Green Party Endorses Michael Bagdes-Canning for Mayor of Cherry Valley, PA
Green Party candidate stops in State College
Green Party candidate stops in State College
PA Green Party Candidate Demands Broadband Internet
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
PA Green Gubernatorial Candidates Say “End Legalized Bribery!”
For Immediate Release
Sunday, August 14, 2022
Contact Person: Chris Robinson
267-977-0570, [email protected]
PA Green Gubernatorial Candidates Say “End Legalized Bribery!”
The Harrisburg Four were arrested inside the PA Capitol on June 13. They appeared in magisterial court on August 9, including Green Party candidate for PA Lt Governor Michael Bagdes-Canning. The Four were in the Capitol, appealing to all 203 members of the PA House of Representatives to support a gift ban. The Gift Ban, HB 1214, is a bill to ban lobbyist gifts to legislators. It has been supported by a number of organizations including March on Harrisburg and the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org).
All of the defendants used a necessity defense and were found not guilty of various charges including criminal trespass. The defendants’ arguments included citing a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which compiled the scientific findings from thousands of studies around the world. The report made a stark case that climate change is accelerating, is caused by human development, and can only be halted by a rapid transition away from fossil fuels and carbon-intensive industry.
"The IPCC lays out the case for urgent action clearly in their recent report on climate change, and we're glad Judge O’Leary agreed," said Bagdes-Canning. "We're calling on all elected officials and candidates this year to pledge to uphold Article 1, Section 27, of the Pennsylvania Constitution demanding that we protect the environment for future generations, instead of taking lobbying gifts – sometimes called 'bribes' -- from fossil fuel companies which are destroying that future."
“From the beginning, March on Harrisburg and Veterans for Peace were with us,” said Bagdes-Canning. “They lent their expertise and helped recruit folks for the action. The Ohio Valley Environmental Resistance and Extinction Rebellion, too, were plugged in, and they brought their skills.”
"I find it disgusting that corruption is effectively legal in PA," said Green Party candidate for PA Governor Christina DiGiulio. "I support the Harrisburg Four's message. When elected PA Governor, I pledge to support a lobbying gift ban and to refuse bribes from lobbyists, especially fossil fuel interests. I promise to fight for a just transition that bans fracking statewide, while making sure no worker or family is left behind."
"I call on all candidates for PA Governor this year to make the same pledge and to declare a climate emergency," DiGiulio added. "Climate action cannot wait. We must act now."
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:
Constitution of the Commonwealth of PA, Article 1, 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
“'Delay means death' - UN climate report urges immediate, drastic action,”
Gift Ban Legislation, PA House Bill 1214 (HB 1214), https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/pn/public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2021&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billnbr=1214&pn=1274
END ITEM *** END ITEM *** END ITEM
PA Green Party candidate: It is time to fix things
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
PA Green Party Candidate on “Boomers & Stickers”
I now see that our legislators decided to favor big farms and to squeeze family farmers. Their choices led to today’s system in which farmers receive just 15 cents of every dollar spent by consumers on food. Many farmers have to get off-farm jobs just to survive, and many more have decided it’s easier to get out of farming or sell the farm. Our current farm policy seems to be designed to prop up the industrial farm and the profit-taking middleman and to drive the little guy out of business. I think this needs to be rethought. Until we can feed ourselves, we can have no homeland security.
The same can be said of our local economies. Towns like Cherry Valley once had thriving local markets. Many people of my generation grew up in homes where a family could function with one income. There were lots of good-paying, family-sustaining jobs. The streets of our cities and towns were lined with local, prosperous businesses. There was never a shortage of folks willing to step up to staff the volunteer fire department or to volunteer at polling places.
Our legislators decided to favor big box stores over local merchants. They gave tax breaks to the superstores and offered them infrastructure they needed to locate outside town. Now, our towns are boarded up, shadows of what they used to be.
Our legislators decided to change labor law to weaken unions. Trade agreements were passed that globalized our economy. States competed with other states to lure businesses away. “Accept lower pay or we’ll move,” our employers told us. The new labor laws left our unions too weak to put up much of a fight as we were pitted against the workers in Arizona, who were pitted against the workers of Mexico, who were pitted against the workers of China -- a race to the bottom which has left middle-class wages flat for decades while corporate profits and wage inequality have exploded.
A single income is no longer enough to get by, so both parents must now work outside the home, shouldering the dual burden of childcare costs and lost time with their sons and daughters. People don’t have time anymore to volunteer at the fire halls, to serve in government, to work the polls, or engage in mutual friendliness.
I could go on and on. In the almost 40 years that I’ve lived in PA, I’ve watched it hemorrhage jobs and young people. It’s time for that to end. Our communities are fractured; many of us don't even know our neighbors, and fewer of us make decisions based on neighborliness because we don’t have the time. Decisions made by our “leaders” have robbed us of community.
Novelist and environmentalist Wallace Stegner (1909 -- 1993) separated Americans into two camps: Boomers and Stickers. Boomers (and here he was not talking about the generation I am part of) are “those who pillage and run” and want “to make a killing and end up on Easy Street.” Stickers are “motivated by affection, by such a love for place and its life that they want to preserve it and remain in it.” When I reflect on my life in Pennsylvania, this rings true.
Our legislators have empowered Boomers and punished Stickers. Rather than rewarding those who cherish their neighbors and the place they live, they have incentivized extraction of wealth – leaving most Pennsylvanians struggling and places like Cherry Valley neglected, impoverished, and shrinking.
For too long our “leaders” have promised us the world, only to sell it to the highest corporate bidder. The corruption of our politicians has been the millstone around the neck of our once thriving working class communities. The jobs we have lost are gone, but the grit and love of place are still here. We Stickers are anxious to build back what is lost.
I can now see that we have the best government money can buy!
In PA, it is COMPLETELY legal for paid lobbyists to “gift” (bribe) our elected representatives with anything: vacations, sports tickets, and -- of course -- endless wining and dining, EVERY SINGLE NIGHT WHEN THE LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION in Harrisburg. Is it any wonder legislators are more responsive to lobbyists than to constituents?
In PA, there are NO limits on the amount of money that a person or entity can give to legislative campaigns. A single person can give tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to a single candidate.
In PA, legislators are reimbursed for their meals and housing while in Harrisburg, but do not have to turn in receipts. It’s called the “per diem.” Anywhere from $177 to $200 per day! Many of them pocket their “per diem” and then dine with lobbyists to avoid spending a cent on food. Some politicians use their campaign accounts as personal slush funds maintained by a steady flow of donations from shady lobbyists.
In fact, some legislators, like Senator Gene Yaw (R-District 23), have outside jobs. This, despite the fact they are paid as full-time legislators with all the perks. And some of those legislators, like Senator Yaw, have jobs that look like gross conflicts of interest. Yaw works for the McCormick Law Firm, which does a fair amount of work with the oil and gas industry, while he chairs the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee which writes laws that directly impact the oil and gas industry.
The lobbyists in Harrisburg, and there is ONE OIL AND GAS LOBBYIST FOR EVERY LEGISLATOR, do not feed and donate to our officials out of the kindness of their heart. They expect something in return.
When elected Lt. Governor in November, with my running mate Christina “PKA” DiGiulio as PA Governor, we will fight for poor and working people. Our sole focus will be on bringing good-paying, family-sustaining jobs back to PA. Instead of looking to bring back 20th century jobs in dying industries, we will push for 21st century jobs that will not leave. The skilled craftspeople that used to work in those dying industries will be employed to manufacture and install solar panels. Our underemployed building trade workers will be employed retrofitting our housing stock, making them less leaky and more self-sufficient.
Pie in the sky? No! It’s a change of priority. Instead of enriching Wall Street, it’s time to invest in Main St. It’s time to empower Stickers and to boot the Boomers. We can create a new generation of high-quality jobs by investing in a Green New Deal that restores the damage done by extractive Boomer industry and prepares our home for the future. It would also provide for an economy where our young people can stay and raise their families.
I believe PA can be a place where every person can live a dignified life: where every person who is able to work can work, where every person can comfortably afford the basic provisions they need to survive, and where we exist harmoniously with the land we live and rely on.
Bagdes-Canning: Let's Expose the Rank Hypocrisy of the Two Corporate Parties
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
Michael Bagdes-Canning for PA Lieutenant Governor
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