New Jersey in 1997. We hosted our 16th Annual Convention last March where we introduced our slate of 2012 candidates, including Ken Wolski for U.S. Senate.

After editing the Jersey Greens Journal for many years during the ’90s, I joined the effort of John Rensenbrink to re-launch the national publication Green Horizon Magazine in 2003. Almost ten years later we’re going strong with increasing circulation and interest each year (contact me and I’ll send you a copy!).

I’ve represented New Jersey on the Nation­al Committee since 2008 and feel privileged to contribute more now on the Steering Committee. One thing I’d like to see us prioritize is our longstanding goal of having active and functional Green parties in every state of the union. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have 50 strong state parties (plus DC) by the time the 2016 major election cycle rolls around!

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The candidates speak

April 18, 2012 in 2012 Spring

By Jim Witters, Green Party of Delaware

As the presidential primary season whip­ped through the nation during the winter and early spring, the Party’s candidates found themselves battling a plethora of Republican races for the attention of the media.

Celebrity Roseanne Barr, of course, garnered immediate reaction when she officially announced her Green candidacy in February. But San Diego County air quality engineer Kent Mesplay and Dr. Jill Stein of Massachusetts found the battle much tougher.

Stein, for her part, toured the country, touting her “Green New Deal” and visiting Occupy sites wherever she went. Ac­cording to Stein’s website, as of March 23, the candidate had won all nine Green Party presidential primaries held.

Here are the candidates’ responses to Green Pages:

Jill Stein

What are your top two or three issues?

I will work to deliver a Green New Deal for America—an integrated package of emergency reforms that will put 25 million people to work, end unemployment in America, halt the recession, jumpstart the Green economy for the 21st Century, and combat climate change. The Green New Deal includes reforms to the economy, financial system, and to our democracy—and is inspired by the New Deal that got us out of the last Great Depression of the 1930s.

Our economic reforms will create living wage, community-based jobs that meet needs of communities and make them sustainable ecologically, economically and socially. It will create jobs in the traditionally green areas of the economy, in clean manufacturing, local organic agriculture, public transportation, and clean renewable energy—which also provide for real national security by making wars for oil obsolete.

Let me be clear: The Green New Deal will end unemployment in America. Of course, such a thing as ending unemployment would never occur to Washington politicians because their corporate backers depend on the threat of unemployment to keep wages down. But ending unemployment, and more, is front and center on the minds of Greens.

As Greens we are committed to im­proving the conditions of working people by an immediate halt to home foreclosures and evictions, and guarantying health care for everyone as a human right through Medicare for All.

Through the Green New Deal, we will forgive the crushing student debt burden and liberate an entire generation of young people who are being turned into indentured servants. And we will provide tuition-free public education from pre-kindergarten through college. This is an investment in our future that will pay off enormously, like the GI Bill after World War II that provided seven dollars in economic activity and increased tax revenue for every dollar that Congress invested.

Speaking of investments, the takeover of our economy by big banks and well-connected financiers has destabilized both our democracy and our economy. The Green New Deal will end the bailouts and corporate giveaways, and ensure that re­sources are available for investments in our communities, for consumers, cooperatives and small business.

Of course, we cannot hope to secure the economic reforms of the Green New Deal without enacting political reforms. We don’t have that in America today. For this reason, we urgently need to amend our Constitution to make clear that corporations are not persons and money is not speech.

The Green New Deal also strengthens democracy supporting economic cooperatives and participatory democracy at the local and state levels. And it strengthens media democracy by expanding federal support for locally owned broadcast media and local print media.

How do you feel your campaign will help to build the Green Party and independent politics?

In these early months of the campaign, we have already succeeded in getting a Green Party ballot line established in Utah, and our campaign has launched Green Party ballot drives in New Hampshire, Indi­ana, and New Mexico, and has already assisted Vermont, Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, and Hawai’i in getting their efforts going. We are litigating for the ballot in Alabama and hiring staff for ballot access drives in Pennsylvania, Illi­nois, Indiana and, eventually, other states.

No other presidential campaign is do­ing this work, and the Green Party of the United States is relying on our campaign team to help get our party on the ballot across the country this year. We are aiming for 48 ballot lines, with a minimum of 40, and at the rate we are going, we expect to get there.

Let me add that we are attracting thousands of new people to the Green Party. We estimate that at least half of our supporters are people who have not supported Green Party candidates in the past. For these people, our campaign is an accessible and effective way to have a positive impact in the 2012 elections.

Finally, we have launched efforts to build support within organized labor, with students, the immigrant rights movement, and the climate justice and environmental justice movements for using the Green Party as an electoral bullhorn for their demands. We have visited Occupy sites in two dozen cities, as well as student hunger strikers in Virginia, striking workers in Massachusetts, and of course the Wis­con­sin uprising in Madison, where my national headquarters is now based.

We are uniting and growing our party as never before. In my 12 years as a Green Party activist, I have never seen the kind of energy and enthusiasm we are seeing now, and I am honored to have the opportunity to represent our courageous membership in the 2012 elections.

Roseanne Barr

What are your top two or three issues?

1. Legalize Weed: Listen, the fact that I’m not a politician isn’t a drawback; it’s an advantage. Do I need to know every micro-detail about a failed policy like our ridiculous “War on Drugs” to know that anyone who wants to buy some recreational drugs can probably do it, and that all we’re doing is making money for dangerous drug dealers and locking up users at a cost higher than a college education! The drug laws are written for the benefit of drug lords! And it’s a war on Marijuana smokers, mostly! YES THE EMPEROR IS NAKED AS A JAY BIRD-HE NEEDS TO PUT SOME DAMN PANTS ON!

2. Operation Slingshot: I will obliterate the “Two Party” System by becoming the first Green Party president of these United States as a result of our victory in the 2012 general election—with 99 percent of the votes. I also believe it’s essential to do away with the Electoral College, a system created by the 1 percent of the 1 percent—the super 1 percent—to enslave us all.

How do you feel your campaign will help to build the Green Party and independent politics?

The goal of any political party should be to grow. I’m throwing open the doors to the Green Party to a whole new generation of activists. Tough girls and boys who lived on the street so other people didn’t have to are beginning to attend Green Party meetings at the state level. To the youth of America I say, “The Green Party is ours to Occupy. The greater our numbers, the more ballots we Occupy. The more ballots we Occupy, the more offices we Occupy. The door stays open until the last one’s in. Occupy the Green Party!”

Kent Mesplay

What are your top two or three issues?

A hybrid economy is best. My main rival touts a federal jobs program that is dependent upon raising corporate taxes and slashing military spending. This will take time to implement, and lacks legislative support. My approach is more workable:

  • Focus on security arguments favorable to transforming our military into being trained to address the emergency conditions associated with drastic climate change (essential climate-related concerns include health care, emergency food production, the housing of masses of displaced citizens).
  • Provide tax incentives for businesses providing goods and services that help us be more sustainable.
  • Generate trustworthy bonds to stimulate investment in several key areas: re­newable energy, energy efficiency and conservation in housing and transportation.
  • Small-scale organic agriculture.

The top-down approach must be complemented by a ground-up approach that works with market forces (such as true, full-cycle cost pricing), allays skeptical, fearful people who learn to appreciate the security-enhancing properties of sustainability, and that looks beyond standard economic models to recognize that consumption outside our means is harmful and misguided.

The global economic and environmental catastrophe has solutions rooted in local action: scrip, time-banking, volunteerism, trade-and-barter, sharing and even philanthropy. Federal recognition of our state of emergency may clear the way for local governments to be more tolerant of citizen-driven solutions. We need to think beyond consumption and jobs and be allowed to meet more of our needs locally and directly and quickly.

Climate change matters. Climate change has long been a dire issue with me, as this threat to public health and safety and biodiversity, including human native biodiversity, is real. The solutions to climate change, in mitigation and preparation, are steps that reduce over-consumption of limited resources and that point the way to using less, needing fewer consumables, saving more, being more connected to earth, family and friends, and having an inherent “built in” baseline of living that is more secure, in terms of water, food and energy.

Sustainability is a key, core issue. Sus­tainability reflects ecological wisdom and concern for other species and those who are to come. At the base of the dominant culture must be recognition of the essential value of living sustainably. Sustain­a­bility is security: Especially with instability in climate, it is important to enact policies and behaviors encouraging less consumption, promoting local, independence-enhancing solutions and affording people of all levels of training and education to have basic economic well-being.

I am also an advocate of Native perspectives (including warnings about climate change), cultures, sovereignty and regained self-reliance.

How do you feel your campaign will help to build the Green Party and independent politics?

We grow the Green Party and the green movement by pointing out the security-enhancing features of sustainable living: better emergency preparedness, better ex­tended-emergency preparedness, less need for others to come to our rescue, once we learn better to care for ourselves and each other, locally.

When we talk, seriously, about living sustainably we demonstrate that this feature of decentralization is one that enhances and supports independence and diversity. The green movement is an independence movement, built upon recognition of our interdependence. By removing the corrupting influence of money in politics, such as through “Move to Amend,” good governance will bloom at all levels and independence will flourish.

In short, we need good governance, we need Green values and we need to get the influence of money out of politics. And we certainly need to cut bloated Penta­gon spending and waste and enact an independent, trusted system to audit military spending.

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About Roseanne Barr

April 18, 2012 in 2012 Spring

Roseanne Barr
Los Angeles, California
Born Nov. 3, 1952

Roseanne Barr is an actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. She began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the television sitcom “Roseanne.” Barr also hosted a television talk show, “The Roseanne Show,” from 1998 to 2000. In 2005, she returned to stand-up comedy with a world tour. In 2011, she began starring in an unscripted TV show, “Roseanne’s Nuts,” about her life on a Hawaiian farm.

Aside from being an Emmy-award winning actress and New York Times bestselling author, Barr is an advocate for social justice. From her hardscrabble days in Denver, Colorado, where she launched her stand-up career, Barr has always looked out for the least among us.

She also is no stranger to politics. During the 2004 election cycle, Barr spent time working with ACORN in Florida and Ohio registering voters and handing out bottles of water at polling places. This was not for the cameras. She was doing it on her own dime to reach out to disenfranchised voters, welcoming them into an electoral process that typically cast them aside.

In 2008, Barr endorsed Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKin­ney. On August 4th, 2011, Roseanne Barr announced her candidacy for president of the United States on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, declaring that she would not run as a Democrat or a Republican “because they both suck, and they’re both a bunch of criminals.”

She has since decided to seek the nomination of the Green Party of the United States. On September 17, 2011, which was Day 1 of Occupy Wall Street, Barr became the first public figure to stand with the occupiers in downtown Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, delivering a speech before the very first General Assembly.

On February 2nd, Barr publicly an­nounced her candidacy for the Green Party presidential nomination. “I am pleased to announce that I am seeking the Green Party’s nomination for president of these United States of America. The Democrats and Republi­cans have proven that they are servants—bought and paid for by the 1 percent—who are not doing what’s in the best interest of the American people. As a long time supporter of the Green Party, I look forward to working with people who share my values. Behold the greening of America!”

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About Jill Stein

April 18, 2012 in 2012 Spring

Jill Stein, MD
Lexington, Mass.
Born 1950
JillStein.org

Stein was born in Chicago and raised in suburban Highland Park, Ill. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1973, and from Harvard Medical School in 1979.

She is the co-author of two widely praised reports, “In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development,” published in 2000, and “Envi­ronmental Threats to Healthy Aging,” published in 2009. The reports promote green local economies, sustainable agriculture, clean power, and freedom from toxic threats. Stein’s “Healthy People, Healthy Planet” teaching program reveals the links between human health, climate security, and green economic revitalization. This body of work has been presented at government, public health and medical conferences, and has been used to improve public policy.

Stein began to advocate for the environment as a human health issue in 1998 when she realized politicians were simply not acting to protect children from the toxic threats emerging from current science. She offered her services to parents, teachers, community groups and Native Ameri­cans seeking to protect their communities from toxic exposure. Stein has testified before numerous legislative panels, as well as local and state governmental bodies.

She played a key role in the effort to get the Massachusetts fish advisories updated to better protect women and children from mercury contamination. She also helped lead the successful campaign to clean up the “Filthy Five” coal plants in Massachu­setts. Her testimony on the effects of mercury and dioxin contamination from the burning of waste helped preserve the Massachu­setts moratorium on new trash incinerator construction in the state.

Stein has appeared as an environmental health expert on the Today Show, 20/20, Fox News, and other programs. She was also a member of the national and Massa­chusetts boards of directors of the Physicians for Social Responsibility. Her efforts to protect public health has won her several awards including: Clean Water Action’s “Not in Any­one’s Backyard” Award, the Children’s Health Hero Award, and the Toxic Action Center’s Citizen Award. She has twice been elected to town meeting in Lexington, Mass. She is the founder and past co-chair of a local recycling committee appointed by the Lexington Board of Selectmen. In 2003, Stein co-founded the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Com­munities, a non-profit organization that addresses a variety of issues that are important to the health and well-being of Massa­chusetts communities, including health care, local green economies, and grassroots democracy.

Stein became an advocate for campaign finance reform and worked to help pass the Clean Election Law. This law was approved by the voters by a 2-1 margin, but was later repealed by the Massachusetts Legislature on an unrecorded voice vote. In 2002 activ­ists in the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party approached Stein to run for governor. She accepted.

Stein represented the Green-Rainbow Party in two additional races—one for State Representative in 2004 and one for Secretary of State in 2006. In 2006 she won the votes of over 350,000 Massachusetts citizens—which represented the greatest vote total ever for a Green-Rainbow candidate.

In 2008, Stein helped formulate a “Secure Green Future” ballot initiative that called upon legislators to accelerate efforts to move the Massachusetts economy to renewable energy and make development of green jobs a priority. The measure won over 81 percent of the vote in the 11 districts in which it was on the ballot.

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About Kent Mesplay

April 18, 2012 in 2012 Spring

Kent Mesplay, PhD
San Diego, California
Born July 19, 1962
Mesplay.org

Mesplay spent the first 10 years of his life in New Guinea, where his parents were Lutheran missionaries. He was home-schooled for the first three years of school, later attending a British-style boarding school at Wau. At boarding school he was influenced by the international student body and by tales of World War II, as Wau had been one of the busiest airstrips in the world during the war. His closest friends at school were German and Australian, with teachers from around the planet.

After coming to the United States, the family moved to Mira Mesa, California, in 1977, following his father’s acceptance into graduate school for clinical psychology. Mesplay graduated in 1980 as valedictorian from Mira Mesa High School, where he had captained and lettered on the track team and received a Bank of America Achievement Award in Liberal Arts for his debating skills. Mesplay studied engineering at Harvey Mudd College and went on to earn a PhD in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University, with empha­sis on prosthetic design and function. Mesplay now works for San Diego County as an air quality inspector with the Air Pollution Control District.

Regarding Green Party involvement, Mesplay is active locally and on the state and national levels. He registered with the Green Party of California in 1995. In 1996, he was a Nader delegate to the Green Party’s national convention. He was elected Treasurer of the Green Party County Council, San Diego, where he served from 1996 to 1997. During the same period, he was the co-chair of the Communications Committee, Green Party County Council, San Diego. Mesplay has served numerous times as a delegate to the Green Party of California General Assembly.

In 2004 Mesplay became a Green Party of California delegate to the Green National Committee and has served continuously since. In 2006, he was again elected to the Green Party County Council, San Diego.

Mesplay sought the Green Party presidential nomination in 2004, announcing at a State Green Party meeting in Chula Vista, CA, in September of 2003. Entering the 2004 Green Convention in Milwaukee, WI with a count of 10 (1.3 percent) committed delegates, Mesplay more than doubled his delegate count in Round 1 of the presidential nomination voting, earning 24 (3.1 percent) delegates.

After a number of candidates withdrew 
or were eliminated Mesplay entered the second and final round, where he again nearly doubled his count, finishing third with 43 (5.6 percent) of the delegate votes. David Cobb received the nomination with 408 (53 percent) delegate votes.

In 2006, Mesplay ran for U.S. Senate in California. This was the first time the Green Party had a contested senatorial primary in California. With very little organizing and minimal voter outreach, Mesplay received one sixth of the Green votes in the primary.

In 2007, Mesplay began his run for the 2008 Green Party presidential nomination and partnered with another Green Party candidate, Kat Swift of Texas. This unique partnering allowed both candidates to share resources and make common arrangements for debates and events. Mesplay placed third at the Chicago convention in 2008 behind Kat Swift and party nominee Cynthia McKinney.

In 2011, Mesplay was the first Green Party presidential candidate to announce.

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How to get and keep a Green Party presidential nomination

April 18, 2012 in 2012 Spring

By Jim Witters, Green Party of Delaware

Becoming the Green Party’s presidential nominee is not as simple as de­claring your candidacy and watching the contributions and votes start rolling in.

Tom Yager, co-chair of the national par­ty’s Presidential Candidate Support Com­mittee, explains the process:

When a candidate decides to seek the Green Party’s presidential nomination, the pro­spective candidate contacts the Presiden­tial Campaign Support Committee and fills out a questionnaire, which has questions about the prospective candidate’s views on what the goals of the presidential campaign should be.

The prospective candidate also must pledge in writing to appear on all offered state­wide Green Party ballot lines after receiving the nomination, have a website to pro­mote his or her candidacy, and to not be registered in another political party.

Upon meeting these criteria, the candidate becomes eligible for PCSC recognition after a period of one week, if there are no objections from PCSC members.

To maintain PCSC recognition after December first of the year preceding the presidential election, the candidate must receive verifiable support from 100 Green Party members, including members from at least five state parties. After Dec. 31, it is necessary to establish a campaign committee and file with the Federal Elections Commission to maintain recognition.

After February first of the presidential election year, the candidate needs to raise $5,000 (not including self-financing) to retain recognition. It is possible for the candidate to lose recognition by missing a deadline but regain it by taking the necessary steps at a later date.

Although a presidential candidate can win the nomination without PCSC recognition, it is much more difficult. When determining who will be on the ballot in their presidential preference processes, state parties tend to use the list of candidates who are recognized by the PCSC or have been recognized at some time during the election cycle.

In some states, Green parties are holding state-financed primaries. The law about whether a state Green Party has the right to a state-funded primary varies from state to state. In some states, all ballot-qualified parties have the right to a primary, but in other states, there are different levels of ballot access in which only major parties are permitted to hold state-funded primaries. Other state parties use mail or online primaries of their membership, caucuses, or conventions.

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