Green National Convention

Last updated

The Green National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). Though the Green National Committee (GNC) meets annually in a "national meeting", the convention is convened by the GNC once every four years in order to nominate an official candidate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and to officially adopt the party platform and rules for the election cycle.

Contents

The convention signals the end of the primary season for Greens, and the start of campaigning for the general election of that year; as such, prominent Greens in state and local races are also spotlighted in order to give them the publicity that the convention affords. In contrast to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the convention is not merely a formality which endorses the will of the electorate in the primaries, but the final determinant for the nomination. This is because ballot access laws in many states prohibit the Green Party from holding a state-sponsored primary election—only five states were able to meet the requirements in 2004—and others prevent voters from actually registering into the party, thus making it difficult to credential Greens.

History

The leadership of the first nationwide Green organization in the United States, The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA), were generally opposed to an entry into electoral politics. Thus, the G/GPUSA's national meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1995 ended with a resolution not to nominate a candidate for the 1996 election. This resolution was countered by a group of Greens interested in a run by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who met in Los Angeles in 1996 to nominate Nader for president and Winona LaDuke for vice president. Although possibly lacking official sanction, this was the first nominating convention of the Green Party in the United States, and the only one with which the G/GPUSA, if only certain members, was at all involved.

Following the general election in 1996, several state Green Parties formed the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP). [1] As such, they met in Denver, Colorado, in 2000 to once again nominate Nader and LaDuke. [2]

In 2001, the ASGP formally adopted the name Green Party of the United States, and was recognized by the Federal Election Commission as the official National Committee of the Green Party. The first convention under that name, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2004, was not without controversy. Nader decided to forgo the Green nomination in favor of asking for an "endorsement" of his independent candidacy; the Greens instead nominated David Cobb for president on the second ballot from among a number of candidates, many of whom were "favorite sons", running as placeholders for Nader. Pat LaMarche was named the vice presidential candidate.

List of Green conventions

The following is a list of United States Green Party presidential nominating conventions.

Green conventions by year, with dates, location and nominees
YearDatesLocationNomination venuePresidential nomineeVice presidential nominee
1996 1August 19 Los Angeles Freud Playhouse [3] Ralph Nader of Connecticut Winona LaDuke of Minnesota
2000 2June 24–25 Denver Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel [4] Ralph Nader of Connecticut Winona LaDuke of Minnesota
2004 June 23–28 Milwaukee Midwest Airlines Center [5] David K. Cobb of California Patricia H. LaMarche of Maine
2008 July 10–13 Chicago [6] Symphony Center [7] Cynthia McKinney of Georgia Rosa Clemente of New York
2012 July 12–15 Baltimore Holiday Inn Baltimore-Inner Harbor (Dwtn) [8] Jill Stein of Massachusetts Cheri Honkala of Pennsylvania
2016 August 4–7 Houston University of Houston [9] Jill Stein of Massachusetts Ajamu Baraka of Illinois
2020 July 9–12n/aOnline Howie Hawkins of New York Angela Walker of South Carolina

1 The 1996 meeting was not an official meeting of The Greens/Green Party USA, which had officially voted to nominate no candidate in Albuquerque in 1995.
2 Convened by the Association of State Green Parties, later to be renamed the Green Party of the United States.

Other national meetings

In addition to the presidential nominating convention, there is a national meeting in all other years for the party. During the era of the Association of State Green Parties, separate annual meetings were held in the same year of presidential conventions. Since 2004, the presidential convention has consolidated annual meetings during presidential election years. [10]

Green Party of the United States

Meetings of GPUS
YearLocationSiteNotes
2020Presidential nominating convention
2019 Salem, Massachusetts Salem State University Theme: "Change Comes from the Roots" [11]
2018 Salt Lake City, Utah University of Utah Slogan: "UTAH! – Power Up Green!"
2017 Newark, New Jersey New Jersey Institute of Technology
2016Presidential nominating convention
2015 St. Louis, Missouri University of Missouri–St. Louis
2014 St. Paul, Minnesota Macalester College
2013 Iowa City, Iowa University of Iowa
2012Presidential nominating convention
2011 Alfred, New York Alfred University Theme: "Building a Green Economy"
2010 Detroit, Michigan Wayne State University Theme: "Another U.S. Is Possible, Another Party Is Necessary"
2009 Durham, North Carolina North Carolina Central University
2008Presidential nominating convention
2007 Reading, Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln HotelTheme: "Green For A Change"
2006 Tucson, Arizona Historic YWCA Building Theme: "El Futuro es Verde -- The Future is Green"
2005 Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Tulsa
2004Presidential nominating convention
2003 Washington, D.C. Mayflower Hotel Theme: "Greens at the Crossroads"
2002 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [ data unknown/missing ]Midterm convention
2001 Santa Barbara, California La Casa de Maria, Interfaith RetreatFounding meeting of GPUS

Association of State Green Parties

Meetings of ASGP
YearLocationSiteNotes
2000 Hiawassee, Georgia Enota Retreat & Conference Center Post-election meeting
1999 Moodus, Connecticut Sunrise Resort State Park Ralph Nader, speaker and 1996 nominee
1998 Santa Fe, New Mexico [ data unknown/missing ]Keynote speakers:
Fran Sena Gallegos, Santa Fe Municipal Judge
Jason Kirkpatrick, vice mayor of Arcata, CA
1997
(Oct.)		 Topsham, Maine Topsham Grange Hall
1997
(Apr.)		 Portland, Oregon [ data unknown/missing ]Delegates from 13 states plus D.C.
1996 Middleburg, Virginia Glen-Ora Farm Founding meeting of ASGP

See also

Related Research Articles

The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; grassroots democracy; anti-war; anti-racism; libertarian socialism and eco-socialism. On the political spectrum, the party is generally seen as left-wing.

The Association of State Green Parties was an organization of state Green Parties in the United States between 1996 and 2001. In 2001, it evolved into the Green Party of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Camejo</span> Venezuelan American politician

Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche was a Venezuelan American author, activist, politician and Sailing Olympian. In the 2004 United States presidential election, he was selected by independent candidate Ralph Nader as his vice-presidential running mate on a ticket which had the endorsement of the Reform Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Cobb (activist)</span> American activist and politician

David Keith Cobb is an American political activist who was the Green Party presidential candidate for the 2004 election. Cobb later became the campaign manager for fellow Green Jill Stein for her presidential run in 2016.

The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA) was a political organization formed out of the Green Committees of Correspondence in 1991 and was recognized as a national political party by the FEC from 1991 to 2005. It was based in Chicago. Synthesis/Regeneration, an affiliated journal of green social thought, was published in St. Louis. The now predominant Green Party of the United States split from the G/GPUSA in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Party of Oklahoma</span> Political party in the United States

The Green Party of Oklahoma is a political party in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was formed in 2002 through a gradual coalition of various state green groups and received its accreditation from the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) in May 2005. Its stated aims are a commitment to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice, and grassroots democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-Rainbow Party</span> Massachusetts political party

The Green-Rainbow Party (GRP) is the Massachusetts affiliate of the Green Party of the United States and a political designation in Massachusetts officially recognized by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Up until 2020, it was an officially recognized political party in Massachusetts, losing that status as the result of vote tallies in the November 2020 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Party of California</span> California affiliate of the Green Party

The Green Party of California (GPCA) is a California political party. The party is led by a coordinating committee, and decisions are ultimately made by general assemblies. The GPCA is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States (GPUS).

The Green Party of the United States originated in 1984 when 62 people from the U.S. gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota and founded the first national Green organization - the Committees of Correspondence. The Green Party of the U.S. has gone through several evolutions, from debating theory and praxis in the 1980s, to starting state parties in the 1990s, to the founding of a national political party in the 2000s.

The Green Party of Ohio is the state party organization for Ohio of the Green Party of the United States.

The 1996 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and political activist, began after he was drafted as a candidate for President of the United States on the Green Party ticket during the 1996 presidential election. Nader was not formally nominated by the national party or the Green Party USA organization, which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties. In some states, he appeared on the ballot as an independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Nader 2000 presidential campaign</span> 2000 U.S. presidential election Green Party Nader/LaDuke ticket

The 2000 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader, political activist, author, lecturer and attorney, began on February 21, 2000. He cited "a crisis of democracy" as motivation to run. He ran in the 2000 United States presidential election as the nominee of the Green Party. He was also nominated by the Vermont Progressive Party and the United Citizens Party of South Carolina. The campaign marked Nader's second presidential bid as the Green nominee, and his third overall, having run as a write-in campaign in 1992 and a passive campaign on the Green ballot line in 1996.

The Green Party of Rhode Island (GPRI) is one of the oldest active Green parties in the United States. The party was founded on March 6, 1992, at a meeting of 40 activists from Rhode Island. In November 1996, GPRI was one of 12 founding parties in the Association of State Green Parties, renamed the Green Party of the United States in 2001. Several Rhode Island party leaders have served as officers of the national Green Party. The party's candidates have run for municipal councils in several cities and towns, such as running for Mayor of Providence, the State Senate and the State House of Representatives, U.S. Congress, and for Lieutenant governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Green National Convention</span>

The 2004 Green National Convention was held at the Hyatt Regency and the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 23–28, 2004 to nominate the Green Party's candidates for president and vice president.

The 2008 Green National Convention took place on July 10–14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois at the Palmer House Hilton and Symphony Center. This served as both the venue for the National Convention and the Annual Meeting of the Green Party of the United States.

The 2004 presidential campaign of David Cobb, a Texas attorney, was Cobb's second overall election campaign, having run for State Attorney General in 2002. Prior to seeking the presidential nomination of the Green Party of the United States, he was involved with Ralph Nader's campaign in 2000 and was an activist for the Green Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthia McKinney 2008 presidential campaign</span>

The 2008 presidential campaign of Cynthia McKinney, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 11th district (1993–97) and 4th district, began on December 16, 2007, as a candidate for the Green Party presidential nomination via YouTube. She and her running mate Rosa Clemente accepted the Green Party's presidential nomination July 12, 2008 at the 2008 Green National Convention. Her campaign focused on issues such as racial profiling, September 11, 2001 attacks, and the Green Party's 10 key values. She also supported statehood for the District of Columbia, slavery reparations, electoral reforms including instant runoff voting, and calls for abolishing the death penalty and the War on Drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Green Party presidential primaries</span>

The 2016 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of primaries, caucuses and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States at the 2016 Green National Convention. The primaries, held in numerous states on various dates from January to July 2016, featured elections publicly funded and held as an alternative ballot, concurrent with the Democratic and Republican primaries, and elections privately funded by the Green Party, held non-concurrently with the major party primaries. Over 400 delegates to the Green National Convention were elected in these primaries, with a candidate needing a simple majority of these delegates to become the party's nominee for president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Green Party presidential primaries</span> Series of primaries, caucuses and state conventions

The 2020 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of primary elections, caucuses and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States at the 2020 Green National Convention. The primaries, were held in numerous U.S. states on various dates from early spring into early summer of 2020, and featured elections publicly funded, concurrent with the Democratic Party and Republican Party primaries, and elections privately funded by the Green Party, held non-concurrently with the major party primaries.

This article contains the results of the 2020 Green Party presidential primaries and caucuses, the processes by which the Green Party of the United States selects delegates to attend the 2020 Green National Convention.

References

  1. ↑ "Association of State Green Parties «". gp.org. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15.
  2. ↑ "The GPCO in 2000". 30 April 2011.
  3. ↑ Green Party 1996 Convention: Building Critical Mass – Green Party of the United States. Retrieved November 29, 2019
  4. ↑ "Media Invitation: Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention," Green Party of the United States, Tuesday, May 30, 2000. Retrieved November 29, 2019
  5. ↑ "Green Party Congratulates and Welcomes Presidential Nominee David Cobb, Vice Presidential Nominee Pat LaMarche," Green Party of the United States news release, Saturday, June 26, 2004. Retrieved November 29, 2019
  6. ↑ 2007.08.30: Greens choose Chicago for 2008 Archived 2009-03-24 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Green Party 2008 Convention Schedule – Green Party of the United States. Retrieved November 29, 2019
  8. ↑ Green Party 2012 Convention Schedule – Green Party of the United States. Retrieved November 29, 2019
  9. ↑ 2016 Annual National Meeting / Presidential Nominating Convention – Green Party of the United States. Retrieved November 29, 2019
  10. ↑ "Annual National Meetings".
  11. ↑ "GreenLine March 2019".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.