June 2020
Working toward a future where people and planet are valued, and our government represents all of us.
GPPA seeks Federal Court relief from unconstitutional election requirements
PHILADELPHIA – On May 15, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) filed suit in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of PA, demanding relief from unconstitutional election laws that are impossible to meet under emergency COVID-19 measures declared by PA Governor Tom Wolf.
PA election rules require a minimum of 5,000 voter signatures for state-wide candidates to be awarded space on the ballot. This involves the effort of dozens of volunteers and hundreds of hours of labor to collect signatures in public before the early August deadline. Under Wolf’s stay-at-home order, volunteers will not be allowed to circulate in public, and there will be no public gatherings for them to attend.
Filing along with the Libertarian and the Constitution Parties of PA, the Green Party charged that the emergency conditions declared by Wolf will violate the First Amendment and the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The three political parties asked the court to allow access to the November 3 General Election ballot without the in-person signatures, because it will be nearly impossible or very unsafe to collect them.
"Completing the nominating process as presently required is now an improbable task given the circumstances that have been imposed by the Governor's order,” explained Tim Runkle, Green Party candidate for PA Treasurer. “These actions, although necessary to address the pandemic, are preventing candidates from obtaining access to the November ballot. Without relief from the court, not only will candidates be disenfranchised from seeking elected office, but the right of free and equal elections for the entire Commonwealth will also be violated."
COVID-19 has already killed more than 4,300 Pennsylvanians this year and infected many more. GPPA takes public health and safety seriously, and hopes for swift remedy by the courts and the Wolf administration to relieve the uncertainty regarding ballot access and to ensure Greens have the right to appear on the ballot. Therefore, the plaintiffs have asked the court to order the state to accept candidates’ nomination papers without the signatures.
"I think that COVID-19 has exposed many weaknesses in our political, economic, healthcare, and justice systems,” said Garret Wassermann, Green Party candidate for PA House District 45. “The voters deserve a real discussion and debate on what must be done to address those issues and rebuild. While Democratic and Republican candidates show little urgency, Greens offer real solutions. We are campaigning for single-payer healthcare and a Green New Deal that will invest in our communities, address pollution and climate change, and create green infrastructure jobs as the COVID-19 crisis passes. I asked the court to recognize the extraordinary emergency circumstances we are under and to ensure Greens will be on the ballot on November 3."
The 2020 Green Party candidates are:
Tim Runkle for PA Treasurer;
Olivia Faison for PA Auditor General;
Richard L. Weiss, Esq., for PA Attorney General.
Green Party legislative candidates are:
Garret Wassermann for PA House District 45;
Jay Ting Walker for PA House District 23.
More information about these declared GPPA candidates can be found at www.greenslate2020.org
Registered voters may offer their support for the GPPA's proposed legal relief by signing the Green Party's online petition at: www.gpofpa.org/dont_let_covid_19_keep_greens_off_the_ballot
Contributions to the GPPA legal fund will be greatly appreciated in order to cover legal costs. The Green Party of PA (GPPA) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook and Twitter.
GPPA News Highlights
edited by Chris Robinson
GPPA has received more applications to be a PA delegate to the GP U.S. Presidential National Convention (PNC) than we have positions available. Therefore we're going to hold an election on June 7 at the GPPA Webconference. We have 11 delegate positions available and 11 alternative positions available. The election will be determined by approval voting, and those with the most approval will win delegate seats, followed by the filling of alternate seats. Delegates’ responsibilities will include casting the vote for their assigned candidate for President in accordance with our delegate plan. Delegates must be present on the web application designated by GP U.S. for the duration of the PNC on July 11. Expect to reserve the time between noon and 7 pm for the PNC. More details to be released as they come available. Register for the 6/7 GPPA Webconference here. (show all)
Allegheny County Jail Must Reduce Spread of Covid-19 by Ron Gavalik.
The Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC) calls upon the Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board to protect inmates and reduce the spread of Covid-19 throughout the jail and the county. The current pandemic is a crisis, treated as an emergency situation by municipalities across the state. The GPOAC in coalition with numerous community organizations are asking for universal testing of inmates, staff, and visitors at the jail as has been conducted in the Montgomery County and Dauphin County jails. (show all)
Green Party pushing to keep Turnpike payments for transit
Transit advocates in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are leading a coalition of more than three dozen groups trying to pressure Harrisburg officials to continue $450 million annual payments from the PA Turnpike for public transit. Pittsburghers for Public Transit and the Philly Transit Riders Union say eliminating the turnpike payments before the state finds another source of transit funding would be devastating to transit agencies across the state. They have collected signatures from groups ranging from unions representing transit workers to the Green Party of Allegheny County and Philly Neighborhood Networks. (show all)
Hawkins Wins PA Presidential Caucus
The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) held its Presidential Caucus during April 2020. Registered Greens from 27 PA counties voted in the caucus, and their votes will send delegates to the Green Party of the United States (GPUS, www.gp.org) Virtual National Convention during July. The PA caucus was won by candidate Howie Hawkins, with 53 percent of the vote. Hawkins responded, “I thank Pennsylvania Greens for their support. Every state is a battleground state for the Green Party, and perhaps no more so than in PA where Greens have to fight the Democrats as well as Republicans on fracking, pipelines, affordable housing, and military bloat, wars, and coups.”(show all)
Campaign Updates
edited by Chris Robinson
Garret Wassermann for PA Representative, District 45
Garret told GREEN STAR, “Senate Bill 613 originally tweaked some rules on what government employees were allowed access to private tax data for various legal purposes. However, this bill was amended to overrule Governor Wolf’s stay-at-home COVID-19 orders. This method of amending bills is used to keep things secret, as well as shaming someone into voting for the bill because of one aspect, while another aspect may be bad. Should I become State Representative, I would have zero tolerance for these types of legislative tricks and would call them out whenever I saw them." For more information visit his website https://votegarret.org Or his Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VoteGarret/
Jay Ting Walker for PA Representative, District 23
Jay told GREEN STAR, “My campaign has been endorsed by Our Revolution PA, Mark Dixon (NoPetroPA), Green Party of Allegheny County and Green Party of PA.” Connect with Jay’s campaign on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JayTingWalker Jay’s campaign website is https://jaytingwalker.com
Three State-wide Green Party Candidates
For more information visit https://www.greenslate2020.org/
Team Updates
Finance Team by Tim Runkle
Sustaining memberships have continued to climb during the past month with more than a dozen first-time donors joining the GPPA membership program. Sustaining members support us with monthly donations and are a vital part of advancing our policies and actions. Joining as a sustaining member comes with a variety of benefits detailed HERE.
GreenWave Team by Garret Wassermann
The COVID-19 crisis has made typical petitioning efforts difficult, but Green Wave has remained busy! Welcome calls for new Green Party members were successfully held in April and May. Green Wave also announced a lawsuit in federal court to get signature requirements waived this year due to COVID-19. In the meantime, Greens in several counties are looking at canvassing as much as possible, if and when it is safe to do so and/or mailing petitions to voters. We welcome volunteers to help with canvassing or calling/texting voters about signing petitions.
To join the Green Wave Team and get invited to future organizing calls, please visit HERE to receive call info or email for more information!
Communications Team by Chris Robinson
The ComTeam is still looking for a few good volunteers, especially those who want to do video interviews. Also, if you want to write a “Why I’m Green” story for us, please visit, https://www.gpofpa.org/why_im_green. To join our team, please volunteer at https://www.gpofpa.org/, or to join online, sign up HERE..
Core Team by Charles Sherrouse
If you are interested in helping, sign up HERE.
National Green News
edited by Gayle Morrow
US GREENS
Last month we spoke of the difficulty of 3rd parties to get their candidates on the ballot due to restrictive election law in New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, and Illinois. As if that isn’t enough of a problem for our Democracy, now Greens and others are not meeting their ballot access petition signature requirements due to the COVI-19 concerns.
However, the state of Illinois that we spoke of last month passing restrictive election law requirements for third parties is now under District Court order to lighten up on the ballot access signature requirements.
/capitolfax.com/2020/04/22/federal-judge-hands-greens-libertarians-some-win
Pennsylvania twice appealed by letter to Governor Tom Wolfe, at this writing, to no avail.
https://www.gpofpa.org/dont_let_covid_19_keep_greens_off_the_ballot
The age-old question that must be answered by all third party candidates, especially the Greens who get blamed when the Democrats lose an election. “President Donald Trump won Pennsylvania for several reasons in 2016, and the number of potential Democratic voters who instead cast their ballots for Green Party candidate Jill Stein over Hillary Clinton was one in a whole playbook of things that went right for Trump and wrong for Democrats.” Note: ”…one in a whole playbook
The pandemic is keeping third parties off the ballot with those pesky petition signature requirements in many important states, restricting voter choice while bringing total duopoly closer. “At present, neither the Libertarian Party nor the Green Party has qualified for the ballot in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Iowa or Minnesota.”
Global Green News
edited by Gayle Morrow
Let’s talk about Ireland.
Greens push FF and FG to come out against fracked gas terminals that will import American fracked gas into Ireland. “Actor Mark Ruffalo, Environmental Groups Welcome Statement Against New Fracked Gas LNG Terminals That Would Import US Fracked Gas Into Ireland”(show all)
Green Party lays out 17 demands for entering coalition negotiations. (show all)
News Release regarding progress of the talks with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Imagine, political parties actually talking to each other and forming coalitions! (show all)
Greens Being Green
“Green Party's youth wing anxious for Māori over police powers in COVID-19 law.” (show all)
“Emergency law must ease access to contraceptive pill,” say the Scottish Greens (show all)
GPPA Coming Events
edited by Chris Robinson
Green Party events are in GREEN. Other Movement events are in RED.
June 2
---PRIMARY ELECTION---
Some polls will be open from 7:00 am until 8:00 pm
June 2, 6:00 pm
Green Party of Allegheny County Virtual General Assembly
Zoom contact and more information from [email protected]
June 5, 12, 19
Climate Crisis Awareness Rally
Lincoln Square in Gettysburg (York Street crossing). Hosted by Adams County Green Party in solidarity with Greta Thunberg's worldwide climate movement.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2206600726129147/
June 7, noon
GPPA Delegates Virtual Meeting
Interested members of the public may attend to learn more about the Green Party. Please register in advance https://www.gpofpa.org/2020_06_conf
June 7, 4:00 pm
Green Party of Erie County Virtual Meeting
Zoom contact and more information from [email protected]
June 11, 4:00 pm
Learning from COVID-19
Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance, online forum.
More information from:
http://wiki.pghrights.mayfirst.org/index.php?title=Learning_from_COVID-19:Shaping_a_Health_and_Human_Rights_Agenda_for_our_Region
June 13
Philly Dyke March
POSTPONED. https://www.facebook.com/events/2791682107559339/
June 13, 6:00 pm
Pittsburgh Green Enters!
Welcome both new and long-time members of the Green Party. Zoom contact and More information from: [email protected]
June 15, 7:00 pm
Green Party of Montgomery County Virtual Meeting
Virtual business meeting. To receive details please email [email protected]
June 16
Northeast PA Green Fair
Hosted by Lackawanna County Green Party. POSTPONED until a later date.
More information from: https://www.facebook.com/events/187618042445480/
June 19 thru June 28
Western PA Juneteenth & Black Music Festival
POSTPONED until late August. For more information,
https://www.facebook.com/WPAJuneteenth/
June 19
Philadelphia Juneteenth Celebration
POSTPONED until 2021.
June 23, 7:00 pm
Green Party of Philadelphia Virtual Membership Meeting
Contact information from [email protected]
June 28, 1:00 pm
Green Party of Chester County Virtual Meeting
For a link, interested parties should contact [email protected]
July 7, 6:00 pm
Green Party of Allegheny County Virtual General Assembly
Zoom contact and more information from [email protected]
GPPA Meeting Dates for 2020:
- June (virtual) - Sunday, June 7
- September (in-person, retreat) - Saturday/Sunday September 12/13
- November, Post-Election Day (virtual) - Sunday, November 15
Web Conferences are online - RSVP to get connection information. The locations for in-person conferences are to be determined. In-person conferences can be hosted by counties, county groups or regions. These events are fundraisers. When hosted locally, the host group receives back half of the revenue after expenses. To apply for hosting, submit your info to our Application for Local Hosting of GPPA State Meetings or GPPA-Sponsored Events. We strive for geographic diversity in reviewing applications, however, all submissions are considered.
Green Party of Pennsylvania Communications Team & Media Committee
Issue Credits:
EDITORS: Chris Robinson, & Gayle Morrow
CONTRIBUTORS: Tim Runkle, Chris Robinson, Garret Wassermann, & Jay Sweeney
LAYOUT: Dannee Schoepfer & Hal Brown
GRAPHIC ARTS: Kevin Richardson
Everything we do is based on our Four Pillars and Ten Key Values. If you find that you share these ideals, come and join the movement.
You can support the Green Party in many ways; however, a monthly sustaining donation helps to fund a solid infrastructure to help local chapters coordinate candidates and provide resources to make their campaigns successful. As little as $3 per month can have a significant impact!
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Join us and help bring about a future where people and planet are valued over profits. We have a new, tiered membership structure that allows you to determine your level of commitment and support. And if you want to get more directly involved, consider joining an action team. Work with other committed progressives and activists in activities such as planning events, developing media content, or helping with campaigns. Let's join together to make 2020 the year of progressives!
The Green Star is an official publication of the Green Party of Pennsylvania Communications Team * 2020
