One of the most successful Green Party politicians in California and the nation, Ross Mirkarimi, has switched his party affiliation from Green to Democratic. He is a San Francisco City Supervisor and member of the appointed California Coastal Commission. He was the party’s only elected official in San Francisco, and holds the same seat that Matt Gonzalez previously held as a Green.
Mirkarimi is considered a potential candidate for mayor of San Francisco and it has been said that if he ever sought higher office he might abandon the Greens. In January, the San Francisco Bay Guardian reported:
Sup. Ross Mirkarimi — a founding member of the Green Party of California and its last elected official in San Francisco — has also been openly struggling with whether to remain with an organization that doesn’t have much to offer him anymore, particularly as he contemplates a bid for higher office.
And today the Bay Guardian wrote:
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has done what a lot of us have been expecting for months now: He left me a message tonight saying he’s changed his registration from Green to Democrat. I think that’s a recognition that the Green Party isn’t the functional political entity in San Francisco that it once could have been — and that the only way he’s going to get elected to higher office is as a Dem. He’s clearly looking at the mayor’s race, but I think he’s also looking at the state Legislature; if Mark Leno ran for mayor and won, and Assemblymember Tom Ammiano ran for Leno’s Senate seat and won, then the 13th Assembly District seat would be open. Besides, with term limits, Ammiano’s seat will open up pretty soon anyway. And it’s highly unlikely a Green could win that race right now.
H/T to Ballot Access News.
25 responses so far ↓
1 Green Party fan // Mar 11, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Ross,
Thanks for many years of fine service to the Green Party.
We wish you well..
And the Green Party would always welcome you back..
happy trails…
2 Green Party fan // Mar 11, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Of course many others are coming to the Green Party…
especially after last night’s lopsided pro-war, pro waste $1 trillion more tax dollars on foreign wars….That vote last night in the U.S. House of representatives..
was 356 to 65 –according to Politico…
A sin…
The only way to stop this is more Green Party candidates on the ballot..
3 Green Party fan // Mar 11, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Bild newspaper, Germany’s largest circulation daily boulevard national newspaper…
Reporting tonight on Green Party Co-Chairman Juergen Trittin.
Trittin had a sudden and surprising heart attack a month ago. The Green Party leader has spent the last three weeks at a health spa recovering.
Trittin is back in Berlin, and at home relaxing..
He has already scheduled appearances for the last two weeks of the important state elections coming the first week of May in Germany’s largest state, Nordrheinland West Pfahlen.
Latest opinion polls show the Green Party reaching record levels of popularity…
here’s link
http://www.bild.de/BILD/politik/2010/03/12/gruenen-fraktionschef-juergen-trittin/nach-herzinfarkt-aus-reha-zurueck.html
4 Straight .......... from Lake // Mar 11, 2010 at 8:33 pm
3 responses so far ?
* 1 Green Party fan // Mar 11, 2010:
Ross ………. And the Green Party would always welcome you back ……..
* and what gives you the position to say this ????
5 Dennis // Mar 11, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Matt Gonzalez left the GP as well.
It is because they are ineffective, and they peaked in 2000.
6 Ross Levin // Mar 11, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Hopefully they can be rebuilt. This isn’t a hopeful sign, but there are other places outside of San Francisco. Philadelphia, for one, which is where I’m hoping to help build a bit of a Green Party in whatever small way I can.
7 Richard Winger // Mar 11, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Matt Gonzalez only left the Green Party, and only changed to “independent”, because he was intimidated by the Montana Secretary of State’s office, who said they wouldn’t print his name on the ballot in 2008 for vice-president unless he switched. He should have fought it; he and Nader would have won.
8 Straight .......... from Lake // Mar 11, 2010 at 9:51 pm
The Green Party is it’s own worst enemy!
I am sad, very sad, with every non Democan
and non Republicrat as they spiral in to the
Establishment Duopoly ……….
Can I blame [Ross Mirkarimi and Matt
Gonzalez] them — with or with out fakey
dakey comrades like Maine’s Patricia
‘Don’t Vote For Me’ LaMarshe ?????
Not at all …………
9 Third Party Revolution // Mar 11, 2010 at 11:50 pm
He’ll come back. I mean, the Democratic Party won’t be around for long.
10 greenster // Mar 12, 2010 at 12:24 am
Alas. So sad. The only hope the democratic party has is if there is a serious revolution from within AND pressure from without. Right now we have two corporate parties, the pro-choice corporate party and the anti-choice corporate party. Can the dems grow up and lead a democracy? Or will they be just another corporate party? Only time will tell. We’re balanced on the head of a pin right now and I’m worried.
11 Mike Indiana // Mar 12, 2010 at 12:53 am
Third Party Revolution
“He’ll come back. I mean, the Democratic Party won’t be around for long.”
What delusion makes you think the Democratic party is going to be disappearing any time soon?
12 High School Dropout // Mar 12, 2010 at 1:05 am
I agree with Mike, the Democrats wil be around for a long time.
Greenpaartyfan, thanks for your message yesterday on the other thread. I love how you try to make positive comments even in dificult situations. I am much better informed now about the Green Party and Cathlocism. I am also trying to get more educated, because Ive had a rough life but I want to improve.
13 Dennis // Mar 12, 2010 at 9:48 am
Gonzalez would have left anyway, he has said that he doesn’t see the GP as a viable means of political influence anymore.
14 Dave Schwab // Mar 12, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Maybe Ross is planning to pull a surprise switch back to Green if he gets elected as mayor of SF… plenty of elected Greens have switched to Democrat, so it would be a little beach justice in my book…
There are plenty of Greens running for office in CA this year, notably Laura Wells for governor and former Congressman Dan Hamburg for Mendocino County Supervisor. CA Greens are always in need of volunteer help, and 2010 is a ripe year to start rebuilding the party.
15 Michael Cavlan RN // Mar 12, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Dennis and All
Could not agree more. Of course, if we put on a happy, smiley face and do a song and dance on the good ship lolly pop, then everything will be just peachy keen.
You cannot imagine how horrified I am to witness this. When I left the National GP this is precisely what I warned them about.
Oh and this will be the que for Audrey from VA to come in, looking to start an argument. Which I have absolutely no interest in engaging in.
Richard Winger, you do some great work. However, there is far more to Matt Gonzalez leaving the GP than this. Matt left and did NOT join the Democrats, while Ross Mirkarimi did.
like i say, carry on, build, organize a real opposition to the rotten, corrupt, pro-war corporate two party system.
Like we really mean it.
//:-D>——–
16 Lisa // Mar 12, 2010 at 1:56 pm
For a take on the current state of the Green Party of California, listen to this interview with GPCA Spokesperson, Derek Iversen, by host Sonali Kolhatkar on KPFK radio two days ago :http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=12607
17 Straight .......... from Lake // Mar 12, 2010 at 2:32 pm
carry on, build, organize a real opposition to the rotten, corrupt, pro-war corporate two party system. Like we really mean it.
Amen bro amen!
18 Trent Hill // Mar 12, 2010 at 5:20 pm
It is certainly true that the Greens in the US peaked in 2000. However, I think the Greens in SF peaked a tad later, around the time of Gonzales’ mayoral race.
19 Green Party fan // Mar 12, 2010 at 6:02 pm
The Green Party now, more than ever is the great hope, and opportunity for positive change.
We’ll keep offering constructive alternatives…
And are only one magic victory away …a state race, a big local race, a federal race from changing all the pieces on the american political chess board.
By running Green Party candidates year after year after year at all levels, we grow experience, and knowledge about how American politics and government work in reality on all levels.
Each time a Green Party candidate is on the ballot a sprout of grows…
It is the constructive approach…
20 Green Party fan // Mar 12, 2010 at 6:15 pm
High School Dropout…
One of the world’s finest Green Party politician’s ever Joschka Fischer…former Vice Chancellor of Germany under the Green Party led government from 1998 to 2005 was…a..
High School Dropout…
A brilliant natural born politician, spectacular speaker..
Our American Green Party needs you …
21 Green Party fan // Mar 12, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Big Green Party success!!!
Ballot Access News reports tonight…
izona Greens Submit 29,015 Signatures for Party Status
March 12th, 2010
March 11 was the deadline for parties to submit a petition to be recognized in Arizona. This year the state requires 20,449 valid signatures. The Green Party is the only party that turned in a petition. That petition contained 29,015 signatures. UPDATE: the 29,015 figure is an updated and accurate total. When this post was originally put up earlier today, it said 26,000, but that was not accurate.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/12/arizona-greens-submit-approximately-26000-signatures-for-party-status/comment-page-1/#comment-786771
22 Dave Schwab // Mar 15, 2010 at 10:32 am
“It is certainly true that the Greens in the US peaked in 2000. However, I think the Greens in SF peaked a tad later, around the time of Gonzales’ mayoral race.”
By peaked, you seem to mean “got the highest absolute vote for an executive race spanning the whole electorate”. Even by that superficial measure, Greens in many states are doing better than in 2000 and subsequent years.
In short, Trent, I’d expect you of all people to offer something better than MSM-style sound bites on the topic of third party politics.
I think it’s true that the CA Greens have been on a downswing since 2004, but to say the party is dying is premature (on the other hand, it’s not exaggeration to say that the top-two ballot measure would basically kill third parties, and the political insiders and special interests behind top-two know that). Gayle McLaughlin of Richmond became the first Green mayor of a city with pop. over 100,000 in 2006, and in 2008 the CA Greens gained a majority on the town council in Fairfax. CA Greens have some good candidates this year, including an excellent candidate for governor in Laura Wells.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Green Party is showing a level of organization and momentum that no state GP has before.
This is not unfounded optimism, but a realistic perspective based on knowledge of the structural obstacles to third party success. Why is that so hard to find on a website devoted to covering third parties?
23 paulie // Mar 15, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Dave is correct, there are a variety of ways of measuring party success.
24 Reply from Duopoly Central .......... // Mar 15, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Dave Schwab // Mar 15, 2010 at 10:32 am
“It is certainly true that the Greens in the US peaked in 2000 ………”
Lake: How is GPCa and national doing with that 2005 ‘Abused Veterans Working Group’ thing ?????? Citizens For A Better Veteran Home did all the grunt work. All you guys had to do was implement it ………….
How is group cohesion doing with candidates like traitor Patricia ‘Don’t Vote Green’ LaMarche and other non Nader folks ???? Awe inspiring isn’t it (and Perot and Nader are no where perfect!) ………
Ya really think the average Jane and Joe are going to rally ’round such organizations whom display BOTH Cobb & LaMarche and Nader & Camejo photos on house organs ????????
The green icon, the Kansas Sun Flower, indicates a bunch of effeminate gardeners. The green slogan should idealistically be ‘Follow us guys, we are right behind ya!’
25 Reply from Duopoly Central .......... // Mar 15, 2010 at 5:39 pm
paulie // Mar 15, 2010 at 4:33 pm
“Dave is correct, there are a variety of ways of measuring party success ………”
Lake: Oh come on paulie, [No, no I am Spartacus, no, no I am Spartacus] ya mean to tell Citizens For A Better Veterans Home that it is a three way, nose to nose tie for third ?????
Why stop there ????? Like the fitness/ sports/ running icon movie ‘Dipsea’ where a dozen runners cross the finish line together …………
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