Green Party of the United States

Green Party
Chairman	7 Co-Chairs
Founded	1991 (1991)
Headquarters	7059 Blair Road NW, Suite 104 Washington, D.C. 20012
Student wing	College Greens
Membership  (2013)	250,682
Ideology	Green politics Progressivism Social democracy Grassroots democracy Internal factions:  • Eco-socialism  • Populism  • Civil libertarianism
International affiliation	Global Greens
Continental affiliation	Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas
Colors	Green
Seats in the Senate	0 / 100
Seats in the House	0 / 435
Governorships	0 / 50
State Upper House Seats	0 / 1,921
State Lower House Seats	1 / 5,410
Other elected offices	133 (2013)[1]
Website
www.gp.org
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

Part of a series on
Green politics
Core topics Green politics (outline) Green party
Four Pillars Ecological wisdom Grassroots democracy Nonviolence Social justice
Schools Bright green environmentalism Deep ecology Eco-capitalism Ecofeminism Eco-socialism Green anarchism Green conservatism Green left Green liberalism Green libertarianism Green municipalism Green Zionism Green syndicalism Social ecology
Organizations in Africa in the Americas Asia-Pacific Green Network European Green Party Young European Greens Global Greens Global Young Greens
Related topics Animal rights Anti-nuclear movement Conservation movement Ecocentrism Ecological modernization Ecology movement Environmental issues Environmental justice Environmental movement Environmentalism
Environment portal
v t e

The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a national American political party founded in 1991 as a voluntary association of state green parties. With its founding, the Green Party of the United States became the primary national Green organization in the United States, eclipsing the Greens/Green Party USA, which emphasized non-electoral movement building. The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP), a forerunner organization, first gained widespread public attention during Ralph Nader's United States presidential campaigns in 1996 and 2000. The party has no current representation in the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate and controls no governorships or other state-wide elected positions. At the state legislature level, the party controls only one seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Ideology[edit]

The Green Party of the United States of America emphasizes environmentalism, non-hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace, and nonviolence. Their "Ten Key Values,"^[2] which are described as non-authoritarian guiding principles, are as follows:

1. Grassroots democracy
2. Social justice and equal opportunity
3. Ecological wisdom
4. Nonviolence
5. Decentralization
6. Community-based economics
7. Feminism and gender equality
8. Respect for diversity
9. Personal and global responsibility
10. Future focus and sustainability

The Green Party does not accept donations from corporations, political action committees (PACs), 527(c) organizations or soft money. The party's platforms and rhetoric harshly criticize any corporate influence and control over government, media, and society at large.

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

The political movement that began in 1984 as the decentralized Committees of Correspondence^[3] (GCoC) evolved into a more centralized structure by 1990, opening a national clearinghouse, and forming governing bodies, bylaws, and a platform under the name The Green Committees of Correspondence (GCoC) and by 1990, simply, The Greens. The organization conducted non-electoral grassroots organizing efforts, educational activities, and electoral campaigns.

Internal divisions arose between members who saw electoral politics as ultimately corrupting and supported the notion of an "anti-party party" formed by Petra Kelly and other leaders of Die Grünen in Germany,^[4] vs. those who saw electoral strategies as a crucial engine of social change (organized as The Green Politics Network in 1990 and The National Association of Statewide Green Parties by 1994). A struggle for the direction of the organization culminated a "compromise agreement," ratified in 1991 at the Greens National Congress in Elkins, West Virginia – in which both strategies would be accommodated within the same organization under a 527 political organization renamed The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA).

The compromise agreement subsequently collapsed and two Green Party organizations have co-existed in the United States since the mid-1990s, now operating independently as the Green Party of the United States and the G/GPUSA, which is no longer registered as a political party.

Fund raising and position on super PACs[edit]

In the early decades of Green organizing in the United States, the prevailing U.S. system of money-dominated elections was universally rejected by Greens, so that some Greens were reluctant to have Greens participate in the election system at all, because they deemed the campaign finance system inherently corrupt. Other Greens felt strongly that the Green Party in the U.S. should develop in the electoral arena; many of these Greens felt that adopting an alternative model of campaign finance, emphasizing self-imposed contribution limits, would present a wholesome and attractive contrast to the odious campaign finance practices of the money-dominated major parties. Over the years, some state Green parties have come to place less emphasis on the principle of self-imposed limits than they did in the past. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that Green Party fundraising (for candidates' campaigns and for the party itself) still tends to rely on relatively small contributions, and that Greens generally decry not only the rise of the super-PACs but also the big-money system, which some Greens criticize as plutocracy. Some Greens feel that the Green Party's position should be simply to follow the laws and regulations of campaign finance.^[5] Other Greens argue that it would injure the Green Party not to practice a principled stand against the anti-democratic influence of money in the political process. Candidates for office, like Jill Stein, the 2012 Green Party nominee for the President of the United States, typically rely on smaller donations to fund their campaigns.^[6]

Structure and composition[edit]

Committees[edit]

The Green Party has two national committees recognized by the Federal Election Commission:

• the Green National Committee (GNC)
• the Green Senatorial Campaign Committee (GSCC)^[7]

Green National Committee[edit]

The Green National Committee is the central governing body of the Green Party of the United States. The GNC is composed of delegates from each of the affiliated state party organizations and from recognized caucuses. The GNC oversees all national party functions and elects a Steering Committee to oversee day-to-day operations.

Steering Committee[edit]

The Steering Committee is composed of seven Co-chairs together with the Secretary and Treasurer. The Co-chairs of the Green Party of the United States are currently (2013 January): Susan Chunco (CA), Charles Ostdiek (NE), Farheen Hakeem (MN), Darryl Moch (DC), A.J. Segneri (IL), Steve Welzer (NJ), and Karen Young (NY). They are elected from the delegates who serve on the Green National Committee. The Secretary is Budd Dickinson (WA). The Treasurer is Jeff Turner (HI).

Standing committees[edit]

The GNC has several standing committees:^[8]

Caucuses[edit]

Four identity caucuses have achieved representation on the GNC:

• Black Caucus^[9] - Acting Co-Chairs: Thomas Muhammad, George Friday
• Lavender Greens^[10] (LGBTIQ)- Co-Chairs: Starlene Rankin, Justin Crockett Elzie
• Women's Caucus^[11] - Co-Chairs: Nan Garrett, Sylvia Inwood
• Youth Caucus^[12]

Three other caucuses are working toward formal recognition by the GNC:

• Disability Caucus^[13]
• Latino Caucus^[14]
• Labor Caucus^[15]

The Blue Greens (workers' caucus) and the Native American caucus also exist, but have not established organizing committees yet.^{[citation needed]}

State parties[edit]

bl - achieved 2008 ballot line
na - not yet affiliated with the national, Green Party US ^[16]
ci - currently inactive

Geographic distribution[edit]

The Green Party has its strongest popular support on the Pacific Coast, Upper Great Lakes, and Northeast, as reflected in the geographical distribution of Green candidates elected.^[69] Californians have elected 55 of the 226 office-holding Greens nationwide as of June 2007. Other states with high numbers of Green elected officials include Pennsylvania (31), Wisconsin (23), Massachusetts (18), and Maine (17). Maine has the highest per capita number of Green elected officials in the country, and the largest Green registration percentage with more than 29,273 Greens comprising 2.95% of the electorate as of November 2006.^[70] Madison, Wisconsin, is the city with the most Green elected officials (8) followed by Portland, Maine (7).

In 2005, the Green Party had 305,000 registered members in states allowing party registration, and tens of thousands of members and contributors in the rest of the country.^[71] One challenge that the Green Party (as well as other third parties) faces is the difficulty of overcoming ballot access laws in many states.

Electoral results[edit]

President[edit]

Election year	Candidate	Running mate	# of overall votes	% of overall vote	# of electoral votes	+/-
1996	Ralph Nader	Winona LaDuke	684,871	0.71	0 / 538
2000	Ralph Nader	Winona LaDuke	2,882,955	2.74	0 / 538	0
2004	David Cobb	Pat LaMarche	119,859	0.10	0 / 538	0
2008	Cynthia McKinney	Rosa Clemente	161,680	0.12	0 / 538	0
2012	Jill Stein	Cheri Honkala	468,907[72]	0.36	0 / 538	0

Congress[edit]

House of Representatives[edit]

Senate[edit]

Office holders[edit]

John Eder, elected in Maine in 2002, was the first Green Party candidate elected to a state legislature to serve a full term as a Green.

Musician Jello Biafra ran for several offices with the Green Party, including for President in 2000.

Malik Rahim, former Black Panther Party activist, ran for the U.S. Congress in 2008 with the Green Party.

Psychiatrist Joel Kovel ran for the Green Party's presidential nomination in 2000.

As of October 18, 2012, there were 134 elected Greens across the United States.^[73] Positions held varied greatly, from mayor to city council, school board to sanitation district. Twenty-three states had Greens elected at the municipal level, representing every region of the country except for East South Central. Greens held mayorships in California and New York, and positions on city, neighborhood, or common councils in the West, South, Midwest, and Northeast. Major cities with a Green presence were spread throughout the country and included Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and Washington, DC.

The Green Party in the United States has won elected office at the local level; most winners of public office in the United States who are considered Greens have won nonpartisan elections.^[74] The highest-ranking Greens ever elected in the nation were: John Eder, a member of the Maine House of Representatives until his defeat in November 2006; Audie Bock, elected to the California State Assembly in 1999 but switched her registration to Independent seven months later^[75] running as an independent in the 2000 election;^[76] Richard Carroll, elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2008 but switched parties to become a Democrat five months after his election;^[77] and Fredrick Smith, elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2012.^[78]

As of 2012, Fredrick Smith of the Arkansas House of Representatives and Mayor Gayle McLaughlin are the most notable Green elected officials in the United States. McLaughlin is serving her second term as mayor of Richmond, California. McLaughlin defeated two Democrats in 2006 to become mayor,^[79] and in was reelected in 2010.^[80] Richmond, with a population of over 100,000 people, is the largest city in the country with a Green mayor. In 2010 Ben Chipman, a former member of the Green Party, ran for Maine Legislature as an Independent and was elected. Chipman was reelected in 2012.^[81]

Fairfax, California, Arcata, California, Sebastopol, California, and New Paltz, New York are the only towns in the United States to ever hold a Green Party majority in their town councils. Twin Ridges Elementary in Nevada County, California held the first Green Party majority school board in the United States.^[82]

Presidential tickets[edit]

• 1996: Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke 685,128 votes
• 2000: Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke 2,882,000 votes
• 2004: David Cobb and Pat LaMarche 119,859 votes
• 2008: Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente 161,603 votes ^[83] (Cynthia McKinney presidential campaign, 2008)
• 2012: Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala^[84] 469,501 votes^[85] (Jill Stein presidential campaign, 2012)

List of national conventions/meetings[edit]

• 1996 – Los Angeles, CA
• 2000 – Denver, CO
• 2001 – Santa Barbara, CA
• 2002 – Philadelphia, PA
• 2003 – Washington, DC
• 2004 – Milwaukee, WI
• 2005 – Tulsa, OK
• 2006 – Tucson, AZ
• 2007 – Reading, PA
• 2008 – Chicago, IL
• 2009 – Durham, NC
• 2010 – Detroit, MI
• 2011 - Alfred, NY
• 2012 - Baltimore, MD

See also[edit]

• Greens/Green Party USA
• Worldwide green parties
• List of political parties in the United States
• California Green Archives
• Cynthia McKinney
• Jill Stein
• Jello Biafra
• Audie Bock
• Peter Camejo
• Douglas Campbell
• Ben Chipman
• David Cobb
• John Eder
• Mike Feinstein
• Matt Gonzalez
• Daniel Hamburg
• Howie Hawkins
• Jesse Johnson
• Joel Kovel
• Pat LaMarche
• Ben Manski
• David McReynolds
• Gayle McLaughlin
• Brent McMillan
• Ross Mirkarimi
• Malik Rahim
• Kent Warner Smith
• Dona Spring
• Charlene Spretnak
• Chris Hedges

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Green Party of the United States

• Official website
• Green Party Ballot Status and Voter Registration Totals
• Green Senatorial Campaign Committee (GSCC)
• National Lavender Greens Caucus (GLBTIQ)
• National Women's Caucus (NWC)
• Disability Caucus Identity Caucus of the United States Green Party
• California Green Archives
• 2012 Green Party Platform

Explanations of the ten key values

• Ten Key Values of the Green Party
• Global Greens' charter
• California Green Party's Ten Key Values
• Radical Middle Newsletter's historical intro. & early version