Japan’s high-speed rail system with its bullet trains has been the envy of Amtrak for many years. And for years Amtrak has been lobbying Congress here in the United States to fund high-speed rail. Bullet trains run on electrified magnetic rails that are environmentally clean and efficient. In Japan most of this electricity is produced by nuclear power plants with the hopes that someday an even cleaner more sustainable source of energy will become available.

Imagine what it would be like if we here in America could travel at hundreds of miles an hour as we watched the countryside pass by, having no concern about how much pollution our car or the jet was belching out along the way. What would it take here in the US to make that happen? While you consider that I’m going to change subjects here for a bit.

The West Coast is suffering through one of the worst droughts in our recorded history. It’s been three years since many of the states in the desert southwest and California have had a substantial amount of rain fall. Reservoirs, lakes, and rivers are nearly bone dry. California’s agriculture industry is facing major cutbacks in the amount of water that they desperately need to maintain their farming operations. Millions of dollars in crop losses are happening now with an even darker future in the years ahead if dramatic changes aren’t made soon.

Now you’re probably wondering what high-speed rail and a horrific drought on the west coast have to do with each other. And better still you’re probably wondering how Route 66 fits into all this.

Route 66 is a highway relic from the past. It was built as a roadway connecting the Midwest all the way to California and all points in between giving drivers easy access to places such as Las Vegas, Nevada. In its hay day it was one of the heaviest traveled highways in the country before many more interstates were built as cars became more popular for travel. It starts in Chicago and runs both south and west through the heart of many of those states that are experiencing the worst of drought conditions right now. For the most part Route 66, as a highway, is obsolete and little used by car drivers of today. However, Route 66 has a couple of things going for it when it comes to high-speed rail and the west coast’s current drought situation.

Here in America a hundred years or so ago railroads owned many rights of way when it came to both passenger and commercial rail service across America. Unfortunately, because of the automobile, railroads ended up selling this right of way to interstate highways or more recently to hiking trails and what not. And this is what makes Route 66 so appealing for high-speed rail. The right of ways is already there. There would be no need to disrupt private property or businesses that are already established along that roadway.

As for the persistent droughts in the desert southwest and west coast, in general Route 66 also gives us a route for a future water pipeline from Lake Erie and the Great Lakes all the way to California. Obviously, a massive water pipeline from the world’s largest source of fresh water, the Great Lakes, all the way to the west coast would only be a small piece to a massive problem. California and other states are going to eventually have to invest in massive desalinization plants using ocean water to meet their needs fully.

And as for high-speed rail, Route 66 would be the perfect place to start a passenger only electrified rail system that would eventually encompass the rest of the west coast as well as the east coast and all points in between. Bullet trains in America could be the future of travel if we would just make that investment. And as for our interstate network, many of our interstates were built with large median strips for future highway expansion. How about using these median strips as future high-speed rail lines as we move away from the gas-powered automobile? That would also be a great way to add more charging stations along our interstate networks where these electric trains would run side by side. The final question is, do we have the political will to make these changes happen?

By William Walker

Many of you probably have never seen or heard of a TV show called Flipper. I’m sure that there are probably clips of the show on YouTube if you’re interested in checking it out. This program aired back in the sixties and unfortunately was a huge hit for the three seasons it was on. Basically, it’s Lassie except with a porpoise instead. The unfortunate part was that the audience couldn’t get enough of these three trained porpoises that played Flipper in the show. Aquariums throughout the world soon wanted and acquired porpoises, dolphins, and smaller whales as attractions. These animals proved to be extremely smart and could learn any number of tricks that would astound an eager public to spend their hard-earned money to see them perform.

Back in the seventies, a great injustice was done to the orcas of Puget Sound, also known as the Salish Sea. A round-up commenced of J, K, and L pods in Penn Cove near Coupeville Washington. The purpose is to separate the young killer whales from their pod families to be eventually sold off to entertainment parks and aquariums around the world. A few of these whales died from the trauma brought on by this horrible act of greed on that day.

The Lummi Indian tribe of western Washington considers killer whales as their ancestral brothers and sisters. And has grieved over the loss of these members of their tribe ever since. The captured whales on that day are all gone except for one. Her stage name at SeaWorld in Orlando Florida is Lolita. Her Lummi name is Tokitae And she has been a captured ambassador of her species ever since.

Being a Green Party member also means being spiritually green for me as well. And as a writer for the Green Party, I hope to incorporate ideas that I feel can help to bring back balance and natural harmony to our shared experience. In this case, that means joining the Lummi Nation and all the tribes of Washington state in righting this injustice. And that injustice is to bring Lolita/Tokitae back home to live out the rest of her years in her ancestral waters where her maternal mother is still very much alive and still swims to this very day.

I propose an alliance between the Lummi Nation and the Green Party in an effort to make this happen. A nonbinding initiative in 2023 be brought to the people of Washington state demanding the return of Tokitae to the Salish Sea.

An initiative such as this, though lacking any enforcement power of its own, would still bring the matter of Tokitae’s forced entrapment in Florida to a national audience, and perhaps even a world audience at the same time. She deserves our support and the chance to live out the rest of her life, no matter how short or long, with her Salish Sea family. I know that we can make this happen for her so I’m asking for your support!

I’ve been a Green Party member for many years. And in some of those years I remembered to pay my annual dues and in other years I was never sure when my dues were actually due. I must admit, my failure to remember is pretty much because of advancing age. My memory needs a tune-up from time to time.

And unfortunately, the Washington State chapter did not have my email address to remind me when the time came to pay up. Now they do!

As many of you are aware the Green Party does not accept corporate donations. We don’t want to be beholden to any corporate sponsor who expects political favors in the future. In essence we, the members, are our own PAC. I guess you could refer to us as the GPAC. And I’m sure you are also aware that running a political party is extraordinarily expensive.

And that leads me up to my Green Party challenge. I recently paid my 2022 dues of twenty-five dollars for this current year. And, as I said above, I have no idea how many years of dues I actually missed. With that in mind I recently donated one hundred and fifty dollars to the Washington State chapter of the Green Party. My challenge to the rest of the members in this state who may have also missed a few payments is to donate one hundred dollars between now and the end of October.

I realize that times are tough right now and that money is tight for almost all of us. And this is true for me as well. But though I am on disability I feel that the cause and our core values must be expanded to a wider audience. If we don’t get our message out and support the cause then we aren’t fulfilling the needs of the people who stand to gain from our efforts.

Please show your green heart and help fund our state chapter. Gaia needs us as well now more than ever. Her environmental needs are being dismissed and belittled. We can’t wait any longer to take action!

Thank you!
Bill Walker

By Keene Short, Whole Washington volunteer

Unlike most countries whose development has gone unhindered, the United States has an exclusively privatized health insurance industry. This means that private corporations are legally allowed to decide a patient’s fate based on the profitability of their continued existence through even the most inexpensive procedures, even in the most progressive states.

Fortunately, there are grassroots organizations, both local and national, working to overturn this unjust system from the ground up. Whole Washington currently seeks to establish the Washington Health Trust through a grassroots ballot initiative in Washington State, using the same political tool that led to the legalization of statewide recreational cannabis.

This is one of the most radical approaches to universal healthcare, but of course we need to frame this in the context of the nationwide healthcare justice movement. As advocates like Tim Faust, Bernie Sanders, and many Green Party candidates and organizers have intimated, and as countless Americans have testified, the for-profit health insurance regime is a form of relentless exploitation, bleeding people of financial resources and social and emotional security.

In other words, our fight is rooted in solidarity. Our fight is grounded in and necessarily tied to solidarity with others fighting against the private insurance regime. Whole Washington wages a battle that is politically specific but not ideologically unique, as healthcare justice advocates have fought similar battles from California to Maine, and similar movements have made strides in even the reddest of states like Idaho and Missouri.

Ours is not a fight of values, nor ideology, nor political leanings, but material conditions. We are fighting for what we need to survive, which is the freedom that healthcare justice will bring.

We need 400,000 signatures from Washington state citizens by December to put I-1471 on the ballot in November of 2023. This will give us a year between the Midterms and the Presidential election to focus exclusively on healthcare, giving us a chance to highlight the benefits of universal healthcare, ultimately giving us a chance to prove, not just locally but nationally, that healthcare justice was the way of the future decades ago.  

We can win this fight, but we need to win this moment first and foremost. We need all hands on deck to help us collect signatures. This is not a matter of political expediency or endorsement. This is the moment for solidarity. Please join us in our fight as a volunteer or a donor. Together, we can win one of the most crucial and current battles for healthcare justice in a country nearly ruined by privatized health insurance.

Here are three things YOU can do to help us reach our goal together.

1. Volunteer to collect signatures. This is THE MOST URGENT task right now. We have until December to reach 400,000 signatures from across the state. Right now, this is the name of the game!
2. Host a bin or host a petition at a business. We’re distributing blank petitions and receiving filled petition sheets in bins, which you can keep at your home, so volunteers can pick them up and drop them off as needed. Another alternative is to hold petition sheets at your business, if possible, so customers can sign as they come and go.
3. Spread the word! Take a petition sheet to work, or a family barbecue. Spread our posts on social media. Make sure your fellow Washingtonians know that Whole Washington is fighting for their freedom from the health insurance lobby, and we can only do this together.

Visit the Whole Washington Get Involved Page to find information about all the above and more. We can win this fight, but we need to act NOW more than ever.

Bi-Monthly Newsletter of The Green Party of Washington

Volume 3, Issue 2

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Welcome to your Green Party of Washington State bi-monthly newsletter. If you have information to submit for the Newsletter, please send it to evergreen@greenpartywashington.org

Our hope is that this newsletter is published every other month on the odd months.

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SAVE THE DATE! – Green Party of Washington Spring Gathering – May 23, 2020

Our Annual Spring Gathering will be held on Saturday May 23rd.

Tentative agenda:
Personal and community aspects of climate change
Civil rights, civil disobedience, nonviolent direct action
Earth Day event report
Local and Statewide Candidate presentations
* GPUS Presidential Candidate presentations
** GPWA CC, GPUS National Committee, and GPUS Presidential Nominating Convention delegate candidate introductions
Chapter reports and volunteer opportunities

Sliding scale registration and lunch order will be available soon.

* Presidential candidates recognized by the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) as of April 23, 2020 will be invited to present.

** 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 for our state delegation. 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.

Official information on the 2020 Green Party Presidential candidates.

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Green Party of Washington would like to run a statewide candidate in 2020!

In case you missed the call for statewide candidates in our last Newsletter, please click here to review and share with those who may be interested!

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Green Party Presidential Primary

As a minor party, the Green Party is excluded from the publicly funded Presidential Primary in Washington State. Because we did not get more than 5% of the presidential vote in 2016, we must use our own process to determine our Presidential nominee and choose our Presidential Nominating Convention delegates. We do this by a ballot to our membership right after our Spring Convention (May 23, 2020).

As you may be aware, on the publicly funded WA State primary ballot this year the major parties are making voters take a pledge, written by each party, that they prefer the Democrats or Republicans and will not participate in the nominating process of any other political party.

This is not a legally binding oath. It is not a registration with the party: we have no party registration in this state. The only actual “Democrats” and “Republicans” by state law are Precinct Committee Officers in each party and other Legislative and Statewide officeholders. Everyone else is a “sustainer” or a “supporter.”

These loyalty pledges on the ballot are an attempt to artificially “close” the major party primaries, and to give the major parties access to temporary data to build their voter lists. There is no expectation of enforcement of pledges except (and this is the key part) by the parties themselves.

For practical reasons the Green Party of Washington has decided it will not enforce loyalty pledges on behalf of the Democrats and Republicans in our presidential nominating process. You aren’t registering with the Democrats or the Republicans if you vote in the Democratic or Republican primary (there is no party registration in WA), and we don’t require a loyalty pledge (other than your Green Party membership in good standing) to vote in our Presidential Primary.

We have learned from a County Auditor that major party ballot pledges are kept for two months, where they are subject to public records requests, after which time they are destroyed. This means that all public record of these loyalty pledges will be destroyed before our Green Party nominating convention begins.

In order to vote in the 2020 Green Party Primary in Washington State, your Green Party membership must be current as of April 23, 2020 (for new members) or by May 23, 2020 (for renewing members).

Click here to make sure your Green Party membership is up-to-date!

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Earth Day Pledge Fair 2020

Save the Date: Saturday April 18, 2020!

Oxbow Park in Seattle

Earth Day is April 22 of every year. Wednesday, April 22, 2020 will mark 50 years of Earth Day! The theme this year is “Climate Action” and people all over our planet will participate. Many dramatic actions are planned to get the attention of economic and political world leaders that Wednesday. The scientific case for Climate Change is real, and action is needed. Join us the Saturday before Earth Day at our Earth Day Pledge Fair!

About the Earth Day Pledge Fair

Green Party of Washington State and Green Party of Seattle are planning a science fair in Oxbow Park in Seattle. Games and activities for elementary school aged children as well as adults are planned on the Saturday before Earth Day. Green Party of Washington and Green Party of Seattle are excited to host this event which is intended to inspire positive change and a pledge from attendees to protect and nurture our Earth and all who reside on her.  Topics and actions will include conservation, species preservation, clean energy, and confronting climate change through our Green New Deal.

We will challenge people to honor our Planet on actual Earth Day on Wednesday with simple but impactful action items. Orcas, salmon, trees, and bees are all PNW favorites. How can we better co-exist? A ranked list of simple pledges like “We/I will not eat meat on Earth Day”, “We will take the bus/not use the car on Earth Day”, etc. Action ideas will be based on the “Drawdown List” and posted prominently at the “Pledge Booth”. You can go to https://www.drawdown.org/solutions-summary-by-rank for the comprehensive list of personal and community actions.

Set Up

This will be a simple and fun event with 10×10 booths set up by volunteers. No food will be sold in the park and there will be no restrooms on site, or items for sale at this event. Literature and promotional giveaways are fine. This keeps us in compliance with Seattle Parks and Recreation, and keeps our other expenses low.

The Park

Oxbow Park is in the Georgetown Neighborhood of Seattle and is the iconic home of the “Hat & Boots”. Photo ops! The bus stops right in front and there is a Pea-patch in back. A “big toy” play area makes it good for families with young kids. There will be a giant cowboy hat to shelter us if it rains.

About Greens

The Green Party is a worldwide political party organized around the future sustainability of our planet. We are volunteer run, grassroots, and exist outside of the pay-to-play paradigm of the current U.S. political mainstream. However, more Green Party members are entering political offices all over the world. Check out the globalgreens.org website to learn more. Earth Day is a big deal to us Greens. Let’s Celebrate, Educate, and Dedicate to Climate Action. By the time Spring is here, there will be many doomsday political messages telling you what to be afraid of. Most will be manufactured divide-and-conquer tactics. Profiteers who work hard to keep people distracted while stealing resources from the future — we see you. We must nurture the youth coming up with positive takeaways at this event. The future must be empowered, because the future must win.

We acknowledge the first people of Seattle, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe, past and present. This event is sponsored & organized by the Green Party in partnership with EarthDay.org. This is a community event. Participation does not imply a political affiliation with the Green Party.

Follow these links for more info:

https://www.gpsea.org/index.html

email: hello@gpsea.org

Green New Deal info: https://www.gp.org/green_new_deal

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Earth Day Pledge Fair Helpers 2020

Looking for Volunteers — Saturday April 18, 2020

We welcome like-minded organizations to participate in this event. We are not soliciting donations or memberships at this event and your participation does not imply a political affiliation with the Green Party. We all like the planet, and political parties will never have the power to legislate away the future rights to clean water, air and personal integrity. We are all citizens of Earth. Earth does not belong to us; we belong to Earth. Power concedes nothing to the un-empowered. We are inviting participants with the caveat that you do not solicit. Please inspire, teach, demonstrate, and interact in a positive way. Literature and promotional giveaways are fine. This keeps us in compliance with Seattle Parks and Recreation, and volunteers keep our other expenses low. There are businesses that sell food and have restrooms within a few blocks of the park. Share a game, show us an experiment or a model, give us a photo op. No single use plastics at this event.

Volunteers Needed for Set Up and Breakdown.

AM or PM? We need an AM group and a PM group of volunteers. The actual public event is from 10am to 4pm.

AM volunteers plan for 8am-1pm. Chalk marks and sign in between 8 and 9am. Set up starts by 9am and we should be ready to start games/exhibits by 10am. Help participants set up their 10×10 canopies and carry tables/ load out of their vehicles for set up. During the event help collect pledge forms, hang out and be friendly to the general public, run sound/music, play games with kids, give directions, make sure that we keep the park clean and safe, and take pictures for social media.

PM volunteers plan for 1pm-6pm. Help participants collapse their 10×10 canopies and carry tables/ load out of the park after the event. During the event, help collect pledge forms, hang out and be friendly to the general public, run sound/music, play games with kids, give directions, make sure that we keep the park clean and safe, and take pictures for social media.

Volunteers get Earth Day reusable water bottles, the satisfaction of making a positive impact in the community, new knowledge based on the current science about ways to honor Earth in our everyday lives, opportunity to meet nice people, and a resume reference from organizers. Follow the links below to volunteer!

Green Party of Seattle

https://www.gpsea.org/index.html

email: hello@gpsea.org

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Ranked-Choice Voting is on a Roll

You’ve probably seen that New York City Voters adopted ranked-choice voting by a margin of 73% to 27% back in November. Maine is using it in all their state and congressional elections. Twenty or so cities elsewhere in the country have adopted it. It’s going to be on the ballot in both Massachusetts and Alaska for voters to decide on next November.

It’s also happening in Washington State through non-profit, non-partisan FairVote Washington. Just in the last several months, the group has signed on well over 5,000 concerned voters across the state as supporters.

What is Ranked-Choice Voting

It is a way of setting up elections so that voters can vote for more than one candidate and rank their choices. The voters’ first choices are counted, and if someone has a majority that’s the end of it and that person is elected. If no one has a majority, the person with the fewest votes is eliminated and that person’s votes are transferred to the next choices on those voters’ ballots. There is a new tally. If someone now has a majority then that person is elected. The process goes around this cycle of tallying, eliminating candidates and reallocating votes until someone has a majority.

If ranked-choice voting is in place you can vote for the person that you really favor without fear that it will throw the election to some you really don’t want in office. It means that campaigns will tend to be more civil since candidates will want to get the second choice votes of voters who give their first choice vote to someone else. And it has the potential to make gerrymandering effectively impossible.

Ranked-Choice Voting is of Particular Interest to Greens

With ranked-choice voting third parties like the Greens no longer need to fear being labeled (or libeled!) as “spoilers”.  Especially if the system is adopted in its multi-winner form (sometimes called Proportional Representation) there is a much better chance that we’ll see Greens in single-winner offices like Mayor and on bodies like city councils, county councils and legislatures.

Many Local Politicians Support Ranked-Choice Voting

FairVote Whatcom organized a mock ranked-choice election for three of the local primaries affecting Whatcom County last summer. They also asked all the local candidates what they thought of ranked-choice voting. Here is what the candidates thought:

Whatcom-Area Candidates Who Supported Ranked-Choice Voting in the August 2019 Primary
Office	Supporters (*eventual winners)
Washington State Senate	Carrie Blackwood,  Liz Lovelett*
Whatcom County Executive	Karen Burke,  Satpal Sidhu*
Whatcom County Council	Brian Estes, Natalie McClendon (hedged)
Bellingham Mayor	April Barker,  Seth Fleetwood*, Garrett O’Brien, Pinky Vargas (these were all the candidates for Mayor)
Bellingham City Council	Lisa Anderson*, Dana Briggs, Dan Hammill*, Beth Hartsoch, Hollie Huthman*, Ashanti Monts-Treviska, Von Emeth Ochoa, Hannah Stone*, Raymond Straka, Chanan Suarez (these were all the candidates for City Council)

That’s 19 out of a total of 31 candidates in these races (61%).

Focus on the Local Options Bill

The Washington State Legislature is considering a bill promoted by FairVote Washington called the Local Options Bill (HB 1722). If the bill is passed, local jurisdictions in Washington would have the option of adopting ranked-choice voting for their local elections in both the single-winner and multi-winner forms. HB 1722 has been in the state legislature for a couple of years. 40^th District Senator Liz Lovelett has just sponsored a companion bill in the state senate.

Wherever you live in Washington, you can inform your legislators what you think about the Local Options Bill at the state legislative website here, and we urge you to do that. The more constituents that legislatures here from the more likely they are to act.

Plan B is a statewide initiative in 2021. That will cost a pretty penny. If you can, please help us build up our war chest by donating here.

How You Can Get Involved

Let me count the ways. In addition to contacting your legislators about the Local Options Bill, you can:

Come to a Ranking Party

These are events at a local establishment where we sample their good things to eat and drink and then rank them. The tallying is done by moving our bodies around the room. It’s really fun for everyone involved – apart from making it really clear how the counting works in a ranked-choice election. We’ve held several already.

Here are the ones coming up in the Bellingham area:

Chocolate Necessities, 1408 Commercial	Chocolate, gelato	March 4	6:30 pm – 8:00 pm	RSVP
FrinGe Brewing, 5640 3rd Ave, Ferndale	Beer, snacks	March 12	6:00 pm – 7:30 pm	RSVP

Join Kit, Stoney, and Tina When We Go Tabling

As the summer comes on, we will be at more and more outdoor events. You can sign up for a two-hour stint at one of these. For example, we’re at the Bellingham Farmers’ Market most Saturdays when it is in session. Don’t worry if you’re unsure about how to talk about ranked-choice voting to people on the street. Actually being on the spot you’ll catch on quickly. We bring all the materials. Interested? Contact us at whatcom@fairvotewa.org or 360-920-8357.

Help Lobby for the Local Options Bill

Go here to register your views about the Local Options Bill with state legislators.

You can also contact your local city council and the county council. What they can do is pass a resolution supporting the Local Options Bill.

Legislative Update – February 28, 2020: If you’ve been following the Local Options Bill for Ranked-Choice Voting (HB 1722 & SB 5708) – we’ve learned that it won’t progress any further this session. This is an opt-in bill that mandates nothing — it simply allows cities, towns, and other local districts to use ranked-choice voting if they so choose. The Local Options Bill had a very encouraging run, with bi-partisan momentum. It WILL be reintroduced next session (with a new bill number) — so all the momentum continues to work to pass it! What can you do to continue advocating for the Local Options Bill? Ask your legislator to support it next year!

Sign on as a Supporter

Go to the FairVote Washington website to sign on as a supporter.  The more people sign as supporters, the more likely the legislature is to act on the Local Options Bill.

Stay Informed

Go to the FairVote Washington website for general information and then sign on to keep informed as things develop.

Go to the FairVote Washington Facebook page here and the FairVote Whatcom Facebook page here.

Donate

If time is at a premium, do your part by donating what you can here.

– Stoney Bird

Stoney has voted Green since 1996. He has been car-free for almost twenty years, and has been involved with numerous environmental, social justice and peace issues over the years. He ran for Congress as a Green in 2018.

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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!

Green Party of the Mid-Columbia

This chapter generally meets on the 2^nd 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 (formerly 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.

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

This chapter is currently inactive. We hope to be able to restart it when we have more active members in Snohomish County. For more info, check out their Facebook discussion group or email hello@greenpartywashington.org.

Green Party of Whatcom County

For more information, contact Stoney at whatcom@fairvotewa.org. You can also join their Facebook discussion group at Green Party of Whatcom County.

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GPWA VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Interested in getting involved with our Tech Team or helping with Social Media? Please email to let us know!

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GPUS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

There are many committees of GPUS that need people to help them achieve their goals. Members don’t have to be elected as a delegate to the National Committee to serve on these committees. You can go to gpus.org/committees to see where you might be able to lend your talents. Then send the GPWA Coordinating Council a short bio with your request to join the committee, and your request will be added to our next agenda.

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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…

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Green Party of WA State Coordinating Council

Elected Members:

Mary Ellen Knoop – Facilitator, GP Tahoma (Pierce County)

Jody Grage – Secretary, GP Seattle

Scott Thompson – Treasurer, GP Whatcom County

Lisa Canar – Deputy Treasurer, GP Seattle

Charles Law – Member at Large, GP Olympic Peninsula

Kathryn Lewandowsky – Member at Large, GP Snohomish County

Richard Redick – Member at Large, GP Mid-Columbia

Local Chapter Representatives:

Alice Green – GP Seattle

Noah Martin – 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 1^st and 3^rd Sunday of each month.

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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

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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.

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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

Bi-Monthly Newsletter of The Green Party of Washington

Volume 3, Issue 1

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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.

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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).

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WHAT IS ECOSOCIALISM?

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RECOMMENDED READING ON ECOSOCIALISM

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INVESTING IN COLLABORATION by Charles Law

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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.

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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.

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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

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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!

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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 50^th 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 2^nd 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 1^st 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.

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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.

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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:

1. Develop with each GPWA committee and work group a task list for their group of volunteers
2. Educate people in the GPWA database of the needs and opportunities to serve in the Green Party of Washington
3. Assist the committees and work groups in finding the human resources to be successful
4. 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.

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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.

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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.)

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No letters received this time! Where are you? Hopefully you were busy enjoying the Holidays with friends and family!! -Kathryn

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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 1^st and 3^rd Sunday of each month.

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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

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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.

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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

Bi-Monthly Newsletter of The Green Party of Washington

Volume 2, Issue 6

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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.

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OUR NEWSLETTER HAS A NEW NAME!

Here are the poll results copied from the Opavote.com website. We had a total of 15 votes when the poll was closed on October 19, 2019.

The winner is “The Evergreen”. 

Check out OpaVote.com to see how you can use their software for your next chapter election!

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Green Party of Washington Fall Gathering – Saturday November 9, 2019 in Seattle!

Join the Green Party of Washington for our Fall Gathering!

Meet Green Party supporters from across the State!

Saturday, November 9th, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

We will be meeting at:

IntraSpace
3100 Airport Way South, Suite 24-108
Seattle, WA 98134
(at the north end of the old Rainier Brewery, behind the Tully’s)

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

Registration will be on a sliding scale. No one will be turned away due to financial hardship.

Sign up to attend here!

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

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Green Party Campaign School

The Pacific Green Party of Oregon will co-sponsor a Campaign School with the Green Party of Washington in January or February of 2020. It will take place in Vancouver, WA. We are looking for a few volunteers in Southwest Washington State (or nearby) who are willing to help organize this event. Please email us if you are interested!

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Global Climate Strike

In September our chapters were busy supporting Climate Strike activities around the state! 

Green Party of the Mid-Columbia took part in the Global Strike for Climate Action during the week of September 20-27, 2019:

Green Party of Snohomish County was proud to support 350 Everett with their Die-In at the Snohomish County Courthouse Plaza on September 20^th, the day of the Climate Strike!

The South Sound Greens showed up at the Washington State Capitol on September 20^th to support the Youth Climate Strike:

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Local Chapter organizing

Here are some ideas that Laura Lockwood from the GP of the Mid-Columbia sent in for suggestions for Local Chapter activities. She states, “These are some ideas to share. Some we have done or are doing or plan on doing. I am wondering what other ideas different WA chapters have come up with.”  (Now that sounds like a challenge to me)

[ ] Have these ready to answer when people ask.

[ ] “What is the Green Party?”

[ ] “How many members do you have?” (Use worldwide numbers + growing).

[ ] “What things do you do?/have you done?”

[ ] Make a notebook of photos & notes of things your chapter has done.

[ ] Order pens, pins, cards to use as giveaways for interested people.

[ ] Create business cards with your GP logo and contact info. for your members. $10 membership fee will get you some discounted cards at Vistaprint.

[ ] Wear GP pins/hats/shirts when shopping or running errands. Carry a few cards in your purse/wallet to give to interested persons.

[ ] Put together folders with fliers and info for each new member who attends your meeting to take with them.

[ ] When new members will be attending your meeting, set out info, snacks on table for them.

[ ] Don’t just have meetings, hold occasional social events/activities also. It helps keep interest and attendance up.

[ ] Talk to people in the grocery line about their day. Show interest (wearing GP pin/hat). It gives a good impression of the GP and may start a conversation about it – if it does, hand out card and give them your name, invite them.

[ ] Make small/med. sized table tent sign. Put together a few items (fliers, giveaways, etc.)  to hand out. Wear some GP items and go have coffee somewhere where there’s a lot of people. Or take a fellow GP member with you and go visit coffee shops in neighboring towns in your area. Set the table tent sign up. Smile and greet anyone who looks your way or talks to you. Hand out a pen or card or something to someone who shows interest.  Listen to distant conversations for talk about the Green Party. Get yourself noticed. Give people some reason to talk positively about you.

[ ] Send out a handwritten, personal invitation to a GP social event to members who are not active. Make handmade invitations at a meeting.

[ ] Take an inventory of your members interests and put them to work doing what they enjoy most.

[ ] Think creatively, outside the box. Don’t be afraid to be outlandish. You’ll get noticed.

[ ] Make a list of online event calendars in your town and the smaller surrounding towns, also newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, reader boards, etc. When you plan an event inform everyone on the list you think would welcome the news.

[ ] Take photos of every event you do. Print them up and put them in the chapter notebook for new members to see.

[ ] Design and create a banner for your chapter. Put it up at events and outside at meetings.

[ ] Make GP wallet cards with 10 key values and 4 pillars. Possibly laminate them. Use for handouts.

[ ] Have pins made that say “Ask me about the Green Party”.

Be Seen Being Green!

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Local Chapter News

Come meet other Greens and find out how you can help promote the presence of Green Values in your community and your local government!

Green Party of the Mid-Columbia

This chapter generally meets on the 2^nd 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)

Recently the South Sound Greens hosted Green Party Presidential candidates Dario Hunter and Howie Hawkins for a joint Presidential meet and greet. See below for the full article and videos!

The South Sound Greens are supporting Helen Wheatley for Port of Olympia. Remember to vote and turn in your ballots by November 5th!

Please contact Noah Martin for information on meetings and other activities, and check out their Facebook group for updates.

Green Party of the Olympic Peninsula

Charles Law and Jody Grage recently attended a Naomi Klein event in Seattle and distributed Green Party fliers showing the differences between the Democratic Party’s watered down green new deal and the original Green New Deal from GPUS. The information was very well received by attendees. 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 1^st Monday of the month. For more info, please email Kathryn.

Green Party of Southwest Washington

Visit the GPSWWA Facebook page or contact Bob Cone to find out more about chapter meetings.

Green Party of Whatcom County

Former Green Party organizer Chanan Suarez is a candidate for Bellingham city council! Please remember to vote and turn in your ballot by November 5th! Visit his website or Facebook page for more information.

Green Party of Seattle

This chapter is reorganizing. Please contact Jody Grage for more info and to get involved!

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Presidential Meet & Greet featuring Dario Hunter and Howie Hawkins

Recently the South Sound Greens hosted Green Party Presidential candidates Dario Hunter and Howie Hawkins for a joint Presidential meet and greet! Attendees enjoyed informative Q&A with the candidates and heard about their ecosocialist platforms and visions for change.

Click here to watch videos of Q&A with the candidates.

Dario Hunter is a member of the Youngstown, Ohio Board of Education, a former environmental lawyer, former teacher, and an anti-fracking activist. Black, openly gay, the son of an Iranian immigrant and Jewish, The New Republic has called Hunter “as diverse as candidates come.” As an ordained rabbi, Hunter has attracted national and international attention for his stance against Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people. His campaign advocates for an eco-socialist Green New Deal that will transition the country to 100% renewable energy, and his Green Path Forward aims to bridge international divides to save our planet. Hunter’s platform covers everything from single-payer universal healthcare to ending privatization in our school districts and includes a ‘People of Color Bill of Rights’ to tackle the many ways People of Color continue to experience unequal treatment.

Howie Hawkins is the original Green New Dealer, the first US candidate to campaign for a Green New Deal in 2010. This original Green New Deal would create an economic democracy based on social ownership and democratic administration of key sectors of the economy, allowing the transformation to 100% clean renewable energy with zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. He is also one of the original Greens in the United States, having participated in the first national meeting to organize a US Green Party in St. Paul, Minnesota. As the Green Party’s candidate for governor of New York in 2010, 2014, and 2018, each time he received enough votes to qualify the Green Party for a ballot line for the next four years. In 2014, he received 5 percent of the vote, the most for an independent progressive party candidate for governor in New York history, except for Socialist candidates who received 5.7% in 1918 and 5.6% in 1920. (Howie has just received the nomination of the Socialist Party USA for 2020.)

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How GPWA participates in the nomination of the Green Party Presidential Candidate

By Jody Grage, GPWA Coordinating Council and Campaign Committee

From GPWA Bylaws:

Section 5.2     Nominations

1. Nominations for President and Vice President – The nominees of the Green Party of the United States, or its successor organization, for President and Vice President of the United States, shall automatically be the nominees of the Green Party of Washington State for those offices, and shall have their names placed on the Green Party of Washington State’s ballot line.

Process for awarding GPUS Presidential Nominating Convention delegates

Each GPUS presidential candidate or their representative is invited to speak at the Green Party of Washington Spring Gathering (State Party Convention) in the presidential election year.

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 by email or postal mail no later than 21 days after the close of the convention. Candidates will be awarded Presidential Nominating Convention delegates proportionally using the Gregory method of single transferable vote.

Additional information:

GPWA delegates/alternates pledge to vote proportionally as above on the first ballot and may vote as they choose on subsequent ballots.

GPWA Presidential Nominating Convention delegates and alternates are usually elected at the Spring Gathering in the election year, with those who will be able to raise the money to attend the combined Annual National Meeting (Th-Fri) and Presidential Nominating Convention (Sat-Sun) putting themselves forward as candidates. The 2020 Annual National Meeting and Presidential Nominating Convention will take place July 9-12, 2020 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

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GPWA Current Issues on our website from the Media Committee!

Please see our Current Issues webpage at https://greenpartywashington.org/current-issues/ 

We encourage you to use this webpage as a resource and connection to groups to work with in support of your own priority issues.

We would like to provide at least one link for every issue.  To that end we are asking that you send us your recommendations for appropriate groups working on any of the following issues that you have found to be informative and helpful:

• Clean up contaminated sites including Hanford and the Duwamish River
• Oppose development and distribution of fracked gas, LNG, coal, and oil  
• Protect worker’s rights; support cooperatives, fair trade practices and unionization
• Establish state-wide, well-funded, free public education through college
• Stand up for immigrant rights and oppose discriminatory legislation
• Oppose privatization of utilities, schools, prisons, and public communication networks/broadband

Thanks for your help!

Mary Ellen Knoop — meknoop@comcast.net

We are also looking for graphics for our Current Issues page. If you come across any appropriate photos, etc., please send them to Mary Ellen at the above email. 

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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, but we need a Volunteer Coordinator to get them connected, directed and organized!

The Volunteer Coordinator will:

1. Develop with GPWA committees and working groups a task list for their volunteers
2. Remind people in the GPWA database of the needs and opportunities to serve in the Green Party of Washington
3. Assist the committees and work groups in finding the human resources to help them be successful
4. Encourage member use of the volunteer form and using information obtained from that to coordinate with volunteer members to connect them 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 get in touch with Jody Grage.

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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.

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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.

Hi everyone,

     I just wanted to say I really appreciate all the letters to the editor that have been coming in. Please keep them coming! I received this from [name removed] and initially was unsure whether to print it or not. Although I can certainly understand their frustration regarding receiving a bill like this, my understanding is that it represents income which would have been generated for road maintenance that is currently collected from gas taxes. Electric vehicles are not paying those taxes, and so I understood this fee is to replace road use taxes. So even though EV drivers are definitely doing the right thing for the environment, they are still impacting the roads. I think this is a good discussion.  How do we now pay for that road maintenance in a fair and equitable manner as we all move to EV that are much better for the environment? Please send your thoughts, ideas and suggestions. -Kathryn

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Dear Green Party of Washington State,

We were STUNNED and MORTIFIED to open the annual registration bill for our 2015, Chevy Spark this week. $338.00 bill.

The State of WA is charging us an EXTRA $225.00, compared to the gas engine vehicles!!!

This is WRONG, we should be paying the same or LESS for doing the RIGHT THING, giving up our gas vehicles.

Governor Jay Inslee “pitches” how he’s for electric vehicles but really…….NOT.

– [name removed]

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Green Party of WA State Coordinating Council

Mary Ellen Knoop – Co-facilitator, GP Tahoma (Pierce County)

Kathryn Lewandowsky – Co-facilitator, GP Snohomish County

Scott Thompson – Treasurer, GP Whatcom County

Lisa Canar – Deputy Treasurer, GP Seattle

Jody Grage – Member at Large, GP Seattle

Charles Law – Member at Large, GP Olympic Peninsula

Richard Redick – Member at Large, GP Mid-Columbia

Bob Cone – Local chapter representative, GP SWWA

Noah Martin – Local chapter representative, GP South Puget Sound

Liam Turnmire – Local chapter representative, GP Spokane County

Don’t see a report from your chapter? Give us a holler. Our goal is to have an elected representative from each local on the State Coordinating Council conference calls at 7 PM on the 1^st and 3^rd Sunday of each month.

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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

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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.

Green Party of Washington State, PO Box 70493, Seattle, WA  98127

#WeAreGreen