Green Party Steering Committee Elections Heat Up

Posted by Ronald Hardy at Green Party Watch:

The Steering Committee of the Green Party (US) consists of 7 “co-chairs”, plus a Treasurer and a Secretary. Four of the seven co-chair positions are up for election with 10 days left in the discussion period before a seven day voting period begins.

The debate among the National Committee, which elects the Steering Committee, has been intensifying over the last five days, however the debate has not been about the future direction of the party, but over challenges to two of the nominees qualifications. Steering Committee co-chairs have to be Delegates to the National Committee, but what isn’t clear is whether they have to be Delegates at the time they are nominated, or at the time they are elected.

The intense debate (hundreds of emails) has led to one of the challenged nominees, former presidential candidate kat swift of Texas, to withdraw her name from consideration. kat swift is currently an Alternate Delegate representing the National Women’s Caucus. kat swift ran for the Green Party’s presidential nomination in 2008 and in 2004, was a Green Party candidate for San Antonio City Council in 2007, and was co-chair of the Texas Green Party.

The other nomination being challenged is Nick Mellis, State Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey who is currently an Alternate Delegate representing New Jersey. Nick Mellis was a co-founder of the Green Party of New Jersey in 1995, helped organize the national Campus Greens in 2000, and was a candidate for New Jersey State Assembly in 2007. The Green Party of New Jersey State Council is currently debating a proposal to allow Mellis to switch places with one of their current delegates, however even this attempt is being challenged based on various bylaws and rules for GPUS and the GPNJ.

Also being elected at the same time is the Secretary position. Current Secretary, Holly Hart (IA) is seeking re-election. The other candidate is Audrey Clement (VA), who has been a Green Party member since 2005, a Delegate to the National Committee, and co-chair of the Bylaws, Rules, Policies & Procedures (BRPP) Committee. She was instrumental in securing ballot access in Virginia for Cynthia McKinney in 2008. Although debate on issues has been stifled due to the debate on candidate eligibilities, current Secretary Hart has been taking a lot of heat from the some of the Delegates/Alternates that have been most vocal in challenging the eligibility of Mellis and Swift, claiming that she should not have permitted them to be nominated.

The other six candidates for co-chairs of the GPUS Steering Committee to fill four seats are:

Les Evenchick (Louisiana) – Evenchick joined the Green Party of Louisiana in 2000, and has been a candidate for New Orleans School Board, New Orleans City Council and Louisiana State Rep in 2003 in which he got over 11% of the vote. He has been a Delegate to the National Committee since 2008.

Mike Feinstein (California) – Feinstein was a co-founder of the Green Party of California in 1990, was Mayor of Santa Monica from 2000-2002, and served on the Santa Monica City Council from 1996-2004. Feinstein has been actively involved with Los Angeles County Greens, Green Party of California, and GPUS. He was the founding and managing editor of Green Pages through 2001. He has been involved with the Global Greens over the years and is an obsessive chronicler and producer of Green Party videos.

Farheen Hakeem (Minnesota) – Hakeem is an educator and community organizer in Minneapolis, MN. In 2005 she became the first Green Party candidate for Mayor of Minneapolis and secured 14% of the primary vote. She ran for County Commissioner and got 33% of the vote. Her last campaign was for State Representative, in which she was pressured to run as a Democrat but chose to remain a Green Party candidate. She lost with 4,400 votes.

Jason Nabewaniec (New York) – Nabewaniec in a current co-chair on the Steering Committee, he is running for re-election. He joined the Green Party in 2000, and worked locally with the Green Party of Monroe County (NY) and the Green Party of New York. He has been a Delegate to the National Committee since 2004, and is a former co-chair of the Bylaws, Rules, Policies & Procedures (BRPP) committee.

David Strand (Minnesota) – David Strand of Minnesota is involved with the Lavender Greens Caucus, and is the Lavender Greens Delegate to the National Committee. (Further Biographical information pending)

Jennifer Sullivan (Florida) – Sullivan joined the Green Party in 1996, started the Hernando County Green Party (FL), and is active with the Florida Green Party. She is involved with the intervention against the proposed Levy County Nuclear Plant, has worked as an organizer with the Sierra Club and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and serves on the Hernando County Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) for Transportation. She has been a Delegate to the National Committee since 2008.