Green Party of Minnesota

History

The Minnesota Greens Confederation, founded c. 1990/91, fostered the development of local Green Party organizations in the state. The Green Party of Minnesota was organized in December 1993. It was officially established in February and June 1994 at two founding conventions.[2]

Twin Cities Greens was organized in 1988. The Green Party of St. Paul was established in 1997 to 1998.[2]

The Green Party of Minnesota was founded in 1994 on the Four Pillars of the Green Party: Ecological Wisdom, Social and Economic Justice, Grassroots Democracy, and Nonviolence and Peace.

In the 2000 Presidential Election, Green Party Presidential nominee Ralph Nader and Vice Presidential nominee Winona LaDuke received 5% of the vote in Minnesota, which earned major party status for the Green Party in Minnesota.[3] But in the election of 2004, neither Green Party presidential nominee David Cobb nor any candidate for statewide office received 5% or more, thus losing major party status in the state.[4]

In 2003 Elaine Fleming became the first elected Green mayor in Minnesota. Fleming is mayor of Cass Lake, Minnesota, and was elected mayor for her first term by seven votes. Fleming was elected mayor for a second term as a write-in candidate. As of 2006, Fleming was serving her second and last term as Mayor.

While the party is currently defined as a minor political party, it has had recent success in some city elections, especially in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In 2005, Cam Gordon, a former chair of the Green Party of Minnesota, was elected in Ward 2 to the Minneapolis City Council, winning over DFLer Cara Letofsky in a 51% to 48% vote. Ward 2 is considered one of the most diverse areas of Minneapolis, representing the University of Minnesota Minneapolis Campus and the Cedar-Riverside and Seward neighborhoods. Despite this gain on the council, two Green incumbents on the council, Natalie Johnson Lee (Ward 6) and Dean Zimmermann (Ward 7), were unseated during the 2005 election. Redistricting had pitted both against other council incumbents.

While initially elected as a Democrat in 1986 to the Minneapolis Park Board, Annie Young ran as a Green from her third term on, becoming one of the longest serving Park Board Commissioners in Minneapolis history.[5]

In 2009 Cam Gordon was re-elected to Minneapolis City Council.[6] In 2011 Green Party endorsed Laura Libby was elected to the Section 1 seat of the City Council of Crystal, Minnesota.[7] Cam Gordon was elected to a third term on the Minneapolis City Council in 2013.[8]

In 2014 the Green Party of Minnesota ran former DFL State Representative Andy Dawkins for Attorney General receiving 1.49% of the vote statewide and regaining minor party status.[9]

Despite restrictive Minnesota ballot access laws, volunteers collected three times the required signatures to place Green endorsed Presidential candidate Dr Jill Stein on the ballot in 2016.[10] Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon refused to replace the ballot petitions stand-in Vice Presidential candidate Howie Hawkins with Ajamu Baraka, the only candidate of color in the race, despite no law denying his ability to do so.[11][12] Dr Jill Stein went on to receive 1.26% of the vote statewide – double the Green Presidential vote from 2012 – and again securing minor party status for the Green Party of Minnesota until 2020.[13][14]

Three additional Greens were elected in 2016, including the first elected Green in Ramsey County history – Lena Buggs winning a seat on the Ramsey County Soil & Water District Board unseating the incumbent.[15][16] In Anoka County, Greens Sharon Lemay and Steve Laitinen were both elected to the Anoka County Soil and Water District Board as well.[15][17]

Current elected officials

City councils

  • Cam Gordon, Minneapolis City Council, Ward 2
  • Bryce Lange, Lewiston City Council, At-Large

Boards and commissions

  • Steve Laitinen, Anoka County Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor, District 1
  • Latrisha Vetaw, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Commissioner, At-Large

Ideology

The Green Party of Minnesota follows the ideals of green politics, which are based on the Four Pillars of the Green Party: Ecological wisdom, Social justice, Grassroots democracy and Nonviolence. The "Ten Key Values,"[18] which expand upon the four pillars, are as follows:

  1. Grassroots democracy
  2. Social justice
  3. Ecological wisdom
  4. Nonviolence
  5. Decentralization
  6. Community-based economics
  7. Women's rights
  8. Respect for diversity
  9. Global responsibility
  10. Future focus

The Green Party of Minnesota constitution Article XI Section 2 prohibits donations from corporations or political action committees (PACs).[19] The party's platforms and rhetoric harshly criticize any corporate influence and control over government, media, and society at large.

Platform

The Green Vision of the Green Party Minnesota is as follows:[20]

Green political philosophy is inspired by four basic values: Ecology, Nonviolence, Social and Economic Justice, and Grassroots Democracy. Fundamentally, we believe human beings should understand themselves as part of a living planet, rather than attempting to dominate and exploit it, or each other. We seek to return to our nation’s original ideal government of, by, and for the people by empowering all of our citizens through direct, grassroots democracy.

We envision a world where people can live fulfilled lives by achieving their personal destiny as a contributing member of a living planet.

We envision the revitalization of culture and human interaction that can occur in communities of people living close together who play together, work together, share sorrows and joys together and care about the well-being of their neighbors.

We envision each community applying human-scale technologies in their workplaces and having a diversified base of businesses, which supply many of the product and service needs of that community.

We envision each community having a strong level of control over community affairs and over businesses within its boundaries. We envision national and regional governments which are truly democratically-controlled and which take true leadership in protecting the environment, bringing peace to the world, alleviating human suffering and promoting human development.

Leadership

The party is led by a 17-member coordinating committee which sets the party's long-range goals, budget, and strategy. These decisions are then implemented by an executive committee made of five party co-chairs, each of whom is responsible for one of five portfolios of party business (membership, political affairs, finances, communications, and internal organization). Each portfolio co-chair oversees a number of committees and party functions. While the coordinating and executive committees handle day-to-day operations of the state party, most organizing, activism, and decision-making is decentralized into a number of autonomous local party organizations (or "seedlings") located throughout the state.[19]

GPMN Coordination Committee [21]
  • Brian Mueller – Fundraising Co-Chair
  • Andy Hamerlinck – Politics Co-Chair
  • Kashish Jain
  • Adam Schneider
  • Carol Mellom
  • Chelsea Palmer
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See also

References
  1. "Green officeholders (June 15, 2019)".
  2. Green Party of Minnesota records, Box: 153.I.3.2F, ID: 002963450. St. Paul, MN: Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society.
  3. "Minnesota still Democrat, no longer safe bet". Pioneer Press. Saint Paul. November 8, 2000.
  4. DeFiebre, Conrad (November 9, 2004). "Greens, IP ponder their options after lackluster showing at polls". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
  5. "Minneapolis Park Board's Annie Young demonstrates staying power".
  6. "Not Found – City of Minneapolis". Minneapolismn.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  7. Woodwick, Anna (November 6, 2011). "Crystal City Council Section 1". Sun Post.
  8. "MN Election Results".
  9. "MN Election Results".
  10. Regan, Sheila. "Minnesota's Bernie voters turning Green: Jill Stein courts progressive voters in an uncommonly independent-friendly state".
  11. "Put Ajamu Baraka on the Minnesota Ballot!".
  12. Pugmire, Tim (22 August 2016). "MN ballot will show wrong Green Party veep candidate". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  13. "MN Election Results".
  14. "Office of the State Of Minnesota Secretary of State".
  15. "We Fought Hard – How We Won, How We Fight Now".
  16. "MN Election Results".
  17. "MN Election Results".
  18. "10 Key Values".
  19. "GREEN PARTY OF MINNESOTA CONSTITUTION". Green Party of Minnesota. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  20. "Green Party of Minnesota Platform".
  21. "Our People".

Further reading
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