Green Party of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, November 20, 2022
CONTACT:
Chris Robinson, Communication Team Leader
Renewal of PA’s Green Party
By Chris Robinson, Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) delegate to Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) State Committee
I was impressed by the way elected delegates to the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) came together on November 13 to accept by consensus a plan to rebuild their party during the coming year. Thirty delegates and friends from 12 PA counties discussed a plan which was drafted by GPPA Co-chair Jay Ting Walker from Allegheny County.
Walker’s plan was called “2023 GPPA Goals,” but it was much more than that. It also included targets for expanding the Green Party’s influence and helping the Green Party impact local and county elections during the coming year.
I asked Walker what motivated him, and he said, “Our 2022 campaigns demonstrated that our state and county parties needed to be strengthened. In 2023 the GPPA is setting out to deepen our organizing around the state by focusing on supporting the continued development of our county parties, by developing our fundraising abilities, and by building on our already strong communications.”
“To accomplish this,” Walker continued, “the State Committee is finalizing 2023 GPPA Goals to make sure that we have benchmarks to hit in continuing to develop our statewide organization. GPPA will also be supporting municipal [and county] candidates around the Commonwealth. The Green Party already has a strong message that prioritizes the environment and working people. By strengthening our organization, we'll be able to deliver our winning message to more people throughout the Commonwealth.”
The main plank in this program will be development of ten well-functioning Green Parties at the county level. At the present time, GPPA has active locals in Allegheny, Berks, Centre, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Montgomery and Wayne Counties and Philadelphia. Over the last few years, previously active Green Parties in Adams, Bucks, Chester and Erie Counties have been allowed to atrophy. 2023 GPPA Goals says, “County parties are our cornerstone. They support our petitioning efforts, our candidates, and our local actions. We need to make sure it's easy to run one and that there's lots of guidance.”
Following the meeting, I asked some of the delegates to the GPPA State Committee what they thought of the 2023 GPPA Goals, and their response was genuinely positive.
Treasurer Joseph U. Murray of the Green Party of Berks County told me, “Large numbers of Americans say they want a choice other than Democrats or Republicans. They do not appear to understand, however, that only they can build that party. Our central task is to drive that understanding home and to show people that Green Party principles and values are the foundation to build on. So yes, we fully agree with and support Jay's 2023 GPPA Goals, and our December local meeting will be devoted to planning our tasks to achieve these goals.”
“On the whole, I do like the goals that Jay made,” Miguel Diaz from Monroe County told me, “and at first glance, many of these goals appear achievable and well-measured. It has specific goals that are also within reason. The boundaries and the definitions for goals need to be clear enough to orient everyone toward a common direction. They need to be big enough so that everyone is excited, and they need to be reasonable enough so that people do not get discouraged. This plan certainly does that.”
“I am so grateful to Jay Ting Walker for articulating goals that are both achievable and essential for the future of GPPA,” Co-chair of GPPAA Beth Scroggin from Chester County told me. “Chester County plans to host quarterly meetings next year, recruiting active members so that we can achieve ballot access for any local candidates in 2023 and state-wide candidates in 2024.”
“We now have a framework to help us forge stronger local Green Parties at the county level,” said Chair Doug Mason of the Centre County Greens. “In central Pennsylvania, these goals will lead to lasting stability and durability.”
As for me, I have requested that the Green Party of Philadelphia place the GPPA 2023 Goals on the agenda for our next general membership meeting. It is time for us to renew the Green Party.
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.
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