Green Party Virtual Spring Gathering

Thank you to all Green Party members who attended our Spring Gathering in May!

We had a lively and informed discussion with representatives from FairVote Washington giving a presentation on the campaign to bring ranked-choice voting to Washington State elections!

If you missed the Gathering, you can watch a video of the FairVote WA presentation on our YouTube channel!

–> Like and Subscribe while you’re there!

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Beginning Sunday, June 5th, our Coordinating Council will consider appointments for two of our remaining unfilled positions — GPWA Deputy Treasurer and At-Large Coordinating Council member.

GPWA members who are interested in being considered for either of these two positions are invited to post a statement of interest and a brief bio in our Loomio discussion group.

Our Coordinating Council will also approve nominees to serve on several GPUS Committees, including Animal Rights; Banking and Monetary Reform; Bylaws, Rules, Policies and Procedures; Diversity Committee; and the International Committee. If you are interested in learning more about serving on a GPUS committee, please post your question in our Loomio discussion group.

Thank you!

GPWA Fall Gathering

Join us for our 2021 Fall Gathering via Zoom!

Please join us on Sunday, November 21st from 7 pm to 9 pm for planning, connecting, and learning!

Agenda:

7:00 PM – Welcome, Introductions, and Ice Breaker

7:30 PM – Who Is The Green Party? Video and Discussion

8:00 PM – 2021 Year in Review: Our Candidates, Initiatives, and Efforts

8:30 PM – 2022 Looking To The Future: Priorities, Goals, and Ideas

9:00 PM – Wrap Up and Next Steps

Pre-register for the event here:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYpce2przouGdSkarJp7kIqvyHLqiGrHoNs

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

GPWA Spring Gathering

Hello Greens of Washington State!

Our Annual Spring Meeting is on Sunday, May 2nd, 2021. 

We will be meeting using our regular Washington State Green Party Jitsi account (https://meet.jit.si/GreenPartyWashington).

The Agenda for our Spring Meeting:

10:00am – Introductions (30 mins)

10:30am – Discussion of Bylaw Proposal Amendment #1 – Term Limit and Terms of Service (30 min discussion and 15 min voting)

Article 4.1.C Term of Service – Upon election the SCC shall facilitate the work of the Party until the election of their successors. The five at-large SCC members and the Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer shall be elected for one-year terms by the membership or, in the case of representatives from each affiliated local, by the local membership.

Article 4.1.D Term Limits – Members of the SCC except the Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer may serve no more than three consecutive terms.

AMENDED TO

Article 4.1.C. Term of Service – Upon election the SCC shall facilitate the work of the Party until the election of their successors. The five at-large SCC members and the Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer shall be elected for one two(2) year term by the membership or, in the case of representatives from each affiliated local, by the local membership.

Article 4.1.D Term Limits – Members of the SCC except the Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer may serve no more than two consecutive terms.

11:15am – Discussion of Bylaw Proposal Amendment #2 – National Delegate and Alternate National Delegate (30 min discussion and 15 min voting)

Change 4.1.K from Budget to read:

4.1.K. National and Alternate Delegate – National and Alternate Delegates shall report activity on the National Green Party Votes List to the SCC including all pending votes which may be voted upon by our Delegates to the National Committee. The Alternate Delegate will assist the National Delegate(s) in fulfilling their duties if they are incapacitated. Delegates must report to the SCC during our monthly meeting either in person, video chat, email or proxy at least once every 3 months. Failure of an NC delegate to report for 4 months will constitute a resignation of that position, which will be filled as stated in 4.1.N.

reorder remaining sections as follows:

4.1.L Budget – It is the responsibility of the SCC to prepare an annual budget to be posted in the Members section of the GPWA website.

4.1.M Implementation of Decisions – The SCC will determine procedures to be used in implementing decisions. No procedures will be chosen which violate the spirit or text of the bylaws. Written accounts of procedures will be kept. Modification is understood to include adding or deleting entries. Procedures shall be updated on the Green Party website within two weeks of any modification.

The SCC may establish other functional bodies and working groups as they consider necessary. Proposals for new functional bodies may also be submitted to the SCC by a group of three or more GPWA members who wish to form a committee, and shall clearly define the rationale for, powers of, and accountability standards for the proposed body.

4.1.N Vacancies – Vacancies in the SCC shall be filled by appointment by the SCC. The appointed member will serve until the next convention, at which time a member will be elected according to normal election procedures. The newly elected member will serve out the time of the original councilmember.

4.1.O Resignations – At at-large member, the Treasurer, or the Deputy Treasurer will be deemed to have resigned when without explanation or prior notice, they miss meetings for two months, are unavailable by email for one month, or do not return phone calls within one month. If one of these conditions occur, a vacancy on the SCC will be announced.

12:00 (BREAK ) 1 hour break for lunch.  (Margaret and CJ will tabulate votes)

1:00pm – Building Your Local:  An Introduction to Green Politics (Noah Martin – 45mins)

1:45pm – Nominations and short speeches for GPWA Coordinating Council At-Large positions, Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer, and GPUS National Committee Delegates and Alternates. (45 mins)  Note:  The five at-large SCC members, two NC delegates, and two alternates will be elected proportionally using the Gregory method of single transferable vote (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote). Ballots and candidate statements will be emailed (or postal mailed to members without email addresses) within one week after the convention and returned ballots must be sent no later than 21 days after the close of the convention.

2:30pm – Abolishment of Nuclear Weapons (Molly Feather – 30 mins)

3:00pm – (BREAK)

3:30pm2040: The Regeneration film with discussion afterwards.

Some points to be aware of — Amendments to the GPWA bylaws may be adopted on a 70% vote of the members present at a state convention, and we will be using OpaVote to conduct the vote.

GPWA Annual Spring Gathering – May 2020

The Green Party of Washington will hold our Annual Spring Gathering on Saturday May 23rd, 2020 from 9:30 AM – 5 PM.

Click here to register to attend!

Due to social distancing restrictions, this meeting will be held online.

You are invited to join us for any part or all of the meeting. The online meeting link and password will be shared with all those who register to attend.


Meeting agenda:

9:30 AM – Welcome and introductions – orientation for meeting attendees – learn how to use Jitsi online meetings – click here to read our Jitsi training guide

10 AM – Nature’s Rights and Community Civil DisobedienceKai Huschke, Northwest and Hawaii Organizer for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, Democracy School lecturer, and advisor to the Oregon Community Rights Network and Washington State Community Rights Network

11 AM – Confronting the Climate Justice CrisisShaylon Stolk, Climate Justice Activist with Extinction Rebellion Seattle and Extinction Rebellion Justice. Shaylon is a statistician who has worked in the renewable energy industry since 2011. She is passionate about wind farms, revitalizing her peoples’ Indigenous languages, and vegan baking.

12 PM – Lunch break – discussion and proposal on Community Resilience with Kaedden Michael Landy

1 PM – GPUS Presidential Candidate presentations* Howie Hawkins / Angela Walker, Dario Hunter / Darlene Elias, and David Rolde

2 PM – Local and Statewide Candidate presentations

3 PM – GPWA State Coordinating Council, GPUS National Committee, and GPUS Presidential Nominating Convention delegate and alternate candidate introductions and nominations **

4 PM – Chapter reports, volunteer opportunities, and social time

* Presidential candidates recognized by the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) are invited to present. 

** GPWA State Coordinating Council: nominations are open for Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer, and 5 at-large council members. In nominating candidates for the coordinating council, members should have as their goal the inclusion of differences in as many areas as possible, including but not limited to race, gender, and geography. For more information, see our bylaws. Our State Coordinating Council also includes an elected representative from each affiliated local chapter.

** GPUS National Committee: nominations are open for 2 delegates and 2 alternates.

** GPUS Presidential Nominating Convention: nominations are open for 5 delegates and 5 alternates. The Green Party 2020 Annual National Meeting and Presidential Nominating Convention will take place July 9-12, 2020 online.

All votes will be cast by Green Party members on a ranked-choice ballot sent out via email (or postal mail) after the Gathering.

Ballots and candidate statements will be emailed (or postal mailed to members without email addresses) within one week after the Spring Gathering, and returned ballots must be sent back (emailed or postmarked) no later than 21 days after the close of the Gathering. Members may choose to return their ballot via email or postal mail.

More information on the 2020 Green Party Presidential candidates.

Unofficial Wikipedia results and pledges to date for the US Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention.


–> Is your Green Party membership up to date?

Membership is free for those experiencing economic hardship at this time.

Click here to join, renew, or check your membership status.

New members must join the Green Party of Washington by April 23, 2020 to participate in our nominating process for president, down-ballot, and GPWA candidates. Returning members and those whose membership has lapsed can renew their membership by May 23rd.


Click here to register to attend our 2020 Spring Gathering!

GPWA 2018 Fall Gathering Review

by Mary Ellen Knoop

The Green Party of Washington held our Fall Gathering on November 10, 2018 at the Ellensburg Pasta Company.

Everything went well. Although the attendance (17 people) was less that we had hoped, there was representation from most of the state, and it was well-worth the time to be there. The meeting content was great. FairVote WA clarified Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) beautifully, and they are prepared to send at least one of their members to any group in order to give their slide presentation. Great for a local chapter GP meeting!

Boot Camp was great, too. The rest of the program was interesting and informative as well, including the Green Party National Women’s Caucus plan to lobby for public funding of all campaigns.

The food was good and the service was great. The restaurant itself was crowded; it is obviously a popular place in Ellensburg.

The room was perfect for our size group, and the restaurant even had a good film screen. I was surprised that with the day being so beautiful, more didn’t attend. We will have to talk frankly about whether to stay with one or try again to have two state-wide meetings per year. The location, being central, was to me a perfect choice, easily accessible; two members came from The Mid-Columbia, and one from Spokane, along with others who attended from Whatcom County, Snohomish County, Seattle, Tahoma (Pierce County), and South Puget Sound.

Read our summary evaluation of the Gathering here.

GPWA Fall Gathering – November 10, 2018

Green Party Fall Gathering 2018

Saturday, November 10th, 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Join the Green Party of Washington in beautiful Eastern Washington!

Enjoy meeting Greens from across the state while you enjoy a tasty Italian lunch. Everyone will pay for their own food and drinks.

Ellensburg Pasta Company
600 N. Main St.
Ellensburg, WA 98626

ellensburgpasta.com


Our Agenda:

We will review the results of the 2018 midterms and GPWA’s new projects and ideas for the future.

We’ll hear from representatives of FairVote WA on the benefits of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) and on progress to get RCV implemented here in WA.

We will offer a “Boot Camp” for starting and energizing local chapters.

We will look ahead to 2019 and beyond for growing the Green Party in Washington!

We hope all local chapters will send representatives to attend this statewide Gathering of Greens.

Please RSVP in advance. Our room holds only 50 people, so save your spot!

Sign up to attend here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScGfCP9SjCdFevt8e29Mmet2oivTtmRk7Sch9wFZKKHVQkXvw/viewform?c=0&w=1

Registration fee is $10-$25 sliding scale, payable at the door. (No one will be turned away due to financial hardship.)


All Green Party supporters are welcome, regardless of membership status or level of activity.

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GPWA Spring Gathering Update

The Green Party of Washington held our annual Spring Gathering on Saturday, April 14th in Fife, WA.

At our meeting, we heard reports from Green Party officeholders EJ Zita – Thurston County Port Commissioner, and Renata Rollins – Olympia City Councilmember. Live videos of Zita and Renata are posted on our Green Party FB page.

Green Party member and Congressional candidate Stoney Bird gave a short overview on Camp Wellstone, a training program for organizers, campaign workers, and candidates.

Green Party organizer Kathryn Lewandowsky gave a detailed presentation on Initiative 1600 – Healthcare for All – Whole Washington. Volunteers are needed to gather signatures to get this Universal Healthcare initiative on the ballot!

Initiative 1631 – Clean Air and Clean Energy is also gathering signatures!

Candidates for US Congress and for local offices also spoke:

All candidate statements can be found here.

We heard updates from our local Green Party chapters, including Whatcom, Snohomish, Seattle, Tahoma (Pierce County), South Puget Sound, and Mid-Columbia (our newest chapter).

Finally, we took nominations for GPWA Coordinating Council (CC) and GPUS national delegates and alternates.

The following members were nominated to the GPWA CC:

  • Chris Govella – Treasurer
    • Update: Our nominee for Treasurer has since declined, and this position is currently open for nomination.
  • Noah Martin – Deputy Treasurer
  • Jody Grage
  • Kathryn Lewandowsky
  • Maricela Sanchez
  • Mary Ellen Knoop
  • Scott Thompson

The following members were nominated for GPUS delegates:

  • Jody Grage
  • Kathryn Lewandowsky
  • Lisa Canar – alternate
  • Noah Martin – alternate

Short bios for GPWA nominees can be found here.

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For Green Party members:

We request your input on the qualification of our nominees, as well as the endorsement / preference of candidates for Congressional and local elected offices, including consideration of three candidates for US Senate. All candidate statements can be found here.

To check your GPWA membership status, see http://www.gp-wa.org/membership_status. If your membership has lapsed click here to join or renew.

Send an email by May 5th, 2018 to hello@greenpartywashington.org to provide your input on GPWA candidate endorsement and GPWA coordinator / leadership positions.

GPWA Spring Gathering – Saturday April 14th!

* Please note venue and time update! *

The Green Party of Washington State will hold our annual Spring Gathering on Saturday April 14th from 12:30 – 5:30 PM.

We will meet at The Poodle Dog Restaurant, 1522 54th Ave E, Fife, WA 98424.

Everyone is welcome!

Agenda:

12:30 – 1pm:  Set up, Order Lunch

1pm – 2pm: Introductions, Reports from Officeholders

Green Party members currently in elected positions:

  • Renata Rollins – City Council Member, Olympia
  • EJ Zita – Port Commissioner, Thurston County
  • Paul Pickett – Thurston Conservation District

2pm – 3pm: Workshops

  • I-1600 Whole Washington Workshop – Kathryn Lewandowsky
  • I-1631 Washington Carbon Tax and Revenue Allocation information
  • Camp Wellstone Campaign School Workshop – Stoney Bird

3pm – 4pm: Candidates for elected officeCandidate recruitment

->> Read completed candidate questionnaires here

  • Stonewall Jackson Bird, WA-CD 2 candidate for Federal Congress
  • Tamborine Borrelli, WA-CD 10 candidate for Federal Congress
  • Robert Hunziker, WA-CD 8 candidate for Federal Congress
  • Andrew Saturn, candidate for Thurston County Public Utility District Commissioner
  • Tye Menser, candidate for Thurston County Commissioner, District 3 (campaign volunteer)
  • Information on local races with May 18 deadline – Jody Grage

4pm – 5:30pm: Updates from local chapters, Nominations, Review

  • Local Green Party updates
  • Nominations for GPWA Coordinating Council: Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer, and At-Large Members (5)
  • Nominations for GPUS national delegates (2), and alternates (2)
  • Discuss take home points from Movement School for Revolutionaries – Scott Thompson

Vote by email – ballots will be sent to GPWA members within one week of the Gathering.

Home stays are available for those attending from out of town. Please let us know by April 4th.

To check your GPWA membership status, see http://www.gp-wa.org/membership_status. If your membership has lapsed, renew before or at the Gathering to be eligible to vote! Click here to join or renew.

RSVP on Facebook or email to let us know you’re planning to attend.

Green Party of Washington Spring Gathering
Date: Saturday, April 14, 2018
Time: 12:30pm – 5:30pm
Place: The Poodle Dog Restaurant, 1522 54th Ave E, Fife, WA 98424

The Poodle Dog is just north of I-5 at Exit #137 for 54th Ave E in Fife. See map and directions here.

Hope to see you there!

#WeAreGreen 🌱

Contact hello@greenpartywashington.org for additional information.

GPWA Spring Membership Gathering – Saturday April 8th

Saturday April 8th, 2017 in Seattle!

The Green Party of Washington State will hold our Spring Membership Gathering on Saturday April 8th from 12 noon – 5 PM. We will be meeting at Razzi’s Pizzeria on Greenwood Ave North in Seattle. Everyone is welcome!

Our agenda:

12 noon – Welcome and Introductions

12:30 – 2:30 pm – Green Party Campaign School Discussion and Workshops – Phone Banking, Signature Gathering, Volunteer Coordination, Database Management; Focus on issues for using skills – Seattle Wealth Tax and Police Accountability campaigns

2:30 – 2:40 pm – Region 10 – Progressive Independent Party Regional Outreach presentation

2:40 – 3:00 pm – Candidate presentations

3:00 – 3:30 pm – Elevator Speech Contest – with Prizes!!!
Why Join the Green Party? – in a 30-second elevator speech
Come with your contest entry written up and be ready to deliver it! Gathering attendees will vote, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes will be awarded!

3:30 – 4:00 pm – What works! – Each Green Party local is asked to give a five-minute presentation on something being done in your local that is working well and could serve as a model for other locals. Bring a descriptive handout if possible!

4:00 – 4:30 pm – Nomination of candidates: GPWA Coordinating Council – Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer, At-Large Members (5), and GPWA Delegates (2) and Alternates (2) to GPUS with voting by email/postal mail ballots sent within a week after the Gathering

4:30 – 5:00 pm – Proposed amendments to the GPWA Affiliation Agreement – discussion and voting by GPWA members at the Gathering

Home stays will be available for those attending from out of town. Please let us know by April 4th.

All new Green Party of Washington members who join by March 8th will be eligible to vote.

To check your membership status, see http://www.gp-wa.org/membership_status. If your membership has lapsed, renew before or at the Gathering to vote! Click here to join or renew.

RSVP on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/108598032991170/

#WeAreGreen 🌱