Exciting news!!

Our newly elected presidential and veep candidates, Jill Stein and Butch Ware, will be in Bensalem THIS SUNDAY!

Join us for a dynamic and engaging meet and greet with Green Party candidates Dr. Jill Stein and Dr. Butch Ware. This is a unique opportunity to hear directly from these influential leaders about their vision for people, planet and peace. This is also an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals in our local community. Light fare will be provided.

August 25, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Fishers Banquet Hall
1858 Street Rd,
Bensalem, PA 19020.

COME AND BRING FRIENDS!!!

Meet our candidates, ask questions, enjoy some nibbles, and hear more about how to support their campaigns, for justice, peace, and eco-socialism!

See https://www.jillstein2024.com/mg_8-25 for further specs.

Green Party of Philadelphia
https://www.gpop.org/

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, July 29, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

267-977-0570 and [email protected]

PA Greens Appeal for Bombing Halt in Yemen

On July 11, the Steering Committee of the Green Party of PA (GPPA) called for an end to the U.S. bombing of Yemen. The Steering Committee has joined with more than 50 other organizations calling for the U.S. Senate to introduce a Yemen War Powers Resolution. This resolution would withdraw U.S. participation in hostilities in Yemen. In their letter to senators, the organizations call attention to the unconstitutional, ineffective airstrikes which have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Green Party organizer Jonathan Richards (Wyoming) requested the action from the GPPA Steering Committee. Richards said, "I oppose all war, it is a cowardly decision made by those who only wish to profit from it. In the case of Yemen, they have been defending the lives of Palestinians with every step they take. It's important to note the recent ruling by the International Court of Justice that the Israeli settlements are illegal as is their extraction of West Bank natural resources. We must learn to settle our political differences without violence, whether at home or abroad and to start treating all human life as precious. We need a global cessation of all offensive military action and a new global peace treaty to be enacted. Accountability must come for all of those complicit in war crimes both past and present as national and international law must be followed, human lives are literally at stake if they are ignored, and no one is above the law.”

GPPA Steering Committee Member Alex Casper (Philadelphia) explained, “The Green Party of Pennsylvania Steering Committee supports demands that the Senate call for an end to the unconstitutional war with Yemen. Non-violence is one of our 10 Key Values, and the Green Party promotes non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree and to guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.”

The letter to Senators warns, “As a movement that is non-partisan and ideologically diverse, we believe it is critical to ensure that the law and mechanisms of the War Powers Resolution cannot be accused of being wielded for partisan purposes. This means that even under a Democratic administration, senators must act in bipartisan fashion when the executive oversteps its authority, just as Congress did during the previous Republican administration. Accordingly, we urge you to move swiftly to rein in these unauthorized and unconstitutional strikes by introducing a War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. participation from hostilities in Yemen, until or unless Congress authorizes such action.”

The letter’s signers recognize the recent escalation in Yemen, including attacks on the Houthi Movement by U.S. and U.K. aircraft. “In early May, Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Houthi Red Sea activities will ‘remain active for some time,’ and Houthi military capacity to launch these attacks is not ‘likely to change in the near future,’ concluding that the U.S. strikes have been ineffective in stopping ‘the Houthis from going down this road.’ Far from being deterred, the Houthis have actually expanded the range of their attacks . . . .”

The GPPA’s Alex Casper spoke to this point, "We should be opposed to accelerating any military conflict, but we should stand and applaud any who sabotage those attempting genocide. The reason the Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea is because Israel is committing a scorched earth genocide in Gaza and escalating a conflict in Lebanon. The Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said shipping would not be interrupted if the U.S. stopped fueling the genocide in Gaza. Al-Houthi said, ‘The solution is to stop the war against the Gaza Strip and end the siege.’”

GPPA Secretary Nina Larbi (Montgomery) voted for the Steering Committee resolution. “I understand the Houthi’s response to attacking ships linked to Israel, as they are taking direct action whereas many Arab countries are not,” said Larbi. “This genocide in Gaza is so far the most documented. However, escalating violence in the region to the extent that war may be imminent is deeply concerning. The scale of destruction, disease, and death in Gaza is immense. Other countries like Syria and Lebanon have been hit repeatedly by Israeli strikes as well, and conflicts are ongoing in other parts of the region. This conflict is a direct result of states like the U.S. operating by proxy for control of natural resources and trade routes in the region. The peoples of the Middle East should not continually bear the consequences of conflict, when their resources should be theirs to exploit.”

The GPPA has now added its name to the ideologically diverse signatories of the letter circulated by the U.S.-based humanitarian advocacy organization Action Corps. Other signers included Avaaz, DAWN, Bring Our Troops Home, Common Defense, Defense Priorities Foundation, Demand Progress, Just Foreign Policy, the Libertarian Institute, MADRE, Peace Action, United Church of Christ, and the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation.

This action by the Steering Committee has met with widespread support among Green Party members and candidates for office. Leila Hazou (Pike), Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, explained, “All nations have a responsibility to prevent genocide if they see it occurring. This is exactly what Yemen is doing -- fulfilling its obligation to intervene. Yemen has issued warnings and has made it clear that it will not allow ships to pass until Palestinians in Gaza are allowed food and aid and the aggression stops.  Any countries not intervening in some way at this point are complicit in the genocide of Palestinians.”

Richard Weiss (Allegheny), Green Party candidate for Pennsylvania Attorney General, similarly agreed with the Steering Committee’s action. Weiss said, “The war against Yemen does not solve the problem of Israel's illegal occupation and settlement of Palestinian territories. Instead, the war on Yemen only escalates and expands war in the Middle East generally, threatening to draw the U.S into a war with Iran which supports Yemen, and Russia which supports Syria.  A third of Syria is also currently illegally occupied by Israel and the U.S. Therefore the solution to the underlying problem is to end illegal occupation and recognize Palestinian rights to self-determination.”

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information:

Our Ten Key Values, Green Party of the U.S.,
https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values 

Letter, End Unauthorized U.S. Attacks on Yemen, July 10, 2024, Action Corps,
https://www.actioncorps.org/2024-yemen-letter.html

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, June 17, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

PA Volunteers Needed for Final Weeks of Green Party Nomination Petitioning 

The Green Party of PA needs 10,000 signatures by July 15 to get their candidates on the ballot. 

If you are NOT currently circulating a nomination paper for the Green Party’s statewide candidates, Jill Stein, Leila Hazou and Richard Weiss, now is the time to jump on board their ballot access campaign. The Green Party needs to finish strong in the next few weeks, and that means recruiting AT LEAST 25 more volunteers to collect valid signatures from registered voters. 

Wherever you are, the Green Party wants you to join in -- but help is especially needed to collect signatures in Berks, Bucks, Lancaster, Montgomery and Westmoreland Counties. 

Sign up here and you will receive detailed instructions.

Questions? Please email directly, [email protected] The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information:

Green Party Kicks Off PA Nomination Campaign, GPPA News Release, April 5, 2024,
https://www.gpofpa.org/green_party_kicks_off_pa_nomination_campaign 

END ITEM 

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saturday, May 25, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

PA Greens Join Others for Safe, Affordable Energy

Philadelphia City Council will soon approve a FY 2025 Capital Budget for Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW). POWER Interfaith and eight other environmental justice organizations have now requested City Council to adopt an amendment requiring PGW to justify its request for $19 million to build new gas infrastructure (“load growth”). POWER says, “The Capital Program Protocols that City Council has enacted as binding law require PGW to substantiate proposed load growth projects with a showing that they will produce an acceptable return on investment.”

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Steering Committee signed onto the POWER request on May 19. GPPA Co-chair Jeremy Griffin said, “I am so glad the Green Party has signed off on this. PGW does not need to be creating any new fossil fuel infrastructure. In fact, no for-profit company needs to be creating any new fossil fuel infrastructure. Since 2006, ‘Keep It in the Ground’ has been a major demand by environmentalists. I’m so glad that the Green Party took a stand against fracking in 2008. Also, it is good to see this environmental justice demand spread to other organizations.”

The Gas Commission has submitted its budget proposal without the required cost-benefit analysis. For this reason, groups are now requesting City Council to amend the GPW budget to require an analysis. POWER Interfaith says, “Such an amendment will protect ratepayers, particularly low-income residents who struggle with unaffordable energy bills. It will also start to bring PGW’s budgeting process into alignment with our City’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal. In addition, it will uphold City law.”

Further, the POWER Interfaith letter to City Council says, “PGW’s proposed budget is not aligned with the City’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal, it does not account for the accelerating pace of building electrification and investment in building efficiency upgrades in our city, and it ignores the PGW Capital Program Protocols that City Council has enacted. City Council must act to protect ratepayers and ensure that PGW follows City law.”

"We can’t let City Council forget Philadelphia's climate goals,” said GPPA Steering Committee Member Alex Casper. “If PGW is allowed to build new gas infrastructure, it will raise our cost of living. The Green Party’s Ten Key Values call for us to stand up to City Council when they want to take money out of the pockets of our residents and accelerate the catastrophe of climate change. Natural gas is far more destructive than other fossil fuels. I also believe it is vitally important for the Green Party to work with other community organizations to sign on to demands like this and to boost their initiatives to hold City Council accountable."

The following environmental justice organizations have signed onto the POWER Interfaith letter to Philadelphia City Council: Citizens Climate Lobby Philly Chapter, Clean Air Council, Green Party of Pennsylvania, Green Party of Philadelphia, Philly DSA, Philly Thrive, Physicians for Social Responsibility PA, and Sierra Club PA.

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, May 10, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

PA Greens Oppose Tree-cutting in Philadelphia Park

On May 5, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Steering Committee endorsed a public letter to Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker requesting that she end the slaughter of heritage trees in Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park. As chainsaw crews level acres of trees in the Park, regional and state organizations, along with environmental experts, convened at the site and delivered a message urging Mayor Cherelle Parker to intervene before the Fairmount Park Conservancy clear-cuts and fills a natural floodplain. 

GPPA Steering Committee Member Alex Casper said, “The City of Philadelphia is tearing down 441 trees at FDR Park. Many of them are heritage trees, sacred to the Lenni Lenape people. The city wants to make room for 16 artificial-turf soccer fields to host the FIFA World Cup.” Casper continued, “I myself go bird watching at FDR Park ever since I used to live in Point Breeze. The meadows and habitats within them are home to red-winged black birds, gray catbirds, red cardinals, tree swallows, etc. Destroying these habitats takes away a vital home for wildlife. I have urged our state and local Green Parties to sign on to the demand that the Mayor protect these sacred trees and our cities best habitats.” 

Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) Co-chair Belinda Davis said, “All aside from the public's recreational enjoyment, it is hard to see how this is consistent with the city's climate goals, of which the Mayor has made so much.”

The organizations which have requested the intervention of Mayor Parker include: Clean Air Council, Clean Water Action, EnviroPhilly, Green Party of Philadelphia, Green Party of Pennsylvania, LandHealth Institute, Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, Monarch Defenders, Save The Meadows, SEAMAAC Inc., Sunrise Movement Philadelphia, PennEnvironment, Philly DSA, Philly Thrive, and Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania.

 “I am glad that the Green Party has joined the coalition of environmental organizations (and a petition from more than 3,000 citizens),” said GPPA Communication Team Co-leader Chris Robinson. “Ecological Wisdom is one of the four Green Party Pillars, and the Green Party Platform calls for a Green New Deal, which includes, ‘creating a federal program . . . for carbon sequestration to fund local public initiatives [to] plant trees, reforest and afforest public lands.’ Unfortunately, the interests of the two corporate parties lie elsewhere.”

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information:

Joint News Release about FDR Park, May 6, 2024,
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_9hH7ASvTgGAKoNQamYvgJmwXZWtHvFn56mkqnkO3dI/edit

Our Ten Key Values, Green Party of the U.S.,
https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values 

Platform of the Green Party of the U.S., III. Ecological Sustainability, A. Climate Change, Economic Bill of Rights, GREEN SOLUTIONS, 7. Carbon Sequestration Using Ecological Restoration, https://www.gp.org/ecological_sustainability#carbon  

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sunday, April 7, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Activists Locked Out by PA Governor

By Doug Mason

Due to PA Governor Josh Shapiro’s stance on climate change many environmentalists were enthusiastic supporters and promoted his 2022 campaign for PA Governor. Now it appears that they have been fooled.

Shapiro claims that he has an open door policy. When two dozen protesters from Pennsylvania Action on Climate (PAC) went to his office in Harrisburg on March 19, the door was locked and surrounded by a dozen capital police and state troopers. PAC had tried to set up a meeting both in person and online with the governor to no avail.

During this attempted office visit, three members of PAC were arrested on the floor of the Capitol building: Rev. Tim Seitz Brown, a Lutheran pastor from York; Rachel “Renzy” Neffshade, a Pittsburgh climate activist; and Doug Mason, chair of the Sierra Club Moshannon Group and of the Green Party of Centre County. The Moshannon Group has 905 members from Pennsylvania’s central counties from Maryland to New York. The Green Party of Centre County is a chapter of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org). These three leaders were protesting Shapiro’s acceptance of bribes from the fossil fuel industry, despite his claims to be a climate advocate.

The three protestors attempted to read a statement from PAC, but it was ripped out of their hands. They were then handcuffed and taken to the basement of the Capital Complex to be processed. After about two hours, they were released on their own recognizance.

“I’m a 73 year old climate dissident who took the personal risk of acting in civil resistance against state government policies, as well as the business-as-usual activities of industry, economic systems, and individuals that fail to take urgent action to reduce and eliminate carbon dioxide emissions caused by fossil fuel use,” said Mason. “The risks I incur from this action are a small sacrifice compared to the scale and urgency of the threats of climate change to our existence.”

“I claim my right under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution to conduct this nonviolent civil disobedience as an expression of my freedom of speech to petition to the government for redress of the extreme and manifest grievance caused by government policies and laws failing to effect carbon dioxide reduction or lacking in the power to enact necessary preventative and remedial actions to reverse the negative effects of carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning and to limit fossil fuel extraction and halt the increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere that are causing global heating and climate change,” concluded Mason.

The previous few weeks had been contentious between the governor and environmentalists. Maya van Rossum from the Delaware Riverkeeper Network,  concerned about hydrogen hubs, interrupted Shapiro at a Philadelphia union event, and a Dimock resident and disabled veteran, Ray Kemble, challenged him at another union event a few days later in Scranton over lax enforcement and water-supply losses.

Apparently the governor’s “open door” is not for people who are concerned about political corruption, hurt by fracking or want to comment on development of hydrogen hubs in PA. These three issues are connected because it is very likely that the way hydrogen is produced in PA will support the expansion of fracking.

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, has opposed fracking since 2008, and it continues to represent the environmental movement in elections to this day. The Green Party of PA is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For More Information

Pennsylvania Action on Climate, https://www.pennsylvaniaactiononclimate.org

“Climate Activists Trying to Meet with Gov. Shapiro Arrested After Refusing to Disburse,” Patriot News, March 19, 2024, https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2024/03/climate-activists-trying-to-meet-with-gov-shapiro-arrested-after-refusing-to-disperse.html

Marcellus Shale Resolution, Green Party of PA, April 2011, https://www.gpofpa.org/fracking 

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 5, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party Kicks Off PA Nomination Campaign

Getting Green Party candidates on the ballot will be extremely important this year in Pennsylvania because there will be vital issues which candidates from the two corporate parties will not touch. Clean water, public housing, rights during an eviction, reproductive rights, public transit, climate change, genocide, and neo-colonialism are all issues which will be addressed by Green Party candidates. Now is the time to get on the ballot candidates who have solutions for homelessness, mass incarceration, global wars, and rampant industrial pollution.

On April 3, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) announced the kickoff for the 2024 nomination campaign. Nomination papers are now being distributed state-wide.

The GPPA nominated Dr. Jill Stein on March 10 to be their candidate for President of the U.S. She has the answers for the big questions facing the nation. Co-leader Alex Casper (Philadelphia) of the GPPA Green Wave Team, says, “Jill needs our help, and so do our PA Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidates. Please help Greens win in 2024 so that we can make big changes happen.”

“For the Green Party candidates to appear on the General Election ballot,” continued Casper, “we will have to gather nomination signatures from 10,000 registered voters. The Green Wave Team will be hosting petition trainings each Wednesday at 7:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Please check the GPPA Calendar, gpofpa.org/calendar, to RSVP for the next petition training.” 

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information:

“PA Greens Nomination Jill Stein for President of the U.S.” GPPA News Release, March 14, 2024, https://www.gpofpa.org/pa_greens_nominate_jill_stein_for_president_of_the_us  

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, March 14, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

PA Greens Nominate Jill Stein for President of the U.S.

On March 10, Green Party delegates and friends from 12 Pennsylvania counties met virtually for the Green Party of PA (GPPA) State Committee meeting. The 30 delegates were in good cheer because they had just completed the first GPPA Presidential Primary. There were two winners. Jill Stein came in first place and earned 75% of the vote and was awarded ten delegates. Jasmine Sherman came in second place with 19% of the vote and earned three delegates. Jorge Zavala and write-in candidates did not earn any delegates.

Marci Henzi, a GPPA State Committee delegate from Allegheny County, was very pleased. “I am glad that Jill Stein is running again and that she has been nominated by GPPA for President. Jill has proven to be a strong leader--not only through her phenomenal campaign in 2016, but by her presence for the Green Party in the eight intervening years. Her strength and powerful rhetoric continues to inspire new and seasoned voters alike. Jill Stein is a courageous representative of what we value and what we aspire to.”

“It is marvelous that Green Party voters have chosen Jill Stein to be their candidate in PA for president of the U.S.,” said Chris Robinson a State Committee delegate from Philadelphia. “Jill Stein has always stood for people, planet and peace over profit. Now, voters who agree with her will have a choice on November 5.” 

"As a member of Poor People's Army working with the organized poor everyday on the streets in the greater Philly area, I'm thrilled that Jill Stein won the GPPA presidential primary,” said Matthew Pillischer (Montgomery). “Poor and working people don't have an option that will actually mean something in either corporate party. One party smiles with a peace sign while they stab you in the back, and the other party stabs you in the chest while making fun of you. Neither party works for us. We need to build independent people power from the bottom and look for meaningful ways like this to express that in the limited but important electoral arena."

GPPA Co-chair Jeremy Griffin (Delaware) said, “Glad that we were able run a successful and transparent primary. Shout out to OpaVote and U.S. Postal Service for being the reliable tools used for our Green Party Presidential Primary. Special shout out to our GreenWave Team. GreenWave Team members came together and were the architects of this primary plan. I'm also very glad to see more people vote Green this upcoming election. I'm excited to see more Greens organized this year, too."

The GPPA State Committee also elected by consensus: a candidate for for U.S. Senate and Richard Weiss Esq. (Allegheny) for PA Attorney General. Weiss was the Green Party candidate for PA Attorney General in 2020, earning 70,804 votes.at

There will be virtual training for all who wish to help get Green Party candidates on the PA ballot on Sunday, March 17 at 3:00 pm. Please RSVP here, https://www.gpofpa.org/gppa_petitioning_20240317 The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, March 3, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

267-977-0570 and [email protected]

Gaza Ceasefire Testimony by Greens Before Allegheny County Council

Out of 93 people who signed up to speak in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza before the Allegheny County Council on February 26, there were eleven members of the Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC), including Margaret Champion, Emily De Ferrari, Helen Gerhardt, Theron Gilliland, Wanda Guthrie, Abi Hunter, Kelly Kuzemchak, Justin Laing, Mel Packer, Jay Ting Walker and Clara Weibel. Others who testified in favor of a ceasefire were from Jewish Voice for Peace, labor unions and progressive organizations. Walker spoke on behalf of the GPOAC.

By Jay Ting Walker

My name is Jay Ting Walker and I live in District 11. I’m the chair of the Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC). Our party is made up of more than 1000 registered members from every corner of our county, and I speak on their behalf. Every one of us is dedicated to our party’s four pillars of Peace, Ecology, Social Justice, and Grassroots Democracy. Many of our members have been local leaders in the Palestine solidarity community for many years and continue to be to this day.

What’s happening in Gaza is genocide. Members of the Netanyahu administration including Prime Minister Netanyahu himself have made it very clear that Israel's purpose is to remove Palestinians from Gaza. As of today more than 29,000 Palestinians have been murdered. This genocide has been financed and facilitated by the U.S. government including President Joe Biden, with support from both Houses of Congress utilizing OUR tax dollars. We here in this room and in this county are paying for the genocide of the Palestinian people. Just last week, both of our state’s U.S. Senators Casey and Fetterman voted to send an additional $14.1 billion dollars in military aid to Israel. Yes, the money could be spent in many other places but ignoring that, our tax dollars should NOT be financing an illegal occupation. They should NOT be financing the genocide of an entire people.

At our recent GPOAC convention, Green Party members voted overwhelmingly to organize for a ceasefire in Gaza in solidarity with Green Parties around the world. This stance is directly in line with the U.S. Green Party's platform which calls for an end to the occupation. As a result here today, the Green Party of Allegheny County is calling for a ceasefire resolution and for the Allegheny County Council to vote for such a resolution directed towards our full Congressional delegation to demand that they support a ceasefire. We needed a ceasefire more than 100 days ago. Having failed that, we need a ceasefire right now.

Jay Ting Walker is a member of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Steering Committee. He was a co-chair of GPPA from 2020 until 2023.

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information, please see:

“Ending the Gaza War: Can a Just Peace Arise?” webinar, GPUS Peace Action Committee, December 1, 2023, https://www.gp.org/ending_the_gaza_war_can_a_just_peace_arise 

“Green Party condemns attacks on civilians in Israel and Gaza; calls for immediate ceasefire,” news release, Green Party of the U.S., October 12, 2023, https://www.gp.org/green_party_condemns_attacks_on_civilians 

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 26, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Hydrogen Fuel Will Cause a Worse Climate Disaster 

PA Governor Josh Shapiro announced on October 13, 2023, an investment in two “hydrogen production facilities from renewable and nuclear electricity.” Many environmental activists reacted negatively. 

The Green Party Platform says, “Greens support research into advanced fuels when the purpose of the research is to develop a fuel that in its full cycle does not create more problems than it solves. We support the use of hydrogen as an energy storage medium; however we oppose the use of nuclear technologies or carbon-based feedstocks for hydrogen production.” The Green Party Communication Team asked a member of the Green Party of Montgomery County to explain why the Green Party does not support the use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel.

By Rick Denzien (Montgomery County)

The notion that hydrogen (H) can be produced for “clean” transportation is greenwashing pushed to the ridiculous. Hydrogen is the first element on the periodic table of elements and readily combines with many other elements including oxygen (O) in the air we breathe.

The combination form of H is water, a life giving compound (H₂O), which we all drink and even float upon. With more that 76% of the Earth’s surface covered with water (coming from crashing ice comets), it is natural to assume that if we could unglue the massive star power that created water and get free H and O, but like many things, free isn’t really free.

95+% of all hydrogen produced today does not come from splitting water, but from splitting CH₄ (aka “methane” or “natural gas”). The fossil fuel companies are happy to promote this idea at every opportunity. After all, methane is one of the main products of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) -- the promise of cheap energy, along with free negative externalities like radioactive wastewater filled with hundreds of known cancer-causing chemicals.

CH₄ is a powerful climate heating gas, 80 times more powerful than CO₂ (carbon dioxide) as a gas that holds the sun’s heat in. In 2014, NASA discovered that there was a bubble of methane the size of the state of Delaware floating over the U.S. NASA scientists thought that there must be a huge mistake in instrumentation, but the instruments from space were correct. The evidence was vindicated on the ground.

It turns out that every oil and gas well ever drilled is leaking methane into the atmosphere -- some a little, most quite a bit, and a few are out of control. Millions of these wells are leaking methane, not just one or two. They all leak. The pipes leak, the consolidators leak, and at home we spray open methane into our furnaces. We turn on our gas stoves to cook. All are leaking methane.

The Dark Side of Hydrogen
Hydrogen has long been hailed as a clean and sustainable energy source with the potential to revolutionize the energy landscape. However, a closer examination reveals a darker side to this seemingly eco-friendly element. In fact, hydrogen -- when produced from methane, coal or ammonia -- poses significant human and environmental risk.

Hydrogen production from methane is one of the most common methods, a process called steam methane reforming (SMR). This process involves reacting methane (CH₄) with steam (H₂O) to produce hydrogen (H₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Unfortunately, this also results in the release of CO₂, a very potent greenhouse gas contributing to global warming and climate change. In addition, when hydrogen is burned it forms warm water vapor, which is itself a greenhouse gas known to intensify storm weather systems. Particulate matter (PM 2.5) is also a concern under study.

Greenwashing by Fossil Fuel Companies
As the world increasingly shifts toward cleaner energy alternatives, fossil fuel companies are desperately trying to halt the downward spiral to stranded assets by attempting to rebrand themselves as environmentally responsible entities. Hydrogen, being touted as a green energy carrier, provides these companies with an opportunity for greenwashing – the practice of misleadingly portraying environmentally harmful activities as environmentally friendly.

Fossil fuel companies often invest in hydrogen projects, emphasizing their commitment to sustainability. However, the reality is that a significant portion of hydrogen production is derived from fossil fuels, perpetuating their reliance on non-renewable resources.

Environmental Impact
The environmental impact of hydrogen production from methane extends beyond greenhouse gas emissions. Extraction and transportation of methane, as well as the potential leakage of methane during these processes, further contribute to environmental degradation. In addition, the disposal of carbon dioxide generated during hydrogen production poses challenges, with carbon capture and storage technologies still in the early stages of development and implementation.

The released CO₂ during the manufacture of H, goes right into the atmosphere as a climate-change gas. The fossil fuel companies will say that they can carbon capture the CO₂ gas and store it underground but fail to point out the extreme expense and ineffectiveness of the proposed technology using up even more energy. As of this writing, 95%+ of H is produced today in the most irresponsible, dirtiest, and environmentally harmful way. Involvement in hydrogen projects serves as a cautionary tale, emphasizing the importance of scrutinizing the origins and practices of supposedly green technologies. As society strives for genuine sustainability, it is imperative to remain vigilant against the pitfalls of greenwashing and to prioritize truly clean and renewable energy sources.

Ron Denzien has been a member of the Green Party of Montgomery County since 2014. He is a singer/songwriter/performer and advocate for sustainable energy, transportation and environmental justice. Denzien’s solar array became the first home and business in Montgomery County to go 100% zero emission in 2014. Become a patron of his work: www.Patreon.com/RickDenzien

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information, please see:

PA the Only State to Secure Two Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub Projects, PA Department of Community and Economic Development, October 13, 2023,
https://dced.pa.gov/newsroom/governor-josh-shapiro-pennsylvania-the-only-state-to-secure-two-regional-clean-hydrogen-hub-projects/ 

Platform of the Green Party of the U.S.: III.Ecological Sustainability; B.Energy; 2.Move to Renewable Sources; Paragraph f; https://www.gp.org/ecological_sustainability#renewable 

Is Hydrogen Just Oil and Gas Greenwashed? By James Morris, Forbes, July 31, 2021,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmorris/2021/07/31/is-hydrogen-just-oil-and-gas-greenwashed 

Hydrogen Areas of Concern, Clean Energy Group, https://www.cleanegroup.org/initiatives/hydrogen/areas-of-concern/ 

END ITEM

Appeared:

GPUS website, https://www.gp.org/hydrogen_fuel_will_cause 

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Have a Green International Women’s Day, March 8

By Marci Henzi (Allegheny)

International Women’s Day (IWD) will be celebrated on Friday, March 8, this year.  But did you know that the first “Women’s Day” (No, not the still famous magazine first published in 1931 as a free leaflet for A&P grocery shoppers, almost exclusively women.) was celebrated on February 28, 1909, and that it was organized by the Socialist Party of America in NY City? Then it caught on throughout Europe, and in 1917, March 8 was declared a national holiday in Russia, right after women gained suffrage. That date stuck, and the day was associated with movements of the far left until the late ‘60’s women’s movement and the day’s adoption by the United Nations in 1977.

Now IWD has become more of a celebration of womanhood in the West, but in other parts of the world it is still marked by protest and calls for radical change. This twenty-first century contrast in meaning and significance has not gone without criticism.  Claims have been made that Western corporations have commercialized International Women’s Day and diluted its meaning. But still, the United Nations declares a yearly theme. This year’s theme is based on the United Nations 68th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) priority theme: “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective,” or simply, “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”

And did you know that there are colors associated with International Women’s Day? They are purple -- signifying justice, dignity and loyalty to cause; green -- symbolizing hope; and white -- signifying purity. 

Maybe you are thinking of one of the Green Party’s Ten Key Values (TKV). And, I wish you would this IWD!  Here it is, TKV # 7: Feminism and Gender Equality.

“We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics.  We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as gender equality, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We recognize that the processes of determining our decisions and actions are just as important as achieving the outcomes we want.”

Please consider the intersection of TKV #7 and TKV #3: Ecological Wisdom through Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens by Greta Gaard, https://tupress.temple.edu/books/ecological-politics

Hoping you remember to have a Green International Women’s Day! 

Marci Henzi has been a Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC) delegate to the Green Party of Pennsylvania State Committee since 2019. In the past, she was also a member of the GPOAC Executive Committee.

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information:

International Women’s Day, March 8, United Nations,
https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day

Green Party Ten Key Values, Green Party of Allegheny County,
https://www.alleghenygreens.org/about/ten-key-values

Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens by Greta Gaard, Temple University Press, 1998, https://tupress.temple.edu/books/ecological-politics

END ITEM

February Special Election GREEN STAR

Who is on the PA Green Party '24 Presidential Primary Ballot for Registered Pennsylvania Greens to nominate?

On February 6, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Green Wave Team announced which candidates for President of the U.S. would appear on the Green Party Primary Election ballot. This special edition of the GPPA GREEN STAR will give you some background on the three candidates on our ballot and how to participate in the Primary Election.

This email is a project of the Green Party of PA Communications team, [email protected]  

JASMINE D. SHERMAN

https://www.jasminesherman2024.com/

NO PREVIOUS GREEN PARTY ELECTION RESULTS

Social Media:

https://twitter.com / FatSocialist

https://www.facebook.com/JasmineSherman2024

https://www.instagram.com/jasmineshermanforpresident/

https://www.tiktok.com/@fatblacksocialist

YouTube 

DR. JILL STEIN 

https://www.jillstein2024.com/

GREEN PARTY ELECTIONS DATABASE RESULTS

Social Media:

https://twitter.com / DrJillStein

https://www.facebook.com/drjillstein

https://www.instagram.com/drjillstein/

https://www.tiktok.com/@drjillstein

https://www.youtube.com/@JillStein2024

JORGE ZAVALA

https://votejz.org/

NO PREVIOUS GREEN PARTY ELECTION RESULTS

Social Media:

https://twitter.com / VoteJorgeZavala

Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/citizensforjorgezavala/

https://www.tiktok.com/@citizensforjorgezavala

YouTube

OR A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE

What is the Green Party Primary and Why do we do it? 

As with all national parties here in the United States - each national party is required to determine their organizations primary election results for the November Presidential Election.

The Green Party of the United States is a National Organization made up of Independent State Parties. Each State is responsible to submit the results of their state specific primary process at our Annual National Meetings of the Green Party of the United States. 

The Green Party's 2024 Annual National Meeting will take place online July 11–14, 2024

How is the Green Party of Pennsylvania Primary going to be conducted?

GPPA primary voting begins:

Mail-in ballots are mailed to voters – Wednesday, February 14

Online voting conducted via OpaVote begins – Thursday, February 15

GPPA primary voting ends:

Online voting closes – Thursday, February 29

Mail-in votes postmark deadline – Thursday, February 29

Mail-in votes must be received – Monday, March 4

If you are a new Green, the below links include information on Green Party our values and National platform.    

Ten Key Values | Green Party Platform | Green New Deal 

Green Party of Pennsylvania
https://www.gpofpa.org/

The sounds of the Market-Frankford train above made the Zoom presentations difficult to hear, and the start of the event was delayed by 40 minutes due to a bevy of technical issues. But four Green Party candidates persevered at a forum presented by the Green Party of Philadelphia on Tuesday, giving their pitches for why they should represent the environmentally conscious political party. 

The candidates met at the Poor People’s Economic and Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) office on Kensington Avenue, and all four mostly agreed on hot button issues like addressing climate change, affordable housing, and criminal justice matters. 

Pennsylvania Capital Star
By John Cole
January 24, 2024

DaShaun “Davi” Davis of New York, a former candidate for that city’s mayor, opened with a song, and described his plan as an “American Refresh” and touted his “Earth Order” agenda. 

Jorge Zavala of California, who is visually impaired, joined the program via Zoom, and asserted he was not a politician, but a businessman. North Carolina resident Jasmine Sherman, said their platform provided a clear path to victory for the Green Party: “Provide everyone with their basic human needs. Housing, healthcare, education, and universal basic income.”

Perhaps the biggest name in the Green Party, 2016 and 2012 candidate Jill Stein, is again seeking the party’s nomination. She said she believes this is “an unprecedented opportunity” for the Green Party to fulfill its agenda. 

“I’m running to put a pro-worker, anti-war, anti-genocide, climate emergency campaign front and center in this election and on the ballot in every state across the country,” Stein said via Zoom. 

Three Green Party Inspectors of Election moderated the event, which was also live-streamed on their social media accounts and included ASL interpreters. Questions were also submitted by those within the organization and unhoused Philadelphians.

The candidates agreed that climate change needs to be front and center for a president from the Green Party.

Stein said that on day one of the presidency, she would declare a climate emergency and claimed President Joe Biden’s support for liquified natural gas plants “makes Donald Trump look like a climate activist.”

Zavala detailed his support for green technology, as Sherman discussed their support for creating green jobs, and Davi talked about improving the quality of air in the United States as a priority.

All of the candidates agreed that rents are too high and affordable housing should be a main focus. 

“I’m going to end houselessness in 91 days,” Sherman said, adding that they believe housing should be free. “A vote for Sherman is a vote for no more landlords and no more mortgages.”  

Davi said that people can “opt-out of capitalism and enroll” in his Earth Order plan, which addresses housing. “This is the opportunity we have to make homelessness an option,” he said, adding that the government should ensure there is quality housing available to those who need it. 

Stein said there’s a “housing emergency” in the U.S. and affordable housing is guaranteed in her “Economic Bill of Rights.” She said there’s enough vacant housing to address the issue. Rent control and a “Tenants Bill of Rights” are also needed, Stein said.

Zavala talked about making sure money goes back to the renters and the economic impact that homelessness is having on the nation’s economy. 

Candidates were also asked about their plans to address the issues of the carceral state and those returning from prison. 

Sherman said that they support abolishing prisons and creating a house arrest system and encouraged those to see the campaign website’s plan on abolishing the police. 

Stein said it was imperative to end the war on drugs, and end mandatory minimum sentences and cash bail. Zavala stressed education in the prison system and Davi said his plan will help those returning from prison reintegrate into society. 

While technical problems persisted throughout the evening, Green Party officials used it as an opportunity to seek donations.

“As Jasmine says, offer more support to us and we can make this work better,” said Green Party of Philadelphia Chair Belinda Davis.

Cheri Honkola, 2012 Green Party vice presidential nominee, highlighted the area where the forum was held, for those who are not be familiar with Kensington. 

“If you Google Kensington from around the country, our neighborhood can pretty much be described as Hell or Gotham,” she said. “A lot of people are not impacted until they actually come and walk the streets around here.” 

She likened the outdoor drug market that persists in the neighborhood as similar to the war zone in Gaza. Despite the high rates of opioid overdoses in the area, “there’s really no plan in sight to address these issues,” Honkola said. 

The Green Party’s most recent attempts to get a presidential candidate on the Pennsylvania ballot also suffered from some technical issues.

Howie Hawkins, who earned the presidential nomination by the Green Party to run in 2020, was not on the ballot in Pennsylvania after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the candidate did not follow the proper procedures to appear on the ballot, a decision that was viewed as a victory for Democrats. 

In 2016, Stein tallied 48,912 votes in Pennsylvania, which was 0.8% of the vote. Stein finished in fourth place in the Keystone State, trailing Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson.

Although the vote total for third party candidates was not high in the 2016 election, pundits believe it may have played a role in determining the winner in several swing states, while some analysts view them as the wild card for the 2024 presidential election.

A vote by the Green Party National Committee determined that the 2024 convention to select its candidate will be virtual.

Reprint credit to our source: https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sunday, January 28, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party Elects New PA Leaders

The mission of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) is to promote Green values throughout our Commonwealth by participation in the political process: electing candidates; enacting legislation; organizing communities; providing viable new political options; supporting the development of county Green Parties; and making government more open, democratic, and participatory for all Pennsylvania citizens. The party, which now has more than 9,000 members, will be growing by leaps and bounds during this presidential election year. In preparing for this growth in registered Greens, the party will have to expand its organizational reach.

Now, the GPPA State Committee has elected a new Steering Committee for 2024. The most significant tasks have been assigned to the GPPA co-chairs, who are authorized to execute the business of the Party by and with the advice of the Steering Committee and subject to the approval of the State Committee.

GPPA Co-chair Jeremy R. Griffin (Delaware) was elected in 2023 for a two-year term. After this year’s election, Griffin said, “Awesome to be a part of such an active chapter in the Green Party of Pennsylvania's history. I will be pushing for honest, transparent and efficient meetings from the new Steering Committee this year. I'm sure that the new Steering Committee will get a lot of work done. I'm also glad to be working right alongside new Co-chair Theron Gilliland. He is a super important part of this Party. He has made significant strides in leading our Green Wave Team recently.”

Newly elected Co-chair Theron Gilliland, Jr. (he/him) (Allegheny) responded, "With Jay Ting Walker's two-year term as co-chair coming to an end, I thought it would be beneficial to GPPA if his successor were also in Allegheny County, one of the most active chapters in the state. I had worked with Jeremy Griffin a bit in late 2023, and I felt that he and I have a complementary skill set. Jeremy is great at connecting with people, generating enthusiasm, and having the 'big ideas' that motivate others; I work best more behind the scenes, ensuring that the organizational structure we put in place runs smoothly. In a presidential election year, the Green Party needs both kinds of people at the helm."

Before his election, Gilliland had been a member at large of the GPPA Steering Committee and media coordinator of the Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC).  Last year he had also taken on the leadership of the party’s Green Wave Team, which organized the Green Party’s 2024 Presidential Primary Election.

Also elected by the State Committee was new GPPA Treasurer Jeff Kondrich (Westmoreland) who explained, “I accepted the nomination for Treasurer for two reasons. The first and foremost factor was the necessity of the position contrasting with members who were willing to step into the role. The second (and older) reason is that it's important to me that the Green Party grow stronger and execute substantial plans to garner reputation, requisition, and especially relevance in what are sure to be intense and trying years to come in our near future. I appreciate the opportunity, and I plan to make a positive difference.” 

Three new Steering Committee members at large were elected by the State Committee. Two of them shared their background and why they ran for the GPPA leadership.

Alex Casper (they/them) (Philadelphia) explained how they saw their new responsibility. “I ran for the Steering Committee to make sure our party infrastructure is well taken care of. I ran because I want to make sure we are doing efforts that grow our party, not just maintain its current status. I plan on doing this by changing our practice with regard to adapting to new marketing laws, involving more petitioning, and increasing the amount of contacts we make as a party in our communities.” Casper is an elected member of the Green Party of Philadelphia City Committee, and they are under consideration to become leader of GPPA’s Core Team.

Jay Ting Walker said, “I decided to run for the GPPA Steering Committee so I could help to maintain continuity from previous GPPA Steering Committees during a pivotal year for our state party. Maybe it's relevant to mention that this would be my fourth year on the Steering Committee. (I was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2020.) Walker has been co-chair of GPPA, chair of GPOAC, and a Green Party candidate for State Representative.

Newly elected Steering Committee member at large, Tim Runkle (Lancaster) is also chair of the Green Party of Lancaster County. Runkle had been GPPA Treasurer from 2018 until 2021.

The new GPPA Steering Committee will take office on February 1. The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information, please see:

“New Leaders Vow to Expand PA Green Party,” GPPA News Release, January 23, 2023,
https://www.gpofpa.org/new_leaders_vow_to_expand_pa_green_party 

“PA Green Party Elects 2022 Steering Committee,” GPPA News Release, January 14, 2022, https://www.gpofpa.org/pa_green_party_elects_2022_steering_committee

“Introducing the New Leaders of PA’s Green Party” by Beth Scroggin and Tina Olson. GPPA News Release, January 19, 2021,
https://www.gpofpa.org/introducing_the_new_leaders_of_pa_s_green_party 

“PA Green Party Elects New Co-chair,” GPPA News Release, January 20, 2019, https://www.gpofpa.org/pa_green_party_elects_new_co_chair 

END ITEM 

Green Party of Pennsylvania presidential primary 2024

• Deadline to register as a Green with the state at https://votespa.com – Monday, January 1
• Deadline to request a ballot (EITHER electronic OR by postal mail) at https://tinyurl.com/GPPAprimary2024 - T̶h̶u̶r̶s̶d̶a̶y̶,̶ ̶F̶e̶b̶r̶u̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶1̶ This has been extended to Thursday, February 8!

• GPPA primary voting begins

• Mail-in ballots are mailed to voters – Wednesday, February 14
• Online voting conducted via OpaVote begins – Thursday, February 15

• GPPA primary voting ends

• Online voting closes – Thursday, February 29
• Mail-in votes postmark deadline – Thursday, February 29
• Mail-in votes must be received – Monday, March 4

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sunday, December 17, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party To Add Delegates to PA State Committee

At the State Committee meeting of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) on November 12, the 30 elected delegates voted by consensus to change the Rules (think “by-laws”) of the party to include more elected delegates from unorganized parts of the Commonwealth. Before this vote, around thirty percent of the GPPA’s 10,000 registered members lived in unorganized counties.

GPPA Co-Chair Jeremy Griffin (Delaware), explained, “The main reason this amendment had to be passed was to insure that we give a voice to unorganized Greens, no matter in which county they live. The amendment was discussed and approved by the Steering Committee, and I believe it will strengthen the GPPA’s democratic process at the state level.”

Green Party of Lancaster County Chair Tim Runkle, said: “The GPPA State Committee is both the governing body of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) and the representation of Greens across our Commonwealth. Our Green Party rules had been built in a way which ensures local representation through organized county committees. The rules, however, have failed to provide the vast unorganized areas of the Commonwealth a voice on the State Committee. The rule change proposed by the delegation from Lancaster County intended to resolve that issue as well as to preserve the intent of local representation. This change permits any registered Green in PA to participate in the State Committee while holding true the Green Party's Four Pillars of grassroots democracy and the Ten Key Values of decentralization.”

GPPA Communication Team Co-chair Chris Robinson (Philadelphia) predicted, "This will be the first step in building new Green Party Chapters in our Commonwealth's 50 unorganized counties. With a presidential election in 2024, it will be important to give a voice to every Green Party member."

The Rules of the Green Party of Pennsylvania, Rule II State Committee, Section 2.b)  has been amended to read:

“All State Committee members shall be elected as determined by the rules of the County Committee of the county of their residence to one year terms, or a part thereof. Registered Greens who have no organized County Committee in their county of residence shall be elected by the State Committee during the first meeting of the calendar year. The number of members permitted for unorganized County members shall be no more than two per county.” 

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For More Information Please see:

Ten Key Values, Green Party of the U.S., https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values 

The Rules of the Green Party of Pennsylvania, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1G4U0TsI0fzoQY4akq4TeRpsMmE9XQcIh 

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, December 7, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party Calls for PA Presidential Primary in February 2024

On November 12, thirty elected delegates and friends from seven PA counties voted to hold a Green Party of PA Presidential Primary in February 2024. The plan which was proposed by the GPPA GreenWave Team included the following dates:

January 1, 2024, Last date for voters to register Green in order to vote in the Green Party of PA Presidential Primary;
February 1, 2024, Last date for presidential candidates to be approved for the Green Party of PA Presidential Primary ballot;
February 1, 2024, Deadline for Green Party voters to apply for an absentee ballot;
February 13, 2024, Green Party of PA mails absentee ballots to voters;
February 15, 2024, Green Party of PA Presidential Primary virtual voting begins;
February 29, 2024, End of virtual voting and last date for postmark on absentee ballots;
March 4, 2024, Final date for receipt of Green Party of PA Presidential Primary absentee ballots;

March 13, 2024, Report results of Green Party of PA Presidential Primary to candidates and the media.

This will be the first time for the Green Party of PA to use virtual voting in a Presidential Primary. During previous presidential elections, GPPA relied upon county caucuses (like Iowa) to choose its presidential candidate.

 The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

__________________________________

2024 PA ELECTIONS
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
(EDITED FOR Green Party of PA Presidential Primary)

January 1      Last day to REGISTER GREEN before the GPPA Presidential Primary

February 1    Last day for candidates to be approved for GPPA Presidential Primary

February 1    Last day to apply for absentee ballot for GPPA Presidential Primary

February 13   GPPA mails absentee ballots to voters

February 14   First day to circulate and file nomination papers for GPPA candidates

February 15  GPPA Presidential Primary virtual voting begins

February 29  GPPA Presidential Primary virtual voting ends

February 29  Last date for postmark on GPPA Presidential Primary absentee ballots

March 4        Last date for receipt of GPPA Presidential Primary absentee ballots

March 13      Report results of GPPA Presidential Primary to candidates and the media

April 8           Last day to REGISTER before the PA Primary Election

April 23        PA PRIMARY ELECTION (Best time to harvest signatures on minor party nomination papers.)

August 1       Last day to circulate and file nomination papers

August 8       Last day for withdrawal by candidates nominated by nomination papers

October 21    Last day to REGISTER before the November election

October 29    Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot

November 5  Last day for County Boards of Elections to receive voted mail-in ballots

November 5  PA GENERAL ELECTION

Note: All dates in this calendar are subject to change without notice.

Adapted from,
https://www.vote.pa.gov/About-Elections/Pages/Upcoming-Elections.aspx

____________________________

Barbara Laxon has been an active Green Party member since 1993. She was an elected member of the Green Party of PA (GPPA) Steering Committee during 2020. Barbara has also represented GPPA on the GPUS EcoAction Committee since 2021.

The legacy of the oil and gas industry here in Bradford City, McKean County, PA, is centuries-long. It is still poisoning the inhabitants through the leaking oil and gas wells throughout the city. I have had to step up as a watchdog to bring awareness to the public of what is happening in what has become an environmental justice neighborhood.

While checking general trouble spots around town on August 23, I noticed what appeared to be a spill running from one of the hoses at the tank battery on Leigh Street. The spill ran across and down the street, following the natural incline of the street and the many cracks in the road.

I called the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) emergency line to report what I saw, and the man who answered did not seem surprised and said he would "talk to Cline about it."

My friend Laurie Barr from Save Our Streams PA said she would follow up with a written report on the DEP website. Laurie came and got the GPS coordinates and took a video of the area. She and I both noted the smell in the area, which is always evident, seemed even stronger than usual.

Laurie Barr has complained about this site in the past, since I brought it to her attention a few years ago. Leigh Street is at the end of Kennedy Street, just a few blocks above Bradford City Hall and the police station. It is also approximately five long blocks from Bradford Regional Medical Center and even closer to School Street Elementary School.

Within three days following my report, I noticed that the dirt on both sides of the street in the area of the spill had been excavated, and a pile of rubble appeared just down the road. Also evident were heavy-duty tire tracks leading to the area where the 'spill' ended, the vegetation was flattened, and there was a brown puddle at the end.

A few days after this, I returned to find what looked like a sinkhole where the vegetation had been flattened. I could see a black pipe in the bottom of the hole. Dirt had been returned to one side of the road. Nothing had been done to the road itself despite it being also covered by the 'spill.' I also noted that the other side of the road was asphalt with a groove to allow any fluid to run down into the ditch that had been created (with the hole at the bottom with the pipe running through it). The rubble was still there.

The next time I returned the hole seemed to be spreading down the hill. The rubble seemed to have been moved slightly, and now I could see what looked like plywood under it. At my most recent visit, I noticed that large fist-sized gravel had been poured down the hill filling in the sinkhole. I have pictures of all of this.

As a long-term Green, I have long known the dangers the oil and gas industry poses to human health, and to the environment and climate. The Green Party of Pennsylvania has been aware of this since its inception and works to counteract or eliminate these dangers.

Barbara Laxon is a member of the GPPA Communication Team.

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information:

Laurie Barr's video, which is included in her report on the DEP website, is available here. 

Log in or sign up to view

See posts, photos and more on Facebook.

Save Our Streams PA,
https://saveourstreamspa.org/

"Allegheny National Forest: What Goes on Behind the Scenes" by Barbara Laxon, GPPA News Release, April 8, 2020, https://www.gp.org/allegheny_national_forest_what_goes_on_behind_the_scenes

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Growing Ethical, Accountable Government from the Grassroots

GS, Did you get inspiration from the Green Party's Ten Key Values?

Noyle: My campaign meets once a week, on Wednesday nights. We will be organizing weekly door-to-door canvassing events on weekends starting in October. If we can’t reach someone after multiple attempts, we will leave behind a campaign flier so that they still hear of our campaign. Our aim is to introduce ourselves to as many residents as we can, so that they don’t look at their ballot and see a stranger. We are also planning to promote our campaign with literature, yard signs and targeted online advertising.

Follow and Support Alex Noyle’s campaign: 

By Alex Casper (they them)

Early in August , Seattle Socialist City Councilmember Kshama Sawant brought forward legislation to set universal rent control to cap rent increases with inflation. Cornel West, running for the Green Party nomination for president, endorsed the plan. Hundreds of tenants, workers, and union members packed the Seattle City Hall to where attendance was standing room only, but the Democratic Party led city council struck down the bill.

Green Party of Pennsylvania
www.gpofpa.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 24, 2023

CONTACT:
Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader, [email protected]

West called this bill a “moral imperative,” and I agree. The impact of stabilizing rent to the current rate of inflation in Seattle would be a 4.6% annual increase. Last year the average rent increased at 9.9% according to Apartment List. The year before it increased 18.9% in the region. This type of rent increase is unsustainable for a community and will displace residents through gentrification. In Philadelphia, between June 2022 and June 2023, the region saw a rate of inflation of 3.1%. But the rental cost inflated 4.5% this year and 6.8% from the year before according to Apartment List. Greater Philadelphia saw rental costs inflate by 9.4% in 2022. The Pittsburgh Metro saw a rent inflation rate of 3.1% in the past year, and 8.8% the year before. As of now, this rent control policy will not impact Pittsburgh as the price of rent has not increased as fast as other parts of Pennsylvania. Considering how New Yorkers came to Philadelphia with the three-hour commute to escape high rent, leading to gentrification here, the long term outlook could see Philadelphians looking to move across the state to Johnstown, Pittsburgh, and other more affordable towns with decent public transit systems and healthcare access leading to their prices also increasing down the road.

48% of Greater Philadelphia’s renters are cost burdened. We have a 20 year long waitlist for public housing in Philadelphia. From my own personal calls, every non-profit is out of funding for rental assistance. So at this rate, people will go homeless, and the rate of death of our homeless community will continue to increase. Last year over 311 homeless people died in Philadelphia in 2020 -- more than every other city in the U.S. besides Los Angeles and New York.

It is a murderous policy to leave people unsheltered and without public services such as housing and the social workers they need to access mental health benefits and resources. It keeps victims of domestic violence afraid of economic consequences to flee home, and it costs our economy more to keep people homeless than it would cost to just house people. As a Philadelphian who has been homeless twice. I applaud Seattle workers and tenants for fighting for their rights to be able to afford to stay housed in the community they work and seek medical services in. I applaud Cornel West for taking a stance on housing affordability.

I support Universal Rent Control and I hope to see more initiatives be supported by Cornel West and elected officials focused on addressing our housing crisis, reducing the cost of housing, and preventing and ending homelessness. It is clear that we need an alternative to the two corporate parties, if we want to see these types of policies be seriously addressed. Neither major party will support people being able to afford to stay in their homes or address homelessness. Seattle City Council being led by the Democratic Party voting against rent control shows us this is the case. 185 people died in Kings County, WA, in 2020, and Seattle Democrat’s said it’s okay to not address the leading cause of housing insecurity.

Pennsylvania Democrats and Republicans have been just as silent to my neighbors dying preventable deaths. This week Democrats just reinstated a deadly Landlord Tenant Officer system in Philadelphia, which has resulted in three shootings in four months this year to continue doing evictions to violently unhouse Philadelphians and make them homeless at the orders of Democratic and Republican Party judges. Elected leaders have power as a collective to take direct action to enable change with the support of public tax collected funds. The only dividend they give us in return for those tax investments are neocolonialist wars and state sponsored militias to shoot you for any potential dispute to being forcibly removed from your home for being laid off or disabled.

Alex Casper (they/them) is a delegate to the Green Party of Pennsylvania, membership secretary of the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP), and the GPOP representative of the Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition. They also serve in the Reimagine Philadelphia Steering Committee in the Philadelphia Department of Planning and Development, and as a Minority Inspector in Philadelphia Election Ward 47.

The Green Party of Pennsylvania is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity.

For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

For more Information:

“Green Party Joins Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition,” Green Party of Philadelphia News Release, July 19, 2023,
https://www.gpofpa.org/green_party_joins_philadelphia_rent_control_coalition

Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition,
https://rentcontrolphilly.org/

Philadelphia Tenants Union,
https://phillytenantsunion.org/

“Rent Control,” Green Party Platform, II. Social Justice; J. Housing & Homelessness;
https://www.gp.org/social_justice/#sjHousing

FOR RELEASE
Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Media Contact, Chris Robinson
[email protected] and 267-977-0570

Green Party Joins Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition

At their General Membership Meeting on June 27, the Green Party of Philadelphia (www.gpop.org) decided by consensus to join the Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition. The coalition consists of a dozen community organizations which plan to demand rent control legislation from Philadelphia City Council.

The goal of the Rent Control Coalition is “to keep affordable housing affordable and to prevent forced displacement caused by unreasonable rent increases.” The Green Party’s platform includes the “right to enact local rent control laws, including vacancy control/recontrol . . . . Provide for publicly elected rent control/stabilization boards for communities with local rent control laws,” and “preserve and increase affordable housing supply.”

"The idea of rent control is gaining more popularity, even before the COVID-19 pandemic made worse this country's affordable housing crisis," said long-time Green Party and Philadelphia Tenant's Union member, Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture (Cedar Park). "We are seeing more powerful, creative ways of addressing the housing crisis. Rent control is one and, additionally, there are more tenants unions being started. Access to public land to form community gardens is demanded to address food scarcity and public demands for repairs to long-abandoned buildings, etc., all serve to raise the collective voices of tenants.  Lastly, we must also face the fact of violent and/or illegal evictions in too many incidents across this country. If we say, 'housing is a human right,' then all such landlords must be held accountable for their criminal actions."  

The Green Party membership also appointed by consensus Alex Casper (Francisville) to be their liaison to the Rent Control Coalition, Casper said: “The City of Philadelphia currently has a 20-year waitlist for public housing access. We are one of the fastest inflating housing markets. I have been homeless in this city twice, and know from experience how hard it is to afford and access a home. We have 250,000 residents identifying as having a disability on the census who are not sure where they will be able to afford to live in the next year because the housing-choice voucher waitlist is closed. We have 300 people a year dying while homeless in Philadelphia, the second most of any community in the U.S. We know housing first and rent control initiatives will lead to participation in programs leading to recovery from addiction, vocational rehabilitation to continue working with a disability, and reduce violence and suicide. We must address this deadly crisis as a party, and I am proud to represent the Green Party of Philadelphia in their support for affordable and accessible housing.”

Casper continued, “I will stand for initiatives that increase the public housing supply, create a fund that continuously builds new public housing units, increase landlord participation in the housing choice voucher program, set a ceiling on rent increasing, and get folks who are homeless into permanent homes with the social support systems they need to rehabilitate and seek job training. We need to make a city which those who grew up here can afford to live in. We can't let America's second most densely populated big city become as expensive as New York and San Francisco. We can't let our neighbors keep dying unsheltered on the street without a place they feel safe to go. We can't make homelessness a consequence of escaping domestic violence. Housing shouldn't have a paywall, and we should have a right to shelter in Philadelphia.”

The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP, www.gpop.org) is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPOP candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPOP, please follow GPOP on social media:  Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

For more information:

Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition, https://rentcontrolphilly.org/

Philadelphia Tenants Union, https://phillytenantsunion.org/   

“Rent Control,” Green Party Platform, II. Social Justice; J. Housing & Homelessness;
https://www.gp.org/social_justice/#sjHousing

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party Leader Finds Blueprint for Organizing in PA 2023 Goals

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) 2023 Goals were passed at the November 2022 State Meeting. Those goals said, "County parties are our cornerstone. They support our petitioning efforts, our candidates, and our local actions."

Many Green Party leaders acclaimed the GPPA 2023 Goals as long overdue because none could remember the last time there was a strategy for building GPPA. The goals were the work of GPPA Co-Chair Jay Ting Walker (Allegheny), who told the press, “My intention is for the Steering Committee to be focused on implementing the 2023 Goals. With our 2023 Goals, county delegates to the GPPA State Committee will focus on a return to the basics of organizing. We will build up our county parties so that we can better act on the issues we care about, while supporting Green Party candidates around the Commonwealth."

In order to assess the Green Party progress with building the party, Chris Robinson (Philadelphia), GPPA Communication Team co-leader, asked county leaders, “How do you feel about our 2023 Goals?” Robinson explained, “I am trying to get a sense of what we are doing right, and what we still need to work on.”

Robinson received an interesting report from Chair Riley Mahon, Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC), “We are on track to reach all of the goals except for the 500 signatures one. I'll go through the goals one by one here.”

Green Party 2023 Goals in Allegheny County
By Chair Riley Mahon, Green Party of Allegheny County

4 Meetings (Quarterly)
GPOAC meets monthly on the first Tuesday. Our July General Assembly (GA) meeting will be pushed back one week because people have plans on the 4th so we'll have it on 7/11 instead.

1 Local Candidate (for 2023)
GPOAC has three local candidates: Tara Yaney for Edgewood Borough Council; Liv Bennett for County Council District 13; and Carl Redwood for County Council District 10. We officially endorsed Carl on 7/11. GPOAC is also working on getting a candidate or two for Township Auditor, but that's not a sure thing yet.

5 Heavily Involved Members
GPOAC has a seven-person executive committee and a few more people I would describe as "heavily involved" as well.

10 Active Members
I am quite proud that GOAC has around 30 people who will show up to things from time to time, maybe more.

500 Signatures Gathered
We have been very slow to get going on this, but I remain confident that all of our candidates will make it to the ballot.

3 GPPA State Committee watch parties
GPOAC did not have a watch party in June, and I don't remember if we had one in March. This is not a high priority for me personally, but we'll try to have watch parties for the remaining two meetings this year.

1 PA State House Candidate (for 2024)
If I remember correctly, GPOAC has one potential candidate for PA House next year. Also, Richard Weiss has said that he is willing to run for state-wide office, if we need him to. We'll be able to find someone to run a paper campaign even in the worst case scenario.

100% GPPA State Committee Delegation
I'm not sure if this means just having all the spots filled or to actually have a full delegation come to a meeting, but either way, yes, we have done this.

4 Direct Actions Participated In
GPOAC has marched in Pride and tabled at several community events. There is a Post-Gazette picket on 6/30, which I am trying to get people to go to. I don't have a full list off the top of my head of the events we've been to or done, but we've definitely done more than four already in 2023.

Based on Mahon's report, Robinson concluded, "There can be no doubt that the GPPA 2023 Goals have been useful in building the Green Party, especially when county leaders make use of them as a blueprint for organizing.”

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.  

For more Information:

“GPPA 2023 Goals,” Green Party of PA, Statement, December 10, 2022,
https://www.gpofpa.org/2023_green_party_of_pa_goals

“New Leaders Vow to Expand PA Green Party, Green Party of PA, News Release, January 23, 2023,
https://www.gpofpa.org/new_leaders_vow_to_expand_pa_green_party

END OF ITEM 

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party Members Rebuff PA School Censorship

Members of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) have been shocked by the use of official censorship sweeping public schools in our Commonwealth. Right now, Pennsylvania has the third most books baned from school libraries (behind Texas and Florida). Chris Robinson (Philadelphia), co-leader of the GPPA Communication Team, said, “Every member of the Green Party should rebuff the rampant censorship poisoning Pennsylvania’s classrooms.”

“Bigoted actions by school boards in PA have now become public policy; an outright, reactionary suppression of ideas complete with punishment for violators of those bans,” continued Robinson. “PA school districts in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Crawford, Erie, Lancaster, Monroe, Montgomery and Westmoreland Counties have censored their library’s books or the language used by teachers in an attempt to prevent an understanding of modern politics by the next generation.”

The Green Party Platform says, “Independent, critical media are essential to an informed and healthy democracy. Citizens must have ready access to news and information to make responsible informed choices as voters and to carry out their other duties of citizenship . . . . Since governments too often have an interest in controlling the flow of information, we must constantly guard against official censorship.”

“As a father, it is my job to work with my children to help them understand difficult ideas and to explain cursing, morally offensive behaviors, or insensitive language, which they may find in books or society protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” said David Ochmanowicz Jr. (Bucks), co-chair of the Green Party of Bucks County and a former member of the Quakertown School Board. “As a citizen and parent of public middle school and elementary school-aged children, I believe that all children should have the rights and ability to explore and understand essential cultural and historical knowledge, as well as different points of view. Censorship due to religious or political reasons should remain unconstitutional.” Ochmanowicz is also co-leader of the GPPA Communication Team. 

Christina “PK” DiGiulio (Chester), GPPA 2022 candidate for PA Governor, said, “Having a library full of information allows people to make educated decisions for themselves. Limiting that information by filtering it through a fear-based ideology sets up future generations to make uninformed decisions. This type of controlling behavior is placing our children at a disadvantage. They should be prepared to live in a modern society, which is naturally moving towards inclusivity. Using censorship to disrupt evolution shows how ignorant some people are of natural law. What's next . . . burning the books?"  

"Schools are institutions of learning,” said Riley Mahon (Allegheny) who was a Green Party candidate in 2019 for Upper Saint Clair School Board. “Libraries should give students access to any academic subject they wish to study, especially controversial subjects. For the sake of having a functional democracy, it is vital that kids are taught to be politically, civically, and scientifically literate. This trend of banning books in schools is indicative of how this country views education. They want to use schooling as a way to teach obedience and jingoism, instead of as a way to teach creativity and critical thinking." Mahon is now chair of the Green Party of Allegheny County.

“Books open our minds to different ways of thinking about the familiar as well as enabling us to learn completely new things,” explained Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick (Delaware), who was the Green Party 2018 candidate for PA Lieutenant Governor. “This diversity makes us mentally sharper, more creative and better able to adapt to the twists and turns our lives are going to take. We would be crippling our children emotionally and intellectually if we try to hide the messiness of life, different lifestyles, the abuse and ugliness toward many different groups which has occurred in our country’s history and which continues for many. Our children will not be able to make a healthier, more compassionate, more just, and peaceful world if they can’t openly and honestly think and talk about more than what their parents like. We should want to equip our children with the skills and intellectual openness that allows them to learn from, cooperate and collaborate with many different types of people.”

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

For more information, please see:

“Students, authors fight censorship in PA schools” by Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times, April 18, 2023,

https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/state/2023/04/18/book-ban-censorship-pushback-teens-authors-pennsylvania-central-bucks-policy/70115924007/ 

 “Central Bucks teacher is suing the district” by Maddie Hanna, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 12, 2023, 

https://www.inquirer.com/news/central-bucks-andrew-burgess-lawsuit-aclu-lgbtq-20230411.html 

“Central Bucks Teacher Sues District for Retaliating Against Him After He Advocated for Transgender Student,” ACLU PA news release, April 11, 2023, 

https://www.aclupa.org/en/press-releases/central-bucks-teacher-sues-district-retaliating-against-him-after-he-advocated 

“Central Bucks alumni sign letter alleging anti-LGBTQ bias by board” by Maddie Hanna, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 10, 2023,
https://www.inquirer.com/news/central-bucks-school-district-alumni-anti-lgbtq-letter-20230309.html 

“ACLU-PA Files Federal complaint alleging widespread discrimination in Central Bucks School District,” ACLU PA news release, October 6, 2022, 

https://www.aclupa.org/en/press-releases/aclu-pa-files-federal-complaint-alleging-widespread-discrimination-central-bucks 

“PA Has 3rd Most Banned Books Nationwide, As Censorship Soars” by Justin Heinze, Patch, September 18, 2022, 

https://patch.com/pennsylvania/across-pa/pa-has-3rd-most-banned-books-nationwide-censorship-soars 

“Central Bucks School District decisions lead LGBTQ students and faculty to fear for civil right” by Emily Rizzo, WHYY, May 11, 2022, 

https://www.witf.org/2022/05/11/central-bucks-school-district-decisions-lead-lgbtq-students-and-faculty-to-fear-for-civil-rights/ 

Editorial: Lancaster County school officials shouldn't surrender to those seeking to ban books from school libraries, Lancaster On Line, January 23, 2022, 

https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/lancaster-county-school-officials-shouldnt-surrender-to-those-seeking-to-ban-books-from-school-libraries/article_5f493712-7b0e-11ec-905a-4fe0b3a3fab1.html 

“Efforts to ban books at Lancaster County school districts part of national trend” by Alex Geli, Lancaster on Line, January 18, 2022,

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/efforts-to-ban-books-at-lancaster-county-school-districts-part-of-national-trend/article_59b4e756-77b7-11ec-b124-ab61afebdbfa.html 

Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, 

https://www.psla.org/materials-challenge-resources 

Unite Against Book Bans, American Library Association,

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/fight-censorship 

END OF ITEM      ***      END OF ITEM      ***      END OF ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party Will Appeal to Gen Z in PA

By Jeremy R. Griffin, GPPA Co-Chair

I am Jeremy R Griffin, and as the new co-chair of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA), I intend to create political power for the most important third party in our Commonwealth. I plan to do this by getting the next generation involved in the Green Party.

Through my years of environmental activism and even being a part of some Green Party electoral campaigns myself, I’ve come to the conclusion that to really make a lasting change we, as environmentalists, have to recruit, fund and educate the next generation. By the next generation, I am specifically referring to Gen Z (birth years 1998-2012) and Gen Alpha, coming after it. 

I recognize why the youth haven't been active in our political process recently. Gen Z does not see itself among the candidates of the two corporate parties. Political jargon is foreign to them, and public officials are constantly unveiled as selfish scammers. That doesn’t even mention that the most important political issue -- which is climate change -- is barely spoken about in detail during debates between Dems and Repubs. In fact, fixing irreversible climate damage seems like an astronomical feat, especially through means of a long political process. 

The good news is that the Green Party of Pennsylvania is the alternative that Gen Z can utilize and even occupy. Young people not only have the morals but also the motivation to make revolutionary change in our current representative democratic system. They are the ones who will feel the impacts of the climate policies made today. These are the policies that will affect life for them on Mother Earth for years to come.

I believe the Green Party would be a great fit for Gen Z because of our candidates, especially when compared to the other political parties in the country. Unlike the others, the Green Party actually runs 100% legit grassroots campaigns. This means GPPA has the most important candidates, running the most important campaigns, because they are not funded by corporations. There are no strings attached to any corporation when a Green Party candidate is elected to office.

Our candidates really can keep the promises made on the campaign trail. When they say they will ban fracking, or stop refineries, or transition to 100% renewables by 2035, they mean it! No need for them to pay off the fossil fuel industry or make tax cuts for the companies actively polluting the planet for monetary gain. Greens are the people that Gen Z and all environmentalists can actually trust! 

One of the benefits the Green Party has is a clean slate. Gen Z has watched the Dems and Repubs do horrendous actions (or inactions) since they could remember. They have watched the corporate media cover their own candidates’ scandals, flaws and mishaps. As for the Green Party, we have a clean slate in many young voters’ minds. The youth haven’t seen the impact of Green Party candidates elected to much more than hyper-local offices, like borough council and judge of elections. This means that GPPA does not have much blame for the current situations with poverty, social unrest or climate inaction. The Green Party has no dark blemish over our names on the ballot box.

With so many voters entangled in the false dichotomy within mainstream American elections and corporate propaganda, it’s safe to say that the progressives disgusted by this system might feel hopeless. Honestly why would progressives not be; the Dems and Repubs are literally running some of the trashiest nonsensical and non-substantive candidates in years and the masses are voting in numbers we've never seen before. This is a clear sign that Gen Z is not one of the voting blocks we should give up on.

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

Jeremy R, Griffin is a podcaster, public speaker, educator, researcher, geographer and Kutztown University Alum. He was elected co-chair of the Green Party of Pennsylvania on March 12.  

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM 

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saturday, April 1, 2023

CONTACT: Communication Team

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party of PA Concedes to Corporate Funded Democrat Republican Alliance 

Founded in 1985, The Green Party of the United States will mark its 40th Birthday in January. Inspired by anti-nuclear movements around the world, its original organizers in Maine could have never foreseen how difficult this fight for clean air, water and soil would be all these years later.

We don’t want to let you down but advocating for Green Values seems to no longer be trending.

With our mastery of all sciences the need for promoting environmental sustainability is not an imperative. Human ingenuity and the development of human made solutions for world sustainability has made trees obsolete. Clean air, water, energy, old growth forests and open space are no longer necessary.

The system we have painstakingly developed, apathetically allowing corporate sponsored special interest money to influence our media, voter perception and elected officials’ decision making is working out well enough. 

The effort of a well-rounded representative democracy is just too hard.

Having to go outside and vote one or two times a year seems like a lot of work when ultimately our ZIP code determines how long our voting queue is and how our long-term health can be predicted to a fairly accurate statistic.

As the only party of Peace, we just can’t bring ourselves to fight the right wing party alliance anymore.

See the full Green Party of Pennsylvania statement here

https://www.gpofpa.org/april_1_2023_full_statement

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]

Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA 

Richard Maopolski

for

PA House District 113

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Contact Person: Richard Maopolski

272-249-0195 and [email protected]  

Green Party Candidate Announces Bid For PA House of Representatives District 113 

Richard Maopolski of Scranton, PA, has officially declared himself a Green Party candidate in the 2024 electoral race for Pennsylvania State Representative District 113. The District is in Lackawanna County, and is composed of most of Scranton. Maopolski will run as a Green because he says, "The Republicans have forgotten fiscal responsibility, but it's the Democrats in power who have forgotten why we fight." He will caucus with neither party and looks to build a coalition of sharp-as-auditors fiscal representatives with a group of progressives who haven't forgotten to get into "good trouble."

Maopolski attended Harvard University, took courses at Lackawanna College, but never finished his degree. His sobriety was too important. If elected Maopolski says he plans to finish his degree at Widener University, and consider taking on an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania after that. 

The candidate has been a member of the board of the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminar in Millersville, PA; Scranton Tomorrow's Economic Restructuring Subcommittee; and is currently a member of Scranton Counseling Center's Assertive Community Treatment  (ACT) Board. He is also a constant presence in the community trying to turn people on to local events and to shop local. He is always at a cafe reading comics or something from the library. 

Indeed, the candidate has had a constant social media presence and can be found on Facebook by searching Richard Maopolski. His Instagram page is updated through his Facebook posts so you will get the same story there, if you prefer that platform. The Instagram account is RICH4REP. Twitter is @RichardMJM but is not updated frequently. He can be found on LinkedIn the same way as Facebook, but he prefers the less professional approach of Facebook and will post there more frequently. It is the best place to follow the action. 

To join Richard Maololski's Campaign Committee, please contact [email protected].  

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM 

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 20, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

PA Greens Celebrate International Women’s Day, March 8

By Tina Olson.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

-- Alice Walker

Women in America have come a long way despite the work that still needs to be done. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) will be “Embrace Equity.” The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) supports the principles of this day of recognition on March 8 because it adheres to our Ten Key Values. 

We believe that in order to confront inequalities we must include the diverse intersections many people cross. This includes gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, mental, and physical challenges. Our circumstances are not always equal. There is no equality without equity. “Embracing Equity” means recognizing and supporting policies that lift everyone up to a level playing field. 

In the big picture, it will be women who blaze this trail for future generations. It was women who plowed through the decades with protests for the equal treatment that we deserve. None of this was easy and sometimes the gains feel slow like stone work. Nevertheless, each stone is building a new inclusive world.

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are different from my own.”

-- Audrey Lorde

Unbelievable as it may seem, there are still states within the U.S. which have yet to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). This would enshrine equality and equity among vulnerable groups, including people of color and transgender individuals who have been the recent target of escalated hate. It will also create the basis for equity because the ERA recognizes differences in how women are treated within our patriarchal society.

Additionally, we will continue the push for equity by understanding pay gaps. According to the US Government Accountability Office in 2021, women earned $0.82 for every one dollar men made. Hispanic or Latina women earned about $.58, and Black women earned about $.63 for every dollar white men earned. This is a clear indication that our work is not done. We need equal pay for equal work. The Green Party supports the path to a more egalitarian society. As we fight for ourselves, we fight for women across the U.S. and the world. 

In the past year, we have seen some rights be challenged as Roe V Wade was overturned. This sliding backwards came as many Democrats became complacent while being chummy with the Republican Party, which would rather see women forced to give birth. In Florida, Republicans are banning books and Critical Race Theory. They would rather see our children never learn the importance of equity while drinking from a sippy cup of watered-down U.S. history. We see these negotiations and compromises becoming more invasive to women and other marginalized communities. This cannot continue, we need proportional representation so that Greens can hold the line for our freedoms.

“We don't need a seat at the table, we need a new table!”

-- Lilly Saini Singh.

As we celebrate women on March 8, it is important to understand the difference between equality and equity. Equity is essential for equality. Our job is far from done.

Tina Olson (Northampton) was co-chair of the GPPA Steering Committee during 2021. 

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

For more information, please see:

“Our Ten Key Values,” Green Party of the U.S.,
https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values

Equal Rights Amendment, https://www.eracoalition.org/ 

Women in the Workforce, U.S. Government Accountability Office, December 15, 2022,
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-106041  

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM 

 Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, January 30, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected] 

PA Green Party Joins MLK Week of Peace Actions

By Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick.

For about two billion people throughout some Asian countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam the lunar calendar is used to mark the progress of months and years. The Lunar New Year began on January 22 with celebrations lasting up to 16 days. The Chinese predict this lunar year to be marked by peace, prosperity, and optimism.

As a member of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org), I long for this to be true because the U.S. is a key player in sustaining too many violent conflicts around the world instead of being, as it could be, a major force for facilitating and maintaining peace, prosperity, clean energy, and environmental sustainability. The U.S. could and should be a leader in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the four goals cited above. They were adopted and committed to by the U.S. and 192 other countries in 2015.

These SDGs are about achieving social, economic, political and environmental progress for all of us but especially for the most vulnerable and exploited people on our planet. The Green Party’s 10 Key Values are very similar to the United Nations’ 17 SDGs.

Working to achieve and to maintain peace in our communities and between all the different nations of the world is such a crucial value and goal of the Green Party and an absolute necessity in helping to accomplish the other 16 SDGs. There are other NGO’s, thankfully, that make agitating for peace a high priority, and the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) is one of them.

Early last year, UNAC called for several days of actions and protests titled, STOP U.S. Wars: MLK Week of Actions, to run from January 13 through January 22, because it encompassed the U.S. holiday that celebrates the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a great visionary who understood the importance of promoting peace, love for humanity and the use of non-violent protest as a strategy to gain needed societal changes and social/economic justice. The GPPA Steering Committee endorsed these ten days of action to focus on changing policies and funding priorities to promote peace domestically and internationally, such as:

• Cutting the U.S. military budget in half;
• Ending new U.S funding of nuclear weapons and having the U.S. sign onto treaties that reduce nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear war;
• Having the U.S. deescalate the war in Ukraine and promote a peaceful resolution to the violence between Russia and Ukraine;
• Stopping the U.S. military support of the Saudi-led war in Yemen; and
• Ending U.S. financial, political, and military backing of the physical, social, and environmental violence and oppression being inflicted by Israel on the Palestinian people. 

Many of these issues and other policy changes that promote peace and social/economic justice are addressed in the Peace Platform of the Green Party of the U.S.

In Pennsylvania there were peace actions in Pittsburgh and King of Prussia (KOP), and three events in Philadelphia. The events in Philadelphia and KOP were also endorsed by the Green Party of Philadelphia. GPPA Communications Team Co-chair Chris Robinson participated in two of these events, which shared an emphasis on uplifting the anniversary of the U.N. Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty. Robinson said, "I was glad to see the Green Party presence on January 22 for the Anniversary of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This action was hosted by the Brandywine Peace Community and co-sponsored by the Grannie Peace Brigade, No War Now, and Divest Philly from the War Machine -- in addition to the Green Party. Despite the poor weather, the rally in front of the Federal Building was vigorous and finished with a march around the Liberty Bell." 

Other themes supported at these PA events were:

• NO to NATO!
• YES to Peace in Ukraine! and
• More funding for our communities to improve healthcare, improve and expand affordable housing, improve the access to and the quality of education, and save the environment – rather than the bloated war machine. 

The following are some observations that can be made about the STOP U.S. Wars: MLK Week of Actions:

• In the state of New York there were peace actions in the cities of Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse, Albany/Delmar, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Ithaca;
• Across New York City there were four rallies, two rally/march actions, and an action over several days to recognize countries which have already ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; and
• About ten different actions in several cities across Massachusetts.

Some actions focused on specific issues tied to decreasing U.S. militarism such as ending NATO, stopping the involvement of the U.S. and NATO in the war in Ukraine, ending U.S. provocation of China over Taiwan, stopping U.S. weapons and money going to Saudi Arabia to help end the war in Yemen, and stopping the financial and military backing of Israel to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Other actions were broader in focus, identifying several issues the U.S. government would have more money for by cutting military spending and issues it must approach differently to foster peace, such as immigration, ending poverty, Indigenous treaties, reducing gun violence, universal healthcare, sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela and other countries, police brutality/over funding of police, the Green New Deal, and corporate capitalism. Some actions targeted state or federally elected officials with protest letters and petitions to urge them to take actions that promote peace, justice, and cuts to military funding.

Other demonstrations for peace occurred in Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin, Washington and Washington, DC; Berlin, Germany; Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver and Victoria, Canada; and Melbourne and Sidney, Australia.

The need for these protests against militarism, racism, and materialism to vigorously continue was made even more obvious to me when I read the sickening comments by Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, on January 28 with RTP, a Portuguese broadcasting organization. According to RTP, “Rob Bauer insists that NATO is prepared for a direct confrontation with Russia and admits that rearmament is the Alliance’s top priority . . . . Bauer recalled that during the NATO summit in Madrid last year the Alliance decided to establish four additional multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

“Bauer said that NATO countries ought to gear civilian industrial production to the needs of the military and expressed his support for the idea of a ‘war economy in peacetime’ . . . .” In a previous interview Admiral Bauer said that Russia will remain a threat to NATO even if its forces are defeated in Ukraine.

Clearly, we cannot be silent or inactive if we don’t want to be slaves to the war machine.

Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick is a former member of the GPPA Steering Committee and a current delegate to the GPPA State Committee from Delaware County.

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

For more information, please see:

“Take Action for the Sustainable Development Goals,” United Nations, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

“Our Ten Key Values,” Green Party of the U.S.,
https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values

“Peace and Disarmament,” Platform, Green Party U.S., I. Democracy, D. Foreign Policy, https://www.gp.org/democracy#demForeignPolicy

“Top NATO official says Alliance ready for direct confrontation with Russia,” Yahoo!News, January 28, 2023, https://news.yahoo.com/top-nato-official-says-alliance-212040555.html

Photo by Rich Gardner from the peace rally on 1/22/23 at the federal building in Philadelphia, PA.

END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, January 23, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected] 

New Leaders Vow to Expand PA Green Party

On January 8, fifty delegates and friends of the PA Green Party State Committee (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) met online to elect their 2023 Steering Committee. The Green Party members present hailed from  Philadelphia and Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Centre, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lebanon, McKean, Monroe, Montgomery, Wayne and Westmoreland Counties.

GPPA Co-chair Jay Ting Walker (Allegheny), who was halfway through a two-year term in office, had proposed a plan to expand the GPPA’s membership and influence. This plan, “GPPA 2023 Goals,” was adopted by the party in November 2022, and will be implemented by the newly elected Steering Committee. It calls for organizing well-functioning Green Parties in ten PA counties.

In explaining his plan, Walker said, “My intention is for the Steering Committee to be focused on implementing the 2023 Goals. With our 2023 Goals, county delegates to the GPPA state committee will focus on a return to the basics of organizing. We will build up our county parties so that we can better act on the issues we care about, while supporting Green Party candidates around the Commonwealth."

In explaining his role in implementing GPPA 2023 Goals, Joseph U. Murray (Berks), the new GPPA Secretary said, “As Secretary my role will be to keep all steering committee members fully informed of all meetings, minutes for each meeting and documenting team leaders reports for the State Committee and party membership. I will also assist the co-chair and team leaders in our goal work as needed.”

Two of the three newly-elected Steering Committee Members at Large explained their roles: 

Theron Gilliland Jr. (Allegheny) said, “For years the GPPA could boast of an incredible Communications Team, and the time is ripe to revitalize the other Teams in support of the county parties across the state. The new Steering Committee has considerable enthusiasm to tackle these challenges, and I personally hope to focus my energies on the Core and Greenwave Teams."

James E. Rasmussen (Beaver) said, “It’s important to keep moving GPPA forward and while activism remains core to our mission, we also have to build our voting base to win elections. I believe the GPPA 2023 Goals will begin that process and look forward to working with Jay Walker and other party members to achieve them.”

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information, please see:

 “2023 GPPA Goals,” Green Party Statement, November 11, 2022,
https://www.gpofpa.org/2023_green_party_of_pa_goals

“PA Green Party Elects 2022 Steering Committee,” GPPA News Release, January 14, 2022, https://www.gpofpa.org/pa_green_party_elects_2022_steering_committee

“Introducing the New Leaders of PA’s Green Party” by Beth Scroggin and Tina Olson. GPPA News Release, January 19, 2021,
https://www.gpofpa.org/introducing_the_new_leaders_of_pa_s_green_party 

“PA Green Party Elects New Co-chair,” GPPA News Release, January 20, 2019, https://www.gpofpa.org/pa_green_party_elects_new_co_chair 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 19, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Organization Turns Passion into Action

By Beth Scroggin, Green Party of Chester County

After serving on the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org) Steering Committee for over five years, I am taking a step back and allowing room for new leadership to step forth. I officially joined the Green Party in 2016, founding the Green Party of Chester County after seeing my efforts in the Bernie Sanders campaign sabotaged by establishment Democrats. Since Ralph Nader's presidential run in 2000, I had considered the Green Party to be the "cool party" and decided to devote my energy for politics to a party where my efforts may actually make a difference. 

Although I was at first hesitant to lead a county party with my only prior experience serving as a "worker bee" on the Bernie Sanders campaign, I quickly found many like-minded individuals at my county local meetings, which were held at the home of a generous elderly couple who always provided us with snacks and refreshing "down-with-the-man" sentiments. 

After attending the GPPA state meeting in Harrisburg in January 2017, I felt particularly inspired as Cheri Honkala announced her run in a special election for PA House District 197. I gladly walked along the streets of Kensington under multiple layers of warm clothing, canvassing for a woman who had been fighting for social and economic justice since I had been in preschool. That same year, my good friend Nate Craig ran as a Green for mayor of Phoenixville and earned an impressive 10% of the vote as a first-time candidate! Those of us who worked on his campaign had little or no prior experience in politics, but what we lacked in experience, we made up for with passion and a willingness to support an inspiring candidate. At the end of that year, I ran for GPPA Steering Committee Member-at-Large, and I was elected.

Just six weeks later, at the January 2018 State Committee meeting, I was elected Secretary of the GPPA. What I learned in my time as Secretary is that organization and record-keeping are absolutely critical to an organization's success. People need to know when meetings are being held, what topics are covered, what happened at meetings that they missed, and who is responsible for which roles. Organization is probably my greatest strength, and I was proud to put that strength to use in such a meaningful role. Organization helps turn passion into action!

In January 2021, I was elected Co-Chair of the GPPA. I was more hesitant than ever taking on this role, as our party membership had shrunk considerably during the pandemic. While I pride myself on my organizational skills, I have never considered myself an inspirational "idea-person," a quality I had admired about previous Co-Chairs. Thankfully, I had wonderful fellow Co-Chairs Tina Olson (2021) and Jay Ting Walker (2022), both of whom embodied co-chair qualities quite well!

What I have learned in my five years on the GPPA Steering Committee is that passion and commitment to shared values are essential for overcoming obstacles. As a small party which refuses to accept corporate funding, we are at a disadvantage in a country that allows endless corporate influence in politics. Well-funded politicians and corporations masquerading as special-interest groups would love to see us fail. Commitment to what unites us (Our Four Pillars -- Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice/Equal Opportunity, and Nonviolence) and turning that passion into action is what will make us successful. 

To all current and future members of the Green Party, I ask you to consider what your strengths are, and how you can put those strengths to use in our party. Be honest with yourself and others about how much time you can devote to our cause, and then commit to devoting that time. A proverb in many traditions says, “Many hands make light work.”� Take pride in what you can and do offer, but don't pressure yourself into committing to more than you can deliver. Consider quality over quantity when working as an activist.

An unfortunate setback that I have seen within the Green Party (more at the national level than at the state level, although it does appear at the state level from time to time) is people wasting their time with stubbornness. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Consider what is really important. We want the planet to continue to be habitable for ourselves and future generations. We absolutely must regain the power over our lives that corporations are stealing at an accelerating pace. On these principles I hope every Green would agree. There is room for compromise in most other places. Let's not cut off our noses to spite our faces. We can accomplish great things when we focus on what unites us and work toward common goals.

Although I am stepping back from the GPPA Steering Committee to focus more on my family, my career, and self-care, I do still plan to keep my county local party active. I also still plan to attend state meetings, because they are genuinely a fun place to be. No one inspires me more than my Green friends. I wish everyone reading this all the best in this new year. Let's make it a productive one!

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

For more information, please see:

Four Pillars, Green Party of the U.S.,https://www.gp.org/the_four_pillars 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 12, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Green Party Will Solve Hunger in PA

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) meeting in Harrisburg on June 11, 2022, decided by consensus to find solutions for bread and butter issues. One important issue is food insecurity, defined as inadequate caloric intake or access to the proper food.

More than ten percent of the U.S. is experiencing food insecurity. People of color are twice as likely to have issues with food. The numbers in 2019 were: Blacks - 19.1%, Hispanic – 15.6%, and Whites – 7.9%. Looking at education, neighbors with no high school diploma were at 27%.

 “During 2020 there were 1,772,340 of our PA neighbors living with food insecurity (including 537,080 children),” warns Chris Robinson (Philadelphia), a GPPA delegate. “The average PA food insecurity rate was more than 13 percent (childhood rate more than 20 percent), according to the most recent statistics from the PA Department of Agriculture.”

The following 49 PA counties have food insecurity higher than or equal to the U.S. average of 10 percent:

Cameron, Fayette, Forest and Philadelphia have more than 14 percent;

Blair, Cambria, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, McKean, and Potter Counties have more than 13 percent;

Armstrong, Crawford, Erie, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, Mifflin, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Tioga, and Venango have more than 12 percent;

Beaver, Bedford, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Fulton, Somerset, Susquehanna, Warren and Wayne have more than 11 percent; and

Allegheny, Elk, Juniata, Lehigh, Montour, Snyder, Union, Washington, Westmoreland, and Wyoming have more than 10 percent.

Fortunately, the Green Party has some policies which will relieve food insecurity. One solution is to eliminate factory farming, a type of farming in which animals are raised in large groups to be harvested in factories. One-half of all grain is used to feed the animals in factory farms.

A second Green Party solution would be to eliminate as much food waste as possible. These are two fixes which could be done right away, but it is also important to look at food insecurity in more detail. Access to clean water is also part and parcel of the problem.

The U.S. is the largest exporter of food in the world, and yet it has 13.7 million people who are hungry. It is now time to put the Green Party on the ballot.

[Thanks to Bill Jones (Allegheny), who did much of the research for “Green Party Can Solve Hunger in PA.”]

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

MEDIA ALERT

Thursday, December 22, 2022

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

PA Green Party Endorses STOP U.S. Wars: MLK Week of Actions

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org) Steering Committee has endorsed STOP U.S. Wars: MLK Week of Actions, which will take place from January 13 through January 22, 2023. This nation-wide MLK Week of Actions was called for by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC). The week will include a variety of actions from demonstrations to teach-ins, banner drops to chalk-ins, street meetings to webinars.

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so correctly reminded us, the U.S. is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.  Since WWII, the U.S. has initiated more than 60 military interventions in foreign countries. The U.S. is now in direct confrontation in Ukraine with Russia, another nuclear power.  As Dr. King said on April 4, 1967, “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world: my own government. I cannot be silent.” 

In addition, the Green Party is encouraging its county Green Parties in PA to organize and to participate in peace events during the STOP U.S. Wars: MLK Week of Actions. For more information, please contact Chris Robinson, GPPA Communication Team, at [email protected].

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.  

For more information:

United National Antiwar Coalition, https://unac.notowar.net/martin-luther-king-jr-week-of-actions/

Popular Resistance, https://popularresistance.org/stop-us-wars-mlk-week-of-actions-jan-13-22-2023/

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Michael Bagdes-Canning

for

PA Lieutenant Governor

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Contact Person: Michael Bagdes-Canning

724-431-8560, [email protected]  

PA Green Party Candidate Demands Broadband Internet

By Michael Bagdes-Canning, Green Party candidate for PA Lt. Governor

In early August, Christina “PK” DiGiulio for PA Governor and I earned our places on the 2022 General Election ballot. I am thrilled by the support we received from some of our fellow Greens and others who wanted a real choice in November. Our volunteers averaged around 100 signatures. Now that we are on the ballot, I hope we can enlist some of that energy for the next phase, building county Green Party organizations. 

Just think of the local issues for which the Green Party has solutions. There are many local issues in your county, which could be approached by your local Green Party. Here is one, which affects where I live in Butler County.

Last year, my local grandchildren, like many other children across PA – and their parents and grandparents -- were introduced to a new concept: remote learning. Obviously, this came with some social costs and a learning curve for all of us. On many days, my two grandkids came to our home, while their parents were at work. It was during these times that it dawned on me that there was something seriously wrong with our internet service.

In our area; we have “high speed internet.” This means that we are served by a copper direct service line. Copper is old and slow technology. What this lousy service meant was our two grandkids could not do remote schooling at the same time, or the system would bog down. Then they would lose connection with their teachers. It also meant that my wife, Karen, and I had to forego meetings and other internet-based things during school hours.

As I said, we are pretty well off for our district. There were some students (and their caregivers) who had to drive to the school parking lot to access their remote schooling, because they did not have access to internet or cell service. This is a horrible solution.

According to the Census Bureau, up to 20% of Pennsylvania households do not have access to broadband internet. However, folks living in rural areas and black and Hispanic families, and households earning less than $30,000 are disproportionately impacted, less likely to have access to basic internet service. The lack of broadband internet access has, among other consequences, social, medical, and economic ramifications.

I believe that internet service is the equivalent of what roadways, telephones, water, sewerage, and electricity were for prior generations. Students and businesses that are lacking infrastructure, suffer consequences that lead to unequal outcomes. We must do better.

When I am elected Lt. Governor of PA, I will see that PA publicly funds last-mile installation of fiber optic cable to underserved areas. PA should also reclassify the internet as a Title II communications service. This designation will allow the FCC to protect consumers against abuses by service providers, prevent unfair data caps and shut-offs, ensure network reliability, and affordability. PA should also remove barriers to competition -- including incentivizing public options. The digital divide is real and bridging it is an important step to revitalizing areas on the wrong side of the digital tracks.

As the focus of this campaign shifts, we’ll be looking for places to get our message out. We’re willing to go anywhere. If you would like to organize a backyard gathering, a campus event, a table at a local street fair, or anything else that we can attend, let us know. We will also respond promptly to media requests.

To join the DiGiulio Campaign for PA Governor and the Bagdes-Canning Campaign for PA Lt. Governor, please sign up here, https://www.greenslate2022.com/volunteer. To contribute to their Campaign, please visit, https://www.greenslate2022.com/donate. 

For more information:
“Broadband Internet access should be open to bidding, not simply the current choice between cable or telephone company monopolies, where grassroots Internet service providers must merge or go out of business. Broadband access should be a taxpayer-funded utility, like water and sewer, ending the "digital divide" that keeps low-income folks from access to the Internet.”
Platform, Green Party of the US, IV. Economic Justice & Sustainability, L. Advanced Technology and Defense Conversion, Paragraph 8, https://www.gp.org/economic_justice_and_sustainability_2016 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) held its state-wide delegates meeting on September 10 in Belefonte, PA. There were 25 delegates and visitors participating live and almost as many via Zoom. The Keynote Address was given by Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for President of the U.S. (2020) and candidate for Governor of New York (2022, 2018, 2014 and 2010).

By Howie Hawkins, GPPA Keynote Speaker on September 10

GPPA Co-Chair Jay Walker asked me to come here and to talk about whatever I think will rally the Green Party of PA. So, I will give you some suggestions for party organizing and then about policy.

My Main Point: Don’t be Discouraged.

The Green Party has always had internal fights and periods of low membership. For instance in the 1990s we had the GPUSA split with the ASGP. Then in the 2000s, we had the split between the Cobb and Nader factions.

When Ralph Nader ran for President as the Green Party candidate in 2000, we got 2,900,000 votes. Four years later, our candidate David Cobb got 120,000 votes. Gradually, this was rebuilt until our candidate Jill Stein received 1,500,000 votes in 2016. In 2020, I was your candidate, but I could not get on the ballot in 21 states – including Pennsylvania. I received 405,000 votes.

Still, it is our job to rebuild the Green Party membership and to build the vote for our candidates.

Fill the Vacuum on the Left.

Republicans are not just a conservative party. They have become an extremist, far-right, racist and authoritarian party -- a fascist party. The Democrats are a party of the corporate establishment with a program of neoliberal austerity at home and economic and militaristic imperialism abroad. Progressive Democrats make their party look better than it is, but they have little power.

Democrats don’t fight the fascists. They adapt to them. Biden is still seeking bipartisanship with the party that tried -- and is still trying -- to overthrow his 2020 election. The Democrats failed with their top issue, the For the People Act (HR 1), for voting rights. It wasn’t a priority for the Democrats. Biden and Schumer never made lifting the filibuster a priority or a public issue. The Washington Post kept score. There were about 10 Democratic Senators who really didn’t want to change the filibuster. So they gave the Republicans a veto. That’s not how to fight fascists.

Meanwhile, we know from public opinion polling that Green Party positions are 60%+ majority positions: Medicare for All; Green New Deal; Tax the Rich; Raise the Minimum Wage; and Tuition-free Public College. Sooner or later, there will be a surge of support for our policies and candidates.

Organize to Take in the Surge.

Social movements explode with little warning. Remember Occupy and George Floyd/Black Lives Matter? Social change comes in leaps, not a gradual linear accumulation of reforms.

So we have to be organized and ready to take in people when that surge comes. That means our local and state parties need to be well-organized and well-resourced so we can respond to people who come to us. We need to expand our base beyond the usual suspects who respond to our Facebook events.

Our county locals should be canvassing year round. Deep canvassing, not drive-by election canvassing. Deep canvassing, or relational organizing, where we talk with people one-on-one, usually on doorsteps (but also tabling or street corner leafleting) where we listen instead of preach.

We have found this to be the most persuasive form of political communication. First, we build relationships and trust, and then we can debate policy. Don’t despair if it seems we are small. Build the organization capacity so we are ready when mass movements arise.

Hawkins went on to answer questions and to discuss policy like fair ballot access, proportional representation, ecosocialist green new deal, economic bill of rights, and the war in Ukraine.

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook and Twitter.

For More Information:

“Strategic Plan,” Green Party of the U.S.

https://www.gp.org/strategic_plan

For Immediate Release

Sunday, September 4, 2022

Contact Person: Chris Robinson

267-977-0570, [email protected]  

PA Green Party Candidates, Unions Can Build Working Class Unity

On Labor Day 2022, Green Party candidates for PA Governor and Lt. Governor recognized the importance of organized labor in moving forward our Commonwealth. Green Party candidate for PA Governor, Christina "PK" DiGiulio (Chester County) said, “I am inspired to see a new generation of workers forming labor unions to elevate and protect their workforce.”

DiGiulio said she liked the statement made by her counterpart Paul Glover, who received 27,792 votes as a Green for PA Governor in 2018. At the time, Glover had said, “As I see it, unions should demand greater ownership, not just greater wages. This means ownership of factories and banks and farms. As we build such labor institutions, workers will escape middle class treadmills . . . .  These ultimate unions will empower workers as owners of co-operative enterprises whose purpose is to meet basic needs while replenishing the earth.”

Green Party candidate Michael Bagdes-Canning (Butler) for PA Lt. Governor, expanded upon this thought, saying, “Our economy is set up to keep us fighting against each other rather than for each other. The same forces keeping us as wage slaves are also destroying the very climate we depend on for survival, pitting us against each other – using race, gender, immigration status, and our zip codes to divide us. When we in the working class unite, that will all change.”

“That’s what inspired me about the history of our labor movement,” continued Bagdes-Canning. “Workers organizing in unions changed the face of the workplace and beyond. Those workers organized across the differences that divided them and brought workers together to fight for radical change.”

The Green Party Platform says, “The Green Party supports the irreducible right of working people, without hindrance, to form a union and to bargain collectively with their employer. This right was guaranteed under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. We support the right of workers, without penalty, to inform other workers on the premises of a union being formed. This includes advertising and recruiting.”

To join the DiGiulio Campaign for PA Governor and the Bagdes-Canning Campaign for PA Lt. Governor, please sign up here, https://www.greenslate2022.com/volunteer. To contribute to their Campaign, please visit, https://www.greenslate2022.com/donate. 

For more information, please see:
Green Party Platform, GPUS, II Social Justice, G. Labor; https://www.gp.org/social_justice/#sjLabor 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM 

Richard L. Weiss

for

U.S. Senate from PA

For Immediate Release

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Contact Person: Chris Robinson
267-977-0570, [email protected] 

U.S. Senate from PA, Vote Green Party – Not the Same Old Story 

By Richard L. Weiss, Green Party Candidate for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania

In the November General Election, you will see my name listed as the Green Party Candidate for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania. This is why you should vote for me.

First, End Cancer Causing Fracking

I believe that fracking is ruining the water and health of Pennsylvania. The latest UN report on climate change predicts heat waves, drought, famine and rising sea levels which the UN Secretary General says “puts us firmly on track towards an unlivable world” and which underscores the need to immediately make all efforts to stop emissions of greenhouse gasses. This can be accomplished through a "just transition" to renewable energy that provides jobs, and does not cause cancer like fracking and burning fossil fuels.

Pennsylvania is at a crossroads. The technology exists today. All we need to do is implement it. Fossil fuels provide fewer jobs, which are temporary, produce more expensive energy, leave behind environmental disasters and cause cancer. Renewable energy provides more and permanent jobs, produces cheaper energy, preserves the environment and doesn't cause cancer. Cancer is a high tax to pay. If you think the fires, droughts and floods we have seen so far around the world are bad, we haven’t seen anything yet from climate change.

As your U.S. Senator, I will work to end fracking and invest in a just transition to renewable energy as soon as possible.

Second, Universal Health Care

The pandemic shows no sign of slowing down let alone stopping. Recent research shows that 1 in 8 Covid cases (including mild cases) results in lasting symptoms post infection. These Long Covid symptoms may be debilitating and of possibly lifetime duration. In the media we see talk of a labor shortage and claims that people don’t want to work. There is no talk of the millions who are currently unable to work because they are either disabled by Covid or caring for someone who was disabled by Covid. Covid affects all organs and blood vessels, causing problems with kidneys, liver, pancreas, thyroid, brain as well as micro-clots and high blood pressure, which is why we are seeing strokes and heart attacks skyrocketing in all age groups. Post Covid there is increased risk of psychotic disorder, cognitive deficit, dementia, and epilepsy. Covid infects the cells of the pancreas that make insulin, resulting in record new onset diabetes cases. A case of Covid may age cells in the body 10 or 20 years.

Contrary to popular belief, past infection does not provide protection against future infection. In fact, the opposite. Covid weakens the immune system, making reinfection more likely, as well as increasing susceptibility to infections of all kinds and making latent infections active again. This is why we are seeing many infections spreading in addition to Covid, including monkeypox and now polio. Monkeypox spreads the same way as chickenpox. When I was little we did not have a varicella chickenpox vaccine. Everyone (~90%) got chickenpox. We do not want to do this with monkeypox, which has a higher case fatality rate than Covid.

Regardless of your position on vaccine mandates and masks, indoor air quality standards requiring CO2 levels to be maintained below 700 parts per million (ppm) would greatly reduce transmission. CO2 is a marker for the amount of air recently exhaled by others. For reference, a CO2 level of 800 ppm indicates 1% of the air in an indoor space was already exhaled and is being rebreathed. There are also HEPA filters and UV methods that remove or kill viral particles.

Furthermore we could have hours of operation for those who want masking. For instance, the hours of 6:00 am to 12:00 pm could be made mask-only at supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, and other essential services. We could have mask-only buses and mask-optional buses. The same with flights.

The Covid pandemic underlines the need for universal healthcare. Many who lose their job cannot afford to maintain their health insurance. In the modern gig economy, many do not receive health insurance through their employer. They may face the choice of paying for rent or healthcare, but not both. Current health insurance has too many deductibles, co-pays and limitations on coverage. Employers who provide healthcare will benefit from Medicare for All by having costs reduced. Employers who do not provide healthcare will benefit from Medicare for All by having healthier workers. Medicare for All costs less for better care.

Third, Negotiate Peace

I believe we need to negotiate peace in Ukraine, revoke the AUMF, reduce overseas bases to pre-9/11 levels, bring troops home and spend that money at home. Climate change is the greatest national security threat. Engage with China on an equal basis to reduce tensions. Stop funding terrorists and pass the Stop Arming Terrorists Bill proposed by Tulsi Gabbard. Freedom of contract is a fundamental Constitutional right including the right not to purchase, i.e. boycott. Create a Palestinian state. End U.S. support for the war in Yemen. Free Julian Assange, who only reported facts, and prosecute the perpetrators of the war crimes he revealed.

Fourth, Protect Civil Liberties, Reduce Crime, Save Taxpayer Money

Reproductive rights are in the Green Party platform, https://www.gp.org/social_justice/. My personal position on abortion can be found here:  http://ivoterguide.com/candidate?elecK=778&raceK=11199&canK=56347&

End civil asset forfeiture, the drug war, over-criminalization, pre-textual stops, excessive force, qualified immunity, mandatory minimums, the death penalty, the Patriot Act, FISA 702, secret watch lists, NDAA indefinite detention, and cash bail. Stop caging kids. Legalize cannabis and expunge prior records. Enact sensible gun laws.

Develop police standards of conduct. Put body cameras at all times on both officers and anyone arrested. All training and equipment should be devoted to taking suspects alive, and a death considered a failure. Our system of justice is based on the principle that it is better to let a guilty person go free than to convict an innocent one. Let us develop a system of policing based on that principle. I would rather take a bullet than shoot an innocent person.

If You Want Something Different, Vote for Something Different.  

Richard L. Weiss is a native of southwestern Pennsylvania where he grew up working in his family’s bakery business. He has worked as an attorney for the federal government at the U.S. Agency for International Development, and privately overseas. Weiss has worked on financing for the largest geothermal power plant in Indonesia in Sarulla on Sumatra Island. He earned a J.D. at the University of Denver and was a Ford Foundation Fellow in Public International Law at American University in Washington, DC. In addition, he has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. 

You may volunteer to get Richard L. Weiss on the ballot here, https://www.greenslate2022.com/volunteer.  You may follow Richard’s campaign here, Twitter: @RichardLWeiss. 

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, August 18, 2022

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected] 

PA Green Party Calls for Community Based Economics

By Treasurer Joseph U. Murray, Green Party of Berks County

Housing, food and utilities are the basics for a human life. Yet in a nation with a $25 trillion economy, homelessness, hunger and poverty are steadily increasing as a recent letter from Habitat for Humanity stated: “17% of children in your home state of PA are living in poverty . . . . Secure housing provides a pathway to financial stability, safety for children and a healthy environment in which whole families can thrive.”

I paraphrased Habitat’s letter. They referred to home ownership, but the same applies to safe, affordable decent rental housing. The Green Party Platform warns, “State governments continue to weaken or preempt local rent control laws, while landlords who violate housing code requirements by failing to keep their property in habitable condition, are often tolerated or given lenient penalties. Housing discrimination also remains rampant against people of color, immigrants, disabled, single people, gays and lesbians, and families with children.” .

All those reading this should know their take home pay and their monthly living costs. This article focuses on housing costs, their skyrocketing level, and why you can never get ahead. The following figures are from a Zillow analysis in August to September 2021 and are for the Philadelphia Housing Market cited by a SOFI report:

Median monthly mortgage cost: $1,595
Median Studio Rent: $762
Median one-bedroom rent: $805 
Median two- bedroom rent $971
Median three- bedroom rent: $$1,085
Median four-bedroom rent: $1,155
Median gross rent: $951

Average utility costs in Pennsylvania: $ 353
Average grocery and food costs in Pennsylvania $278 per person per month.

These figures were before inflation took off in 2022 and rents, mortgage interest rates and food costs shot up so that all workers wage gains were wiped out and their actual earnings were driven down.

Behind this lies record profits for the oil and gas industries and cash flows for the private equity firms that snapped up foreclosed homes after the Wall Street-caused financial crash of 2008. Since that time those same financial corporations have been buying rental housing from small landlords in hot markets and jacking up rents while evicting rent-subsidized tenants to maximize investment returns.

It makes basic sense that stable housing in a community with all the essential basic services available and affordable make for a stable society in which gun violence records are not set daily. Why this isn’t the case is very clear and open, our society exists to serve the maximizing of profits and wealth concentration for those who control the assets, production, commodities, and property of PA.

This system is fully supported by the Democratic and Republican Parties which are the political franchise of the Wall Street powers. They will tell you it’s the best system for the majority and those who don’t benefit from it are at fault. This is a well proven lie by our own history, by the results of the GI Bill and VA mortgages which were established after WW II veterans fought politically for them here at home.

The Green Party has a different vision of how our society should work. Compare our existing system to this Green Party Key Value:

COMMUNITY BASED ECONOMICS

“[The Green Party supports] redesigning our work structures to encourage employee ownership and workplace democracy. We support developing new economic activities and institutions that allow us to use technology in ways that are humane, freeing, ecological and responsive and accountable to communities. We support establishing a basic form of economic security open to all. We call for moving the narrow “job ethic” to new definitions of work, jobs and income in a cooperative and democratic economy. We support restructuring our patterns of income distribution to reflect the wealth created by those outside the formal monetary economy – those who take responsibility for parenting, housekeeping, home gardens, community volunteer work and the like. We support restricting the size and concentrated power of corporations without discouraging superior efficiency or technological innovation.

The Green Party Platform calls for renter/tenant’s rights, publicly elected local rent control boards, promotion of affordable housing policy as a national priority, and vigorous enforcement of fair housing laws. The focus of Green Party values is community, humanity and the Earth that sustains all life. If we continue with the present system of politics and economics you will witness human civilization devour itself and the Earth leaving only the mocking cries of scavengers as our legacy of existence.  .

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email [email protected].  Please follow GPPA on social media:   Facebook and Twitter.

For More Information:
“Our Ten Key Values,” Green Party of the US, https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values 

“Green Party Platform,” Green Party of the US; Section II. Social Justice Paragraph K. Housing and Homelessness; https://www.gp.org/social_justice/#sjHousing 

END ITEM      ***  END ITEM      ***  END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saturday, August 6, 2022

CONTACT: 

Garret Wassermann, Green Wave Team Leader

[email protected]   

and

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected] 

PA Greens File Nomination Petitions to Put Fracking, Healthcare, More on the Ballot

On Monday, August 1, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) filed more than 500 petitions containing thousands of signatures from registered voters from across the state to qualify five candidates for ballot access in the November 2022 general election. This will put critical issues like fracking, climate change, healthcare, criminal justice modernization, corruption in government, and voting reforms on the ballot, giving voters a starkly different political vision than offered by Republicans and Democrats.

The Green Party candidates include Christina "PK" DiGiulio for PA Governor, Michael Bagdes-Canning for PA Lieutenant Governor, Richard L. Weiss for U.S. Senator, Jay Ting Walker for PA Representative District 23, and Queonia "Zarah" Livingston for PA Representative District 32.

These Green Party candidates call for a statewide ban on fracking; a just transition for workers and families to a renewable energy green economy to address climate change; a single-payer healthcare system that protects and expands abortion rights; decriminalization of cannabis and an end to cash bail; a gift ban to address legislative corruption; ranked choice voting and proportional representation for fair elections that end gerrymandering and better reflect constituencies; and more. More information about the candidates and the full GPPA platform is available at www.greenslate2022.com.

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email [email protected].  Please follow GPPA on social media:   Facebook and Twitter.

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

When my candidacy for PA Lt. Governor was endorsed by the Green Party of PA (GPPA), I was excited to have the opportunity to relate to the movement for change on a different level. Over the last 40 years, I had become deeply involved with the movement to end fracking and to stop climate change. There were all kinds of struggles going on around me, but these movements were happening in silos. There was energy for change, but no one was doing the analysis or encouraging folks to turn up for the other’s events.

Michael Bagdes-Canning for PA Lieutenant Governor
www.facebook.com/michael.bagdescanning

For Immediate Release
July 27, 2022

Contact Person:
Michael Bagdes-Canning, [email protected]

It sometimes seems to me that things are impossibly broken. The climate fight seems lost. The Supreme Court has rolled back protections for women, the environment, and voting rights. We’re in yet another war. It seems that there is a mass shooting every week. Our prisons are filled. We are faced with a housing crisis, a crisis at our border, and the pandemic still rolls on. There seems to be no way out of this, and many have given up.

I’m reminded of a Bob Dylan song (Copyright ©1989 by Special Rider Music):

Everything Is Broken

Broken lines, broken strings,
Broken threads, broken springs,
Broken idols, broken heads,
People sleeping in broken beds
Ain't no use jiving
Ain't no use joking
Everything is broken

Recently, I had a conversation with George Lakey, the nonviolence strategist and author of How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning (2018). George is an octogenarian with a wealth of experience in bringing about change. George and I were arrested in 2021 with 11 others in front of a JPMorgan Chase Bank headquarters in Wilmington, DE, demanding that Chase stop financing fossil fuel projects.

I asked George about our “brokenness.” Is it too late to do anything? George reminded me that times like these are ripe for change. He reminded me of the 1930s and the 1960s. They were both times of great upheaval, violence, repression, and war, but also times that changed the U.S. fundamentally.

What was it about those times? People were organizing across issues, thinking strategically, being relentless, escalating, demanding justice.

Broken bottles, broken plates,
Broken switches, broken gates,
Broken dishes, broken parts,
Streets are filled with broken hearts
Broken words never meant to be spoken,
Everything is broken

While organizing to stop fracking and climate change, one of the epiphanies I had occurred when I was working with folks in the struggle against mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining in WV. One of their organizers said, “You know, we’re fighting the same monster, it just has many heads.” When I looked around, I noticed that not only were fracking, climate, and MTR related, but the monster also had its dirty hands in crushing unions, destroying local economies, pitting people against people in another region. Once I saw that, I knew that the monster was also pitting us against each other.

Seem like every time you stop and turn around
Something else just hit the ground

Somewhere along the line, I looked up and saw that there were all kinds of resistance right in my own community. There were folks trying to save our local hospital. There were folks looking to pass an anti-discrimination ordinance. There was a group trying to rebuild the local farm economy. There was another group pushing back against attempts to close a long-term care facility. There were folks decrying racism, embracing Black Lives Matter.

Broken cutters, broken saws,
Broken buckles, broken laws,
Broken bodies, broken bones,
Broken voices on broken phones
Take a deep breath, feel like you're chokin',
Everything is broken

Running for PA Lt. Governor has given me another way to bring many movements together. I’ve come to believe that just showing up for each other is not enough. It is important for us each to see where our struggles intersect. We also have to overcome the divisions that artificially keep us apart. We have to come to know each other. I’ve seen this play out. My friends in the Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC) have done an amazing job of building the Green Party but also making connections with front-line struggles. GPOAC consistently shows up, and they get to know people who oppose injustice. They have helped build bridges between groups. They are a great example of what building strength looks like.

Every time you leave and go off someplace
Things fall to pieces in my face

On June 13, I was arrested with 10 others at the PA Capitol. Many of us were climate activists, but there were also a good many from a group which is fighting corruption in Harrisburg. The action we pulled off was a good example of fusion. We are facing the existential threat of catastrophic climate change. Despite having science and public opinion firmly on the side of climate action, our state government is actually taking steps in the wrong direction.

Broken hands on broken ploughs,
Broken treaties, broken vows,
Broken pipes, broken tools,
People bending broken rules
Hound dog howling, bull frog croaking,
Everything is broken

We need to build solidarity across fights. We need to recognize that we are often fighting different heads of the same monster. That’s what my run for PA Lt. Governor is all about. I want to build bridges between the many organizations which oppose injustice. There’s lots that is broken. It is now time for us to fix things.

If you would like to join Michael Bagdes-Canning’s campaign for PA Lt. Governor, please contact 724-431-8560 and [email protected]. 

For more information, please see: 

“Nonviolent Direct Action to Stop Climate Change,” Michael Bagdes-Canning for PA Lt. Governor News Release, June 22, 2022, https://www.gpofpa.org/nonviolent_direct_action_to_stop_climate_change 

“This Unjust System Cannot Survive the Storm,”  Michael Bagdes-Canning for PA Lt. Governor News Release, April 23, 2022, https://www.gpofpa.org/this_unjust_system_cannot_survive_the_storm 

Working toward a future where people and planet are valued, and our government represents all of us.

July 2022

A guide to the PA Green Party ticket and some of each candidates’ top issues

By Harrison Cann, City & State PA, May 9, 2022

While most election talks are focused on red versus blue, there’s another color looking to get on the ticket in the Commonwealth: green.

The Green Party has fielded candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senate in a crucial election year in PA. Despite the lack of electoral success for third parties, the Green Party is hopeful it can get its three candidates on the ballot in 2022. The party’s platform stands on four ideals: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom and social justice. The candidates are seeking to be an alternative for apathetic voters tired of the two-party gridlock in Harrisburg and Washington, DC.

Here are the Green Party candidates seeking nomination in the Commonwealth.

CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR: CHRISTINA “PK” DIGIULIO

DiGiulio, 44, a former analytical chemist for the Department of Defense, is the co-founder of the Watchdogs of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Better Path Coalition. From Upper Uwchlan Township in Chester County, she got involved in politics as a vocal opponent of the Mariner East pipeline. City & State spoke with DiGiulio in March when she first began her campaign and received the party’s endorsement. She stressed that outside of environmental concerns, the Green Party is focused on being the voice of the people rather than the voice of the party’s donors.

“It’s time to focus on the people 100%. We need basic human rights. There are people without clean water in 2022 in PA. That’s pretty pathetic,” she said. “I think third parties give people the option of something else, and I really think it’s necessary for getting our political party system straightened out.”

DiGiulio said that regardless of their electoral success, she hopes the Green Party can bring important issues to the forefront that aren’t normally talked about during elections. “If (Green politics) start to become part of the political conversation, I think that’s successful.”

CANDIDATE FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: MICHAEL BAGDES-CANNING

Joining DiGiulio in her run for Harrisburg is Bagdes-Canning, mayor of Cherry Valley Borough in Butler County and a former vice president of the Grove City Education Association. Bagdes-Canning, also a co-founder of the Better Path Coalition, lost his previous attempt to run as a Green Party candidate for state representative in the 64th legislative district. Unlike DiGiulio, Bagdes-Canning has been involved in politics for decades. He started out on the Cherry Valley Borough Council in 1989 after one local council member died in a car accident. And more recently, he took over the role as mayor following the previous mayor dying due to COVID-19 complications. And having worked with DiGiulio in the past, he said he’s thrilled to campaign with her now.

He said his time in local politics revealed how many people avoid talking about difficult issues. “When a community can talk about silly or mundane stuff, but can’t talk about someone's voice … that tells me something about the state of our communities.” He added that local government plays an important role that’s often overlooked by the media, and that his focus would be on issues affecting people’s bottom line.

“That’s a sad thing … local governments are drying up, and even we have a tough time having enough people for a quorum,” he said. “The issues close to home don’t get enough attention.”

CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE: RICHARD L. WEISS, ESQ

Richard L. Weiss is a lawyer from Allegheny County who previously ran unsuccessful Green campaigns for attorney general and the Court of Common Pleas in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas special election, he received more than 41,000 votes but failed to pick up one of the 11 open seats. As an attorney, he says he supports criminal justice reforms such as ending cash bail, decriminalizing drug use and sex work, and establishing citizens’ police review boards.

WHAT’S NEXT

With the Green Party’s statewide slate set, candidates are looking to ensure their spot as minor political party nominees in November. . . . Their work is cut out for them to meet signature requirements to get on the ballot. In order to secure a spot on the ballot in the general election, each candidate must obtain 5,000 valid signatures by August 1. read more...

PA Green News

Edited by Chris Robinson

Look at What Happens to Mothers in PA

 By Christina "PK"� DiGiulio, Green Party candidate for PA Governor

For women, it may seem as though our society is becoming more regressive and undemocratic. Because women have never had an equitable role in decision making, we have had to deal with the patriarchy. Now, more than ever, is time for women to step into our power.

The experience of being a woman is unique, and our voices must be heard while running for office. Women need things which are not being talked about from a feminine perspective in Harrisburg: universal healthcare -- including reproductive rights; equal pay for equal work; quality education for children; and freedom from fear of poverty, homelessness and hunger. I know that there are a lot of us who are well aware of how the patriarchy and the duopoly have treated us inequitably.

Healthy communities require healthy families.

Just look at what happens to mothers in PA. Right now, women are afraid for their children. Will children be safe at school; will they be safe from the pandemic; will they be safe from violence on the streets? Family work is important and should be paid adequately to achieve economic equity.

We need more women in office, who will say "No" to the fossil fuel companies which are polluting our air, land and water. Right now, Harrisburg is ignoring data about our health. Mothers would never do that!

I am running for Governor of PA to say "No" to the pollution which adversely affects childhood development and fetal health. "No" to contamination which harms our children's education ability. We need more women in office calling for research that improves health -- not research into making harmful corporations more profitable ...read more

PA Climate Convergence Day of Action

Chair Doug Mason, Centre County Green Party, told GREEN STAR, “I was one of ten protesters in the PA House of Representatives chamber in Harrisburg on 6/13. Two tried to unfurl a 20 foot by 30 foot banner that read, ‘You Take Bribes, The World Dies,’ while we all loudly chanted the same slogan repeatedly. Green Party candidate for PA Governor, Christine “PK” DiGiulio, was one of those with the banner during the House session. Me and two others showered the legislators with 203 one-dollar bills (one for each Representative) from the visitors gallery as well. Each bill had a message in marker, such as ‘Climate Action Now’ or ‘Pass the Gift Ban.’ Two were arrested and charged with criminal trespass, while the other eight, including me, were tossed out of the Capitol building and threatened with trespassing charges if we returned to the area. This was the first of a series of actions planned by the newly formed PAC (Pennsylvania Action on Climate). Ten others were arrested for occupying rabidly anti-environmental PA Sen. Gene Yaw’s office, including Green Party candidate for PA Lt Governor Michael Bagdes-Canning.” 

Stop Banking the Bomb

Green Party of Allegheny County Facebook page says, “The weather is always good when you are outside trying to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Yesterday (6/4) we were in Wilkinsburg, PA. We will not end this campaign until PNC Stops Banking the Bomb! ...read more

Campaign Updates

Only Time Will Tell If We Stand The Test of Time

By Chris Robinson

Well, friends, we are down to the wire. I remember when Van Halen sang (1985), "Only time will tell if we stand the test of time." That is exactly where you and the Green Party are right now. Will you help our candidates get on the 2022 General Election ballot? Or will you close the door on them and pretend you cannot hear their cries for help? 

We have three activist candidates running state-wide this year, and they need your help. Please down-load a Green Party nomination paper and ask your friends to sign, https://www.gpofpa.org/2022_petition 
It is now or never, so please do it NOW ! !

Then return the nomination paper to your county Green Party or to GPPA Green Wave, P.O. Box 59524, Philadelphia, PA 19102. 

 ‌National ‌Green‌ ‌News

Edited by Noah Alter

Green Party Calls for Real Systemic Solutions to Violence in Wake of Uvalde Mass Shooting

It is the time that we, as a nation, regardless of political affiliation, come to terms with the fact that we have a serious problem with gun violence. Furthermore, it is time that we realize that thoughts & prayers do not deliver. This may come as a surprise to many, namely those who are unwilling to wake up to reality, but the U.S. ranks second on the list of countries with the highest number of gun deaths. In 2021, 45,011 Americans alone died of gunshot wounds with a total of 692 mass shootings.

"It is necessary to implement strategies guided by research on risk factors that contribute to violence, easy access to healthcare, and community-based programs to support families such as developing and evaluating programs and settings in schools, workplaces, prisons, neighborhoods, clinics, and other relevant contexts to prevent violence," said Green Party of the United States Steering Committee Co-Chair Margaret Elisabeth (Washington). . . .

Unfortunately, under our two-party system, we have become immune to the nightly breaking news, presenting the daily round of gun violence. It is as if we accept this caliber of death as a normal daily occurrence. Sadly, NRA-backed politicians firmly believe that putting more guns on the streets by equipping teachers with a Glock is somehow going to solve the problem, specifically school shootings. Rather, we must heavily fund mental health programs; focus on equipping teachers with highlighters, pencils, and notebooks rather than a Glock; and enforce common sense gun laws. It’s time that we, as a nation, come together to combat needless gun violence.

The Green Party implores all of you to mobilize your friends and neighbors and hold legislators accountable for their unwillingness to prioritize the health and well-being of their constituents. Together, we will prioritize people over profit! ...read here

Global Green News

Edited by Hal Brown

U.N. warns of catastrophic food crises due to war and “climate shocks”

For a fourth consecutive year, East Africa has seen very little rainfall causing severe disruption in food supplies. In this region Somalia is a country that has faced war and poverty for decades, and has reported 448 deaths from malnutrition so far this year.

“Somalia is in danger of entering an unprecedented fifth consecutive failed rainy season, meaning hundreds of thousands of people face the risk of famine. Famine cost the lives of 260,000 Somalis in 2010-2011. This cannot be allowed to happen again in 2022,” said Adam Abdelmoula, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator. ...read more

35th European Green Party Council to address security, climate and social crises

The Greens gathering in Latvia finished with the election of the next party committee. Benedetta de Marte was the newly-elected secretary general of the EGP. De Marte closed with a speech that was crucial to understand her purposes for the future: “Our mission in Europe is to fight against the climate crisis, for feminism, transforming the economy and protecting the law . . . . We have big challenges ahead. We need to listen to them, stay united, and take advantage of the great successes our Greens in government are achieving.” ...read more

G7 countries reach agreement on phase out of coal

On May 26 and 27, the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers held a meeting in Berlin. . . . The meeting was led by the German Federal Minister for the Environment and Consumer Protection, Steffi Lemke, and the German Federal Minister for the Economy and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck (Green Party). . . . Ministers have demanded that the World Bank and other international investors commit to stop financing coal. Moreover they agreed to end financing for any foreign fossil fuel projects at the end of this year.

The declaration also included provisions on transport. The high degree of decarbonization of the road sector will mean, among other things, that sales of electric cars will increase by the end of the decade. However, it was emphasized that the key to substantial change is sustainable transport, i.e. based on a significant and increased role of public transport. ...read more

GPPA Meeting Dates:

All State Web Conferences will be 12 Noon to 4:00pm

Green Party of Pennsylvania, http://www.gpofpa.org/

Christina “PK” DiGiulio
For
Governor of PA

For Release, Thursday, June 2, 2022

For information or interviews, please contact
Chris Robinson, 267-977-0570, [email protected]

Look at What Happens to Mothers in PA

-- By Christina "PK" DiGiulio, Green Party candidate for PA Governor.

For women, it may seem as though our society is becoming more regressive and undemocratic. Because women have never had an equitable role in decision making, we have had to deal with the patriarchy. Now, more than ever, is time for women to step into our power.

The experience of being a woman is unique, and our voices must be heard while running for office. Women need things which are not being talked about from a feminine perspective in Harrisburg: universal healthcare -- including reproductive rights; equal pay for equal work; quality education for children; and freedom from fear of poverty, homelessness and hunger. I know that there are a lot of us who are well aware of how the patriarchy and the duopoly have treated us inequitably.

Healthy communities require healthy families.

Just look at what happens to mothers in Pennsylvania. Right now, women are afraid for their children. Will children be safe at school; will they be safe from the pandemic; will they be safe from violence on the streets? Family work is important and should be paid adequately to achieve economic equity.

We need more women in office, who will say "No" to the fossil fuel companies which are polluting our air, land and water. Right now, Harrisburg is ignoring data about our health. Mothers would never do that!

I am running for Governor of Pennsylvania to say "No" to the pollution which adversely affects childhood development and fetal health. "No" to contamination which harms our children's education ability. We need more women in office calling for research that improves health -- not research into making harmful corporations more profitable.

Society may seem to be going backward at times. In reality, what we are living through is the backlash of those in power who resent the progress in recognition of the rights of women, people of color, disabled people, and children. They fear that our empowerment is their demise when the truth is that with the rising tide, all of our ships are secured.

We need women in office who will make society's foundations stronger by outlawing pollution and making polluters pay for their crimes. This change must bring about an end to the personal attacks on female officials.

I am running for Governor of PA to educate people about what is really going on within the duopoly. We do not need to fight and play their games. We just need to educate people about what is really happening in front of us. It is time for us to rise into our power.

Let's validate voters' experience and ask them to VOTE GREEN PARTY!

Christina “PK” DiGiulio needs your help to get on the ballot for the 2022 General Election. To volunteer, please email [email protected] or telephone (717)-839-2395. You may follow her campaign for Governor of PA on Twitter, @PKforPA; and
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/PKforPA.

For more information:

"Since the beginning of what we call civilization, when men's dominance over women was firmly established, until the present day, our history has been marred with oppression of and brutality to women. The Green Party deplores this system of male domination, known as patriarchy, in all its forms, both subtle and overt -- from oppression, inequality, and discrimination to all forms of violence against women and girls including rape, trafficking, forced sex which is also rape, slavery, prostitution and violence against women within marriage and relationships and in all institutions. The change the world is crying for cannot occur unless women's voices are heard." Green Party Platform, II. Social Justice, A. Civil Rights and Equal Rights, 1.Women's Rights, https://www.gp.org/social_justice#womens-rights   

"We call for social policies to focus on protecting families. The young -- our citizens of tomorrow -- are increasingly at risk. Programs must ensure that children, who are among the most vulnerable members of society, receive basic nutritional, educational, and medical necessities." Green Party Platform, I. Democracy, B. Community, 1. Families and Children, https://www.gp.org/democracy#dem_families

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM 

By Michael Bagdes-Canning, Green Party Candidate for PA Lieutenant Governor

I think our justice system is unjust. Worse, even the injustice is applied unjustly. The poor and disenfranchised are unlikely to get a fair shake.

Michael Bagdes-Canning for PA Lieutenant Governor

For Immediate Release
Monday, April 23, 2022

Contact:
Michael Bagdes-Canning, [email protected]

Moral philosopher John Rawls wrote in his Theory of Justice (1971), "Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others."

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit in a courtroom, where injustice was prevalent. I was there to support a friend who had participated in an action around an environmental issue. However, before we got to her case, we sat through several others. In every instance, the people on trial were poor, addicted, black, or a combination. In each case, the defendants were victims of a system that is stacked against them, that treats them as less, that had criminalized poverty. A woman in prison, unable to pay a fine imposed when she was deep in her addiction, a young unemployed man incapable of paying even a small amount required to set up a payment plan. What kind of justice is it to further impoverish the already impoverished, to kick an addict rather than treat them?

Our courts are packed with people accused of crimes of poverty -- crimes that people commit because they are impoverished. I’m in no way praising our injustice system, but I will note that the judge did treat the defendants with some dignity. He also showed some compassion for them. Not enough, but some.

My friend is not impoverished in a way that is easily recognized; she is a woman of perceived privilege. Make no mistake, though, she, like most of us, will not have the privilege of escaping the ravages of catastrophic climate change, her generation and ones that follow will deal with the dire consequences of our criminal neglect of this issue. She is already facing an uncertain future, one far less predictable, and less prosperous, than the one that I grew up in.

She was in court because she had been charged with harassment -- she hung a scary Halloween zombie ghost on the fence of a corporate executive of an ecocidal fossil fuel company. Oh my! The executive of a company, which is harassing present and future generations with the prospect of extinction, felt threatened by a zombie ghost. Shades of Ebenezer Scrooge! The Ghost of Christmas Present: "Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die?"

Harassment is a silly charge. How about measured self-defense?

She, too, was a victim of our injustice system. Because she dared speak out against an eco-criminal, she had to appear in court, take off time from work, and travel to court. She was required to be there by 1:30. If she missed her court date, she would be guilty by default and fined. Not that her trial started at 1:30.

Defendants are expected to be there, but the court will get to you when it gets to you. In my experience, defendants like my friends are often last. I once sat in a courtroom all afternoon only to be told at the end of the day that I was “no papered,” – meaning there was no paperwork – the prosecutor either lost or, more likely, had no intention of arguing my case. Yet, I spent the entire afternoon in a courtroom, assured my case was coming up “soon.”

Around 2:30, my friend was the only defendant left in the courtroom. She was called to the bench and informed that the officer who was to testify against her was not going to make it. In a just system, she would have been innocent by default -- her accuser didn’t even bother to show up. But, no, her trial would be rescheduled. Another missed day of work, another commute to the courthouse, and more time sitting. Again, I have seen this over and over. I once traveled all the way to Harrisburg only to have the police come up missing. Last autumn, I drove over six hours to Wilmington, DE, where I had to book a room -- only to have the trial rescheduled because the police could not make it. These are not accidents!

In our system, we are told that we are presumed to be innocent until convicted. Yet, we are “fined”ťif we choose to fight against injustice. My friend missed work (and pay), she had costs associated with travel, and she gave up precious life energy. Yet, she still awaits her day in court, her chance at justice. And she will be fined, yet again. Even if she is found innocent, our justice system is unjust.

The Green Party seeks a just system, and as the next Lieutenant Governor of PA, I plan to work for the necessary reforms. As Matthew Stover writes in Shatterpoint (2004), "Jedi fight for civilization, because only civilization creates peace. We fight for justice because justice is the fundamental bedrock of civilization: an unjust civilization is built upon sand. It does not long survive a storm.”

If you would like to join Michael Bagdes-Canning’s campaign for PA Lt. Governor, please contact [email protected].

Green Party of Pennsylvania

News Release

For release: Thursday, April 28, 2022

For more information please contact 

Chris Robinson, 267-977-0570, [email protected]

Green Party Enlisting PA Volunteers

Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) Co-Chair Beth Scroggin told voters at the end of March, “The Green Party has an excellent slate of candidates running for office this year, but we need your help to get them on the ballot.  Whether you’re a seasoned petitioner or have never carried a clipboard before, we would be so grateful for you to join us this year in helping our candidates achieve ballot access and get into office, where they can start making the changes we so desperately need!”

Scroggin was talking about Richard L. Weiss, Esq. (Allegheny County) who is running for U.S. Senate from PA, Christina “PK” DiGiulio (Chester County) who is making a bid for PA Governor, and Michael Bagdes-Canning (Butler County) who is campaigning to be PA Lt. Governor. These three activists support renewable energy, single-payer healthcare, a just transition to a new economy, and an end to corruption in Harrisburg. Plus, they are ready to take on all candidates from the two corporate parties, if they have your support. 

Chris Robinson (Philadelphia), leader of GPPA’s communication team, made a good point when he said, “Great candidates are only as good as their supporters. Interested voters, who are disgusted with the two corporate parties, will have to volunteer if they want an alternative on the ballot. This will not happen by magic! It will take hundreds of volunteers petitioning in every city and borough to have Green Party candidates nominated for the November 2022 General Election.”

“Right now, gathering signatures on the Green Party petitions to nominate state-wide candidates is a great opportunity for new activists,” said GPPA Steering Committee Member Beth Schongar (Allegheny County).  

“First, it will give them a great opening to talk to people about the Green Party and progressive politics,” said Schongar. “Volunteers will be asking voters to help us get candidates on the ballot and increase everyone’s choices on Election Day. Most voters are glad to help and interested to find out that the Green Party is real and active. It can lead to interesting conversations and recruit new members.”

“Second,” continued Schongar, “getting enough nomination signatures to put us on the ballot will give Green Party candidates the opportunity to join debates, particularly with the League of Women Voters. It will also allow our candidates to issue news releases and join other forums to share Green Party views. When our candidates present Green Party policies, it helps people realize that the Green Party is the future. Petitioning and campaigning are our opportunities to make our views known and increase participation. Let’s make the best of it by getting out and collecting signatures on the Green Party’s nominating petitions!” 

Joining the Green Party effort is quick and easy, just leave your contact information via email [email protected] or telephone 717-839-2395. The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, ttps://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

For more information:
“Announcing the Green Party of PA 2022 Candidates” by Co-chair Beth Scroggin, GPPA news release, March 21, 2022, https://www.gpofpa.org/announcing_the_green_party_of_pa_2022_candidates 

“Sign up here to receive instructions on securing a 2022 Green Party Nomination Petition,” GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/2022_petition  

END ITEM              END ITEM            END ITEM 

My whole political outlook has changed since 2014, when I was called by a distraught parent about a fracked-gas well on fire near Summit Elementary in the Butler School District. As it turns out, the well wasn't on fire, it was flaring. That was still alarming. Flaring wells are emitters of all sorts of toxins, and this one was dangerously close to the school.

I went around the neighborhood knocking on doors to find out what the neighbors thought, what they were saying. A woman standing by her mailbox told me, "I've lived here for 42 years. We all get along, but we don't talk about the tough things." After a few more minutes, I turned to walk away, and she called after me, "What can we do? They're so big, and we're so small.

Michael Bagdes-Canning for PA Lieutenant Governor

For Immediate Release
Monday, April 18, 2022

Contact Person:
Michael Bagdes-Canning, 724-431-8560, [email protected]

That neighborhood had lost all semblance of community. Neighbors knew each other. They waved to each other. They said hello, but they didn't talk about the tough things. So, when poisons were released from a gas well near the school -- putting children, teachers and staff in harm's way -- the neighbors didn't talk about it. We had lost our community.

This brings me to the current race for PA Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and U.S. Senator from PA. When I agreed to become a Green Party candidate, I was told that the plan was to build the Green Party base so that, moving into next year, we have more activists who can be a force in local races in places we haven't been before.

I am a politician, and I am campaigning to be Lt. Governor of PA. I am a retired teacher. I used to run a class of 20 students or less. They were delinquent boys. So that is like working with Democrats and Republicans, only my delinquents were more likable. I have held elected office since 1989. I am now the Mayor of a Cherry Valley Borough, but let's put that in context. There are 54 residents of Cherry Valley, and 39 registered voters.

My running mate for PA Governor, Christina "PK" DiGiulio, is a chemist who has never held elected office and who has certainly never run an organization approaching the size of the Commonwealth of PA. PK and I do not have experts sitting in the wings to coach us. What we have are proven ideas and people power.

Call me crazy, but I didn't sign up to be a real candidate. I signed up to be an unsettling force. The Green Party is not going to win in a system designed to make SURE we don't win. I have to embrace that. The Green Party has serious points to make, serious critiques of the political and economic system. I want to have fun doing that. I want to run a guerilla campaign -- playing to our strengths, avoiding fights we can't win. Using the resources we have and not getting bogged down trying to make do.

What you have in "PK" and me are disruptors. In our own ways, we are pretty good at shaking up the status quo. I'm not making a joke of the Green Party or of elections. I'm talking about exposing the rank hypocrisy of the two corporate parties and about how they betray working people. I'm also talking about acknowledging the obvious – this is not a campaign that is going to get the most votes. So let's have some fun. That's what I want to do.

Grassroots Democracy, one of the Green Party's 10 Key Values, means participation. None of us should be lifting more than their fair share. Our candidates are not "sages on the stages." They are the face of us! We should all be accountable, and we should all get our hands dirty. Personal and Global Responsibility is another Green Party Key Value. We, personally and as a party, need to reflect our commitment to making this Commonwealth a better place. If the Green Party is going to be a force, we have to build our community. We all need to play our role, to take ownership.

What can you do now to help us grow the Green Party infrastructure? Obviously, "PK" and I need your help in gathering voters' signatures on our nomination petitions. Also, if we are going to get the word out, we need places to go, people to talk with. We need social media. We need creative people to come up with disruptive things we can do. We need people to develop messaging. We need money. We need all sorts of things about which you can teach me.

The end of the story I started with is a testament to organizing. About three months after I had met with the distraught parent, I went to a Cherry Valley Township Supervisors meeting. They were considering a permit for a compressor station. The mother who had called me about the well fire had spent weeks organizing opposition. The meeting was packed with residents who opposed the compressor station. Many got up to speak. Toward the end, an elderly woman got up and "talked about the tough things." When she finished, she turned, looked at me, and nodded. The Supervisors rejected the permit application.

If you would like to join Michael Bagdes-Canning's campaign for PA Lt. Governor, please contact 724-431-8560, [email protected]

For more information:

"Our Ten Key Values," Green Party of the U.S.,
https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values

"'End the War on Drugs' says Green Party Candidate for PA Lt. Governor," Michael Bagdes-Canning news release, April 2, 2022,
https://www.gpofpa.org/_end_the_war_on_drugs_says_green_party_candidate_for_pa_lt_governor

"BREAKING: Green Party Candidate Announces Bid For PA Lieutenant Governor," Michael Bagdes-Canning news release, March 9, 2022,
https://www.gpofpa.org/michael_bagdes_canning_for_pa_lieutenant_governor

Join us for a brief interview and get to know Pennsylvania Native and Lock Haven University alumni, Christina "PK" DiGiulio. Learn about what made her get involve and what motivated her to public service. PK was interviewed by State Party Chair, Beth Scroggin in early March of 2022. 

Follow her on Twitter @PKforPA 

Help us secure ballot access in Pennsylvania  ... 

Sign a petition by starting here. 

https://www.gpofpa.org/2022_petition

Christina “PK” DiGiulio
For
Governor of PA

For Release, Monday, April 4, 2022

Michael Bagdes-Canning

for

PA Lieutenant Governor

For Immediate Release

Saturday, April 2, 2022

Contact Person: Michael Bagdes-Canning

724-431-8560, [email protected] 

Today, Michael Bagdes-Canning, the Green Party candidate for Lt. Governor of PA, has called for an end to the War On Drugs. In a conversation at his home in Cherry Valley, PA, Bagdes-Canning told voters:

The War on Drugs is more than 50 years old, and it is America’s longest war. Like other wars, it has diverted trillions of dollars from our communities, militarized our police departments, claimed thousands of lives, decimated communities, and, largely, been waged in poor and working-class neighborhoods.

Like other wars before it, the War on Drugs was built on a series of policy lies and decisions that perpetuated white supremacy, racism, and xenophobia. It was racist in intent and implementation.  As demonstrated in numerous studies, our criminal justice system has been weaponized against communities of color, with far reaching consequences for their residents. The War on Drugs has created suffering on an unimaginable scale, with no discernible benefit. Despite the trillions of dollars spent, drug overdose rates have exploded – from 6.1 per 100,000 in 1999 to 21.6 in 2021.

What would I advocate? Well, I like the recommendations found in the Green Party Platform:

First of all, PA should adopt a system of treatment rather than incarceration, similar to Portugal. We should redirect funds presently budgeted for the War on Drugs toward research, education, prevention, and treatment. Treatment and legalization have a track record which shows just how shameful the half-century long War on Drugs has been.

Second, PA should legalize possession, sale, and cultivation of cannabis/marijuana.

Third, PA should grant amnesty and release from confinement without any further parole or probation, those who have been incarcerated for the use, sale, or cultivation of marijuana, and who otherwise are without convictions for victim-oriented crimes. Provide the option for drug treatment to those leaving confinement. All felony charges related to convictions for marijuana possession should be stricken from a person’s record.

Fourth, Congress should amend the Controlled Substances Act to reflect that drug use, in itself, is not a crime, and that persons living in the U.S. who are arrested for using drugs should not be incarcerated with those who have committed victim-oriented crimes.

Fifth, PA should reform our criminal justice system, acknowledging that it has, for centuries, been used as a tool of oppression. Therefore, we should invest in the communities that have been ravaged in this unjust war.

If the War on Drugs were an actual armed conflict, the generals would have been fired and the war called off. The War on Drugs was misguided from its beginning. We’ve lost this war. It’s time to declare a peace, time to rebuild communities.

If you would like to join Michael Bagdes-Canning’s campaign for PA Lt. Governor, please contact 724-431-8560, [email protected]. 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania

For release: Saturday, March 19, 2022

For more information please contact 

Chris Robinson, 267-977-0570, [email protected]

Green Party of PA Publishes “Eliminating Fossil Fuel Pipelines So We Have A Healthy Future”

On March 19, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) published a new monograph, “Eliminating Fossil Fuel Pipelines So We Have A Healthy Future” by Jocolyn Bowser-Bostic. This publication explores the various environmental problems associated with fossil fuel pipelines and the resulting health consequences. 

This free ebook offers a highly visual perspective, using photos from citizens affected by local pipelines and fracking sites in and around PA. You may read “Eliminating Fossil Fuel Pipelines So We Have A Healthy Future” by visiting, www.gpofpa.org/pipelines or https://www.gpofpa.org/an_essay_against_fossil_fuel_pipelines. 

Christina "PK" DiGiulio (Chester County), the GPPA candidate for Governor of PA, said, "As someone who lives in a community impacted by the petrochemical industry -- in particular the Mariner East Pipeline Project -- I am grateful for the Green Party and Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick for putting the work into and publishing this document. The photographs will be extremely useful for organizers who want to convince their neighbors of the harmful effects of pipelines.”

Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor of PA Michael Bagdes-Canning testified, “As someone who lives in the shale-fields of PA, where the gas that fills Mariner East Pipeline is extracted, I can’t thank Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick enough for this document. Neither the Republicans, who deny the science, nor the Democrats, who ignore the science, are fit to lead us into the future. There is no sane reason to frack, crack, transmit, ship, or burn methane.”

That is not the end of the methane madness. Arianne Elinich of Bucks County Concerned Citizens Against the Pipelines (a PA resident directly impacted by the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline Project) shares Bagdes-Canning’s concerns. “From the harmful health and well-water impacts of fracking to the perpetual public safety risks of pipeline infrastructure, fracked gas is a ‘Bridge Fuel to Nowhere,’” said Elinich. “Folks are beginning to understand that fossil fuels are old school and that it’s essential for our elected officials to prioritize the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of PA over any possible corporate interests, inferred or otherwise. With the ever-growing opposition towards greenfield pipeline projects like PennEast, corporations will continue to look towards the repurposing of infrastructure, as is the case with the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline Project. But these projects in all actuality may very well raise even more significant public safety and environmental concerns as a result of the age, repurposing of, and the new facilities being constructed for such pipeline projects. Moreover, it is clear from the recent defeat of the PennEast Pipeline, that the power of the people is a force that is growing stronger, more constructive and more cohesive with every challenge. Do not doubt that change is possible.”

“I think this will be a quick, easy read for folks looking to digest some information on the fracking problem and how important it is to stop drilling now,” said Co-chair David Ochmanowicz of the Green Party of Bucks County and steering committee member of GPPA. “We are grateful to have had photography contributions from Bucks County Concerned Citizens Against the Pipelines, Kim Fraczek, Christine Pontecorvo and Christina “PK” DiGiulio.” 

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, ttps://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

END ITEM              END ITEM            END ITEM 

Click here to download a free copy

Green Party of Pennsylvania

News Release

For release: Tuesday, March 15, 2022

For more information please contact 

Chris Robinson, 267-977-0570, [email protected]  

Green Party Co-sponsors PA Climate Convergence

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) has become a co-sponsor of the PA Climate Convergence. Meeting virtually on March 13, Green Party delegates, elected by their county locals, voted unanimously to co-sponsor the event in Harrisburg, PA, on the weekend on June 11 – June 13.

GPPA Co-chair Beth Scroggin (Chester County) explained, “We support the Climate Convergence because climate change is the most important issue any of us are facing. If we continue to ignore it, none of the other issues we focus on will matter, because we will all cease to exist. The Green Party has always prioritized the environment, and because our candidates do not accept corporate donations, we are not forced to remain silent on the issue or minimize it."

Hundreds of grass-roots activists from environmental organizations will join together for a weekend of actions, aimed at changing the climate conversation. They are alarmed by the backward stance of the PA General Assembly. Green Party organizer Joe Murray (Berks County) said, “Our government is keeping PA from being part of the solution to our biggest crisis by denying climate change and subsidizing fossil fuel production.”

Green Party Co-chair Jay Ting Walker (Allegheny County) said, “I will be part of the Climate Convergence because the PA General Assembly has been ignoring hazards to communities from fossil fuel production and refusing to train a new generation for jobs in clean, renewable energy.”

Following the vote, Michael Bagdes-Canning, the Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor of PA, said, “I grew up shaped by the prophetic voice of Dr. King. On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King said, ‘We are faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.’ I think it's almost like Dr. King was speaking to us today, because we are faced with an existential crisis. Climate change is serious, and the PA Climate Convergence is an opportunity for people to come together, to plan vigorous and positive action. The fierce urgency of this moment requires it.”

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, ttps://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

For more information, please see: 

PA Climate Convergence, https://www.pennsylvaniaclimateconvergence.org/ 

Emergency Global Green New Deal, Global Climate Convergence,
https://globalclimateconvergence.org/about/what-we-are-calling-for/ 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Michael Bagdes-Canning

for

PA Lieutenant Governor

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Contact Person: Michael Bagdes-Canning

724-431-8560, [email protected] 

BREAKING: Green Party Candidate Announces Bid For Lieutenant Governor

Michael Bagdes-Canning announced that he will seek the nomination of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.

Bagdes-Canning is a husband, father, and grandfather living in Cherry Valley Borough, Butler County, where he has held elected office for 33 years. He is currently Mayor. He is a retired teacher. Bagdes-Canning spent almost 36 years in the classroom, the last 29 teaching delinquent and dependent boys. He was a union member throughout his working life, serving as president, vice president, and building representative in his local. Since his retirement, Bagdes-Canning has been an organizer in the fracking / climate fight locally, statewide, and on the national level. He serves on the board of several community organizations and is a cofounder of Marcellus Outreach Butler (Butler County), a cofounder of the Better Path Coalition (PA), and works with Beyond Extreme Energy (national).

In the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, scientists said the planet is overheating and that exceeding 1.5 degrees Celcius, which appears likely on the current trajectory, would have devastating effects, from harming food production to further intensifying wildfires.

“After reading the most recent IPCC Report and hearing the totally inadequate response from our local, state, and national leaders to its findings, I could no longer sit by. Using the invasion of Ukraine as a pretext for more drilling, more pipes, and more export facilities is madness,” said Bagdes-Canning. “We can’t afford that kind of misleadership.”

Bagdes-Canning is also running to end corruption. “Our political system isn’t broken. It functions exactly the way the two corporate parties and the 1% want it to. Our government is for sale to the highest bidder.”

Bagdes-Canning has called for a gift ban, an end to the per diem, and an end to partisan gerrymandering. “These are highly popular reforms, but neither party has acted on them. Why would they? Both parties collude with the 1% to run things. That’s why politicians serve the people who  bribe them and not the people who elect them.”

Bagdes-Canning said he will work with other Greens seeking office. “Our plans will reflect the interests of the poor and working class of Pennsylvania. I’m thrilled to be running with fighters. The people of Pennsylvania deserve a government that serves them, not the rich.”

If you would like to join Michael Bagdes-Canning’s campaign for PA Lt. Governor, please contact 724-431-8560, [email protected]. 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Christina “PK” Digiulio
For
Governor of PA

For Release, Monday, March 7, 2022

For information or interviews, please contact
Chris Robinson, 267-977-0570, [email protected]

BREAKING: Christina “PK” Digiulio Announces
Campaign for Governor of PA

Christina “PK” Digiulio is announcing her candidacy for Governor of PA. She was interviewed by Chris Robinson, leader of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) communication team.

Please tell me, Who are you?

Christina Digiulio: I am an avid lover of nature, a water protector and Pennsylvania resident near Marsh Creek Lake. I have a BA from Lock Haven University and am a former analytical chemist for the Department of Defense. I am a co-founder of the Watchdogs of SouthEastern Pennsylvania (WaSEPA) and the Better Path Coalition, and I have been actively opposed to Energy Transfer’s Mariner East pipeline system and the fossil fuel industry.

Why are you running for Governor of PA?

Christina Digiulio: I have been listening to the current batch of candidates, who have announced their campaigns from the two corporate parties. It is striking that none of them have mentioned their opposition to the way our constitutional rights are being violated. Under the Constitution of our Commonwealth, we have "a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment." 

Currently, our rights are being ignored, and we need a governor who will not be a pushover for polluters and profits. Allegheny County needs clean air, the Poconos need clean water, and citizens living downwind from landfills, compressor stations, and nuclear power plants need an end to constant toxicity and low-level radiation. There are ongoing, adverse health impacts from all these types of pollution.

The culture of corruption has had a harmful impact on our ability to solve these health problems. When the other candidates for PA Governor accept money from corporations, it is not surprising that they then overlook what is happening in our neighborhoods.

The fossil fuel infrastructure in PA has become a hazard to human health and to the natural environment around us. It has become a sinister system, which is protected by venal politicians.

Why are you requesting the endorsement of the Green Party for your candidacy for Governor of PA?

Christina Digiulio: I agree with the Green Party’s Ten Key Values. I especially like that the Green Party first called for a ban on fracking for gas in 2008, when it was instituted by a Democratic Governor in PA. The Green Party provides a contrast with the gubernatorial candidates from the two corporate parties, who have remained silent about our fossil fuel problems.

I also agree with the Green Party’s stand on liberating people from the confines of heteronormativity, which impacts the LGBTQIA+ community and all of our society.    

I hope that my candidacy for Governor of PA will build the membership of the Green Party and assist other Green Party candidates to make their mark on the electoral globe.

For more information, please contact Chris Robinson, 267-977-0570 and [email protected]. 

For more information, please see:

Constitution of the Commonwealth of PA, Paragraph 27, Natural Resources and the Public Estate, https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=00&div=0&chpt=1&sctn=27&subsctn=0 

Ten Key Values, Green Party of the U.S., https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM 

* edited for accuracy 3/12/22 

Watch the interview 

Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, February , 2022

CONTACT:

GPPA Communication Team

Chris Robinson, 267-977-0570 and [email protected]

Stop Banking the Bomb Promoted by PA Green Party 

Stop Banking The Bomb (SBTB) is a Pittsburgh-based campaign targeting PNC Bank for its illegal investment in nuclear weapons. In total, PNC has invested 1.6 billion dollars ($1,600,000,000!) in eight nuclear weapon manufacturers. Nuclear weapons have been banned under international law since January 2021.

The SBTB coalition has more than two dozen organizations as members, including the Green Party of Allegheny County and the Green Party of Butler/Venango Counties. SBTB demands that PNC Bank immediately sell all of its assets invested in nuclear weapon manufacturers and make a binding commitment to never again invest in weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

"Our SBTB movement to reduce the threat of nuclear war by targeting PNC's billions invested in nukes was never about any particular activist group or political affiliation,” explained lead SBTB organizer Rev. Fr. Paul Dordal, co-director of the Christian Alliance for Peace. “We always saw this life or death issue as a means to join all people of goodwill to struggle together for humanity, for our environment, for our planet's very existence. That is why over twenty-five groups in Pittsburgh and nationally have dropped their differences and banded together to make peace a real possibility."

“The Green Party has been a proud member of SBTB,” said Chris Robinson, leader of the Green Party’s communication team, “because PNC Bank’s investment in nuclear weapons is evil. Green Party members stand for nonviolence as one of our Four Green Pillars, and we do not want our savings deposits used as an investment in death and destruction.”  

Stop Banking The Bomb regularly has rallies, die-ins, marches, and other events to put public pressure on PNC Bank. They held a recent teach-in on January 25 to educate people about their movement, the role and history of nuclear weapons, what PNC Bank does as a company, and the international treaties banning nuclear weapons. For information about their next event, please contact them at [email protected] or visit the SBTB Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/StopBankingtheBomb.  

This report was written by Vice Chair Riley Mahon, Green Party of Allegheny County (GPAOC, https://www.alleghenygreens.org/). The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

As the Allegheny County Health Department attempts to improve the county's air quality, environmentalists say enough isn't being done and communication between them and the department is lacking.

"While we have made some progress, Allegheny County residents still suffer unhealthy air quality far too often for officials to take a victory lap," Patrick Campbell, the executive director for the Group Against Smog and Pollution, said during the Board of Health meeting last Wednesday.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
January 10, 2022
By Hallie Lauer

During that meeting, Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen briefly addressed the newly enacted Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode Rule, an addition to the county's air pollution control regulations, to note that all 16 regulated facilities had submitted their air pollution mitigation plans.

The rule was officially approved in September by the Board of Health and Allegheny County Council. The 16 facilities had 90 days — until Dec. 26 — to submit their plans that outlined what mitigation strategies they would take on days where the county was under an air quality watch or warning. Although those plans became effective upon their submission, members of the Health Department's air quality team are still reviewing the plans and some of them may require changes, Dr. Bogen said.

But for many residents who tuned into the meeting, this step hasn't been enough.

"The regulations that Allegheny County Health Department has brought forth so far are improvements, but they're just small improvements," Matthew Nemeth [North Hills Coordinator for the Green Party of Allegheny County] told the board during public comment. "We need a lot more."

Mr. Nemeth went on to say that he has recently been apartment hunting and has intentionally avoided certain areas of the county because they are known to have worse air quality than others.

"When I looked up the address and saw that it was in West Mifflin, that immediately set off a red flag in my mind … and I know that those neighborhoods are completely polluted with terrible air quality from a lot of the industrial facilities, most notably Clairton Coke Works," Mr. Nemeth said.

Between Jan. 3 and Jan. 8, the SmellPGH app, designed by the Carnegie Mellon CREATE Lab to crowdsource reports from residents, received over 100 reports from residents of "foul odors" in the county.

Many of the reports included comments that described the air as smelling like "rotten eggs" or sulfur. The rotten egg smell is caused by an excess of hydrogen sulfide in the air, an issue the Health Department previously has cited U.S. Steel for at the Clairton Coke Works.

Most recently, the Clairton Coke Works facility was fined $5,500 on Dec. 15 for a leak caused by an equipment breakdown that occurred in August, which released an excess of hydrogen sulfide, along with four other types of pollutants.

"The current way that coke ovens are regulated, by allowing a certain percentage of leaking equipment and allowable seconds of visible emissions, is insufficient to protect public health," Jay Ting Walker, an organizer from Clean Air Council [and co-chair of the Green Party of Pennsylvania], said during Wednesday's meeting. "The Allegheny County Health Department must do much more to adequately address the environmental injustices resulting from allowing preventable air pollution that burdens the health of nearby residents."

The Health Department has issued nine violations to U.S. Steel over the past two years, according to the notice of violation sent in December. Health Department spokesperson Chris Togneri said that the department has been "extremely aggressive" with regard to enforcement and legal action. The Liberty air quality monitor, which is about 2 miles from the coke works, is often cited when people refer to air quality issues, but fine particulate pollution has decreased by 32% over the last 10 years at that monitor, which are "some of the largest decreases in fine particulate pollution anywhere in the country," Mr. Togneri said.

"We are extremely proud that last year, every single air quality monitor in Allegheny County met federal air quality standards for fine particulate pollution for the first time since that monitoring began," Mr. Togneri said. "We have made tremendous progress and have met those standards a year ahead of when modeling predicted that we would because of our proactive approach."

Even with the most recent citation, environmental advocates are looking for more information about the enforcement of regulations and the prevention of these issues.

"There's been no communication about what's causing the exceedances or what's being done to stem them," Mr. Campbell said at Wednesday's meeting. Mr. Campbell then asked the board members to "do all that you can to provide more frequent and substantive updates" about what the Health Department is doing to enforce these regulations and reduce air pollution.

"We are not stopping efforts to improve our air quality, and we are not satisfied," Mr. Togneri said. "We also recognize that we cannot do this alone, as we have said continuously. The Health Department will continue to engage elected officials at the local, state and federal level to ensure comprehensive and workable solutions are advanced for improving air quality in the region. "We will continue to recommend and assist in the development of policy solutions to provide additional tools to the department. We will continue to use the tools that we have, exploring new and innovative ideas that can allow the department to go further in addressing air quality and all of the other myriad of issues that they have been charged by state and federal government to address," he said.

Part of the newly enacted Mon Valley Episode Rule requires the Health Department to alert residents when the county is experiencing bad air quality days. The Health Department awarded nine "mini-grants" to community-based organizations to help residents sign up for the Allegheny Alerts system, where they can receive emails, text messages or calls about the Air Quality Action Days — but some think that isn't enough.

"More widespread and reliable notification for adverse air quality events to the public would greatly help families and at-risk individuals make informed decisions to protect themselves and loved ones on dangerous days," county resident [and Green Party member] Alex Downing said during public comment.

Mr. Downing also noted that even though hydrogen sulfide exceedances don't always trigger an Air Quality Action alert, they "can still be dangerous," and the public should be notified.

Emissions from the Clairton Coke Works rise above the City of Clairton on the evening of Sept. 3, 2021. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki / PublicSource)