Bi-Monthly Newsletter of The Green Party of Washington
Volume 3, Issue 1
Welcome to your Green Party of Washington State bi-monthly newsletter. If you have information to submit for the Newsletter, please send it to GPWAnewsletter@gmail.com.
Our hope is that this newsletter is published every other month on the odd months.
REPORT FROM GREEN PARTY OF WASHINGTON FALL GATHERING
The Green Party of Washington State met in Seattle on Saturday November 9, 2019 for our Fall Gathering. Local chapter representatives from Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Snohomish County, Whatcom County, and the Olympic Peninsula attended.
Among the presentations, Jody Grage gave an overview of Green Party organizing in Washington State and nationwide, Stoney Bird reviewed and facilitated Ranked Choice Voting experiments, Scott Thompson discussed corporate media control and government secrecy, Noah Martin and Colin Bartlett presented an overview of Ecosocialism, and Charles Law presented Investing in Collaboration (networking with the youth movement).
WHAT IS ECOSOCIALISM?
RECOMMENDED READING ON ECOSOCIALISM
INVESTING IN COLLABORATION by Charles Law
Green Party Campaign School – February 23, 2020
We are co-sponsoring a Campaign School workshop with the Pacific Green Party of Oregon on Sunday February 23, 2020 in Portland, OR.
Sign up to attend and carpool here!
We have scheduled Zoom meetings on Sunday January 19 and Sunday February 2, 2020 for those interested in helping to organize this event. If you would like to help with this Campaign School, please email us for more information.
SAVE THE DATE! – Green Party of Washington Spring Gathering – May 23, 2020
Our Annual Spring Gathering will be held on Saturday May 23, 2020 in Richland, WA. We will hear from GPUS Presidential candidates and choose our delegates and alternates to the Green Party Annual National Meeting (ANM) and Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC). Green Party members who can attend the combined ANM (Th-Fri) and PNC (Sat-Sun) meeting in July are encouraged to put themselves forward as candidates.
The Green Party 2020 Annual National Meeting and Presidential Nominating Convention will take place July 9-12, 2020 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
Green Party of Washington would like to run a statewide candidate in 2020!
Are you someone who might be up to this task, either as a candidate or a campaign support volunteer? Keep reading and if you see yourself in any of these positions, please send us an email to follow up.
Content provided by Noah Martin, South Sound Greens, GPWA Campaign Committee member
There are multiple statewide executive positions up for election in 2020. I have listed most of them here. I particularly believe that GPWA would benefit from running someone for Commissioner of Public Lands, since it is a position that “fits” the Greens’ mission very well, there will be no incumbent running, and all of the Democrats who are running are “Green capitalists” from King County who have little appeal in places where the Commissioner of Public Lands’ actions are felt the most like Eastern and Southwestern Washington. In addition, it has directly translatable experience for a race for a conservation district, which are among the most winnable nonpartisan local races for Greens.
Benefits of running a statewide campaign
While GPWA is probably not yet able to win races at the state level, having a statewide candidate has several benefits for the state party:
- Raising key state-level issues that might not otherwise be mentioned in the race
- Linking the party to those state-level issues and leveraging them to grow the party
- “Filling out” the ballot so Greens are not just a top-heavy ticket with a presidential candidate, but are shown to have a real presence in the state
- Building out GPWA’s statewide campaign infrastructure so it can better compete in local races
- Researching policy positions, creating messaging, and collecting voter data that can be built on in follow-up local campaigns.
- Allowing a candidate to build name recognition and a statewide fundraising network before running for local office
Offices
Due to limited capacity, GPWA should probably pick one statewide office to focus on. However, there are several statewide offices that can have a watershed effect on down ballot races or leverage a particular issue.
Governor — This is the primary executive of Washington State, and it touches pretty much every state-level issue. This would be a particularly good position if someone wants to raise issues that have more to do with the legislature and/or the governor’s legislative priorities, or if there are issues that the Democratic administration needs to be pushed on.
Good qualifying professions: Administrative positions of various stripes, lawyers, workers…
Almost any profession can make a case for Governor if the messaging is done right.
Possible Issues: Legislative dysfunction, dam removal, dirty energy, carbon fees, ecosocialism
Local Races that Benefit: Most of them, particularly legislative races
Superintendent of Public Instruction — The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is one of the largest executive departments of Washington State and oversees the execution of education policy. Maintaining education is THE fundamental constitutional duty of the State of Washington, and our current legislators have been making a mess of it. Much of the game of chicken in the legislature every year is around the education budget, which means this position could be a great opportunity to discuss the budget, charter schools, curriculum, child poverty, and other pressing issues in WA.
Good qualifying professions: Teacher, school administrator, childcare worker, pediatrician, artist, school bus driver, and other professions that work directly with children
Possible Issues: Budget, charter schools, curriculum, education conditions, child poverty,
Local Races that Benefit: School boards
Secretary of State — The Secretary of State’s primary role in WA is to oversee elections. This is a great position for people with election or administrative experience in general, especially in a high-paced environment.
Good qualifying professions: Election worker, campaign manager, programmer, auditor, public administrator
Possible Issues: Voting reform, election technology, transparency,
Local Races that Benefit: All of them, particularly partisan races like County Auditor.
Commissioner of Public Lands — The Commissioner of Public Lands is an increasingly important position that is charged with overseeing both the state’s relationships with extractive industries like fishing, logging, and farming and the state’s management of state parks, conservation efforts and forest fires.
Good qualifying professions: Biologist, ecologist, farmworker, firefighter, fisherperson, park ranger, emergency management, surveyor
Possible Issues: Effects of climate change like forest fires, pesticide use, land use, and other ecological issues
Local Races that Benefit: Conservation District boards
Auditor — The State Auditor is charged with overseeing efforts for government transparency and accountability at the state, county, and local levels. This is constitutionally supposed to be the most “independent” position, which makes it a good office for a third party to run for “to keep the fox from guarding the henhouse,” so to speak. Independents tend to perform better running for this position.
Good qualifying professions: Financial analyst, ombuds, journalist, human resources, lawyer, accountant
Possible Issues: Government transparency (particularly Senate Bill 6617 and its subsequent iterations), corruption, partisanship
Local Races that Benefit: All of them, particularly County Assessors and County Auditors
Treasurer — The chief financial officer of the state of Washington. This position is currently held by an incumbent Republican, and Democrats will be hungry to win it back. This means there will probably be more space on the left for Greens to find a niche.
Good qualifying professions: Accountant, financial planner, actuary, worker in the financial sector
Possible Issues: Taxes, the budget, public banking
Local Races That Benefit: City Council and legislative races, County Assessors
Local Green Party Chapter Ideas
Did you miss the list of Local Chapter Ideas from Laura Lockwood (GP of the Mid-Columbia) in our last Newsletter? If so, click here to review.
Be Seen Being Green!
Local Chapter News
Come meet other Greens and find out how you can promote the presence of Green Values in your community and your local government!
Green Party of Seattle
This chapter recently reorganized membership meetings to the first Tuesday of the month, 6-8 PM in Seattle. Find out more at GPSEA.org or check out their Facebook page for meeting details. All Greens, as well as friends and allies for sustainability, are welcome to attend. Input and volunteers are needed! GPSEA is supporting the Seattle Die-In with allies for health as a human right to be staged in Seattle on January 9, 2020:
Also, this April 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and GPSEA plans to host a fun and educational community event on Saturday April 18th with a ‘Climate Action’ theme! Please contact Alice B Green for more info and to get involved.
Green Party of the Mid-Columbia
This chapter generally meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the home of Frank & Laura Lockwood, 118 Rachel Rd, Kennewick, WA at 7pm. Everyone interested in the Green Party is welcome. Check out their new Website, find them on Facebook at Green Party of the Mid-Columbia, and join the discussion at Green Party Friends of the Mid-Columbia.
South Sound Greens (Green Party of South Puget Sound)
This chapter is very active supporting youth working for climate change, homeless issues, and actively supporting local candidates for office. Please contact Noah Martin for information on meetings and other activities, and check out their Facebook group for updates.
In October 2019 the South Sound Greens hosted Green Party Presidential candidates Dario Hunter and Howie Hawkins. See below for a link to the videos!
Green Party of the Olympic Peninsula
Charles Law is working to form an active local chapter on the Olympic Peninsula. For more info and to get involved, email Charles or join their Facebook discussion group at Green Party Olympic Peninsula.
Green Party of Snohomish County
Snohomish County has changed their monthly meeting to a Zoom meeting usually on the 1st Monday of the month. For more info, check out their Facebook discussion group or email Kathryn.
Green Party of Whatcom County
For more information, join their Facebook discussion group at Green Party of Whatcom County.
Presidential Meet & Greet featuring Dario Hunter and Howie Hawkins
In case you missed it, Green Party Presidential candidates Dario Hunter and Howie Hawkins visited Olympia WA in October 2019.
Click here to watch videos of Q&A with the candidates.
GPWA VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Interested in getting involved with our Tech Team or helping with Social Media? Please email to let us know!
GPWA Volunteer Coordinator
We are looking for a Volunteer Coordinator!
Our biggest asset is our people! There is much Green Party work to be done here in Washington state! We have supporters who are able and willing to work, and we need a Volunteer Coordinator to get them connected, directed and organized!
The Volunteer Coordinator will:
- Develop with each GPWA committee and work group a task list for their group of volunteers
- Educate people in the GPWA database of the needs and opportunities to serve in the Green Party of Washington
- Assist the committees and work groups in finding the human resources to be successful
- Encourage member use of the volunteer form and use this information to connect volunteer members with committees and work groups in their areas of interest and skills
If you are interested in being a Volunteer Coordinator or working on a Volunteer Committee, please contact Jody Grage.
GPUS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
There are many committees of GPUS that need volunteers to help achieve their goals. Visit gpus.org/committees to find out more and see where you might lend your talents! If interested, please contact the GPWA Coordinating Council to request being appointed to a GPUS committee.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
(Views expressed in Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the views of the Green Party of Washington State. Please note that letters may be edited for content, grammar and length. Letters should be signed by the person submitting the letter.)
No letters received this time! Where are you? Hopefully you were busy enjoying the Holidays with friends and family!! -Kathryn
Green Party of WA State Coordinating Council
Mary Ellen Knoop – Facilitator, GP Tahoma (Pierce County)
Scott Thompson – Treasurer, GP Whatcom County
Lisa Canar – Deputy Treasurer, GP Seattle
Charles Law – Member at Large, GP Olympic Peninsula
Jody Grage – Member at Large, GP Seattle
Kathryn Lewandowsky – Member at Large, GP Snohomish County
Richard Redick – Member at Large, GP Mid-Columbia
Alice Green – Local chapter representative, GP Seattle
Noah Martin – Local chapter representative, South Sound Greens
Don’t see your chapter represented? Give us a holler. Our goal is to have an elected representative from each chapter on the State Coordinating Council. We have a conference call at 7 PM on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month.
Contact Us
https://greenpartywashington.org
hello@greenpartywashington.org
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/GreenPartyWA
Green Party of Washington State: Grassroots Organizing & Discussion Group
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/GreenPartyWA
The End!
But wait! No, it’s not! There’s plenty of room for more!
Send in your pictures, stories, and ideas to Kathryn at GPWAnewsletter@gmail.com.
We hope to publish this newsletter every other month on the odd months. Send your Newsletter submissions to GPWAnewsletter@gmail.com.
Green Party of Washington State, PO Box 70493, Seattle, WA 98127
#WeAreGreen