Green Party of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
CONTACT:
Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader
215-843-4256 and [email protected]
Green Party Leader Finds Blueprint for Organizing in PA 2023 Goals
The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) 2023 Goals were passed at the November 2022 State Meeting. Those goals said, "County parties are our cornerstone. They support our petitioning efforts, our candidates, and our local actions."
Many Green Party leaders acclaimed the GPPA 2023 Goals as long overdue because none could remember the last time there was a strategy for building GPPA. The goals were the work of GPPA Co-Chair Jay Ting Walker (Allegheny), who told the press, “My intention is for the Steering Committee to be focused on implementing the 2023 Goals. With our 2023 Goals, county delegates to the GPPA State Committee will focus on a return to the basics of organizing. We will build up our county parties so that we can better act on the issues we care about, while supporting Green Party candidates around the Commonwealth."
In order to assess the Green Party progress with building the party, Chris Robinson (Philadelphia), GPPA Communication Team co-leader, asked county leaders, “How do you feel about our 2023 Goals?” Robinson explained, “I am trying to get a sense of what we are doing right, and what we still need to work on.”
Robinson received an interesting report from Chair Riley Mahon, Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC), “We are on track to reach all of the goals except for the 500 signatures one. I'll go through the goals one by one here.”
Green Party 2023 Goals in Allegheny County
By Chair Riley Mahon, Green Party of Allegheny County
4 Meetings (Quarterly)
GPOAC meets monthly on the first Tuesday. Our July General Assembly (GA) meeting will be pushed back one week because people have plans on the 4th so we'll have it on 7/11 instead.
1 Local Candidate (for 2023)
GPOAC has three local candidates: Tara Yaney for Edgewood Borough Council; Liv Bennett for County Council District 13; and Carl Redwood for County Council District 10. We officially endorsed Carl on 7/11. GPOAC is also working on getting a candidate or two for Township Auditor, but that's not a sure thing yet.
5 Heavily Involved Members
GPOAC has a seven-person executive committee and a few more people I would describe as "heavily involved" as well.
10 Active Members
I am quite proud that GOAC has around 30 people who will show up to things from time to time, maybe more.
500 Signatures Gathered
We have been very slow to get going on this, but I remain confident that all of our candidates will make it to the ballot.
3 GPPA State Committee watch parties
GPOAC did not have a watch party in June, and I don't remember if we had one in March. This is not a high priority for me personally, but we'll try to have watch parties for the remaining two meetings this year.
1 PA State House Candidate (for 2024)
If I remember correctly, GPOAC has one potential candidate for PA House next year. Also, Richard Weiss has said that he is willing to run for state-wide office, if we need him to. We'll be able to find someone to run a paper campaign even in the worst case scenario.
100% GPPA State Committee Delegation
I'm not sure if this means just having all the spots filled or to actually have a full delegation come to a meeting, but either way, yes, we have done this.
4 Direct Actions Participated In
GPOAC has marched in Pride and tabled at several community events. There is a Post-Gazette picket on 6/30, which I am trying to get people to go to. I don't have a full list off the top of my head of the events we've been to or done, but we've definitely done more than four already in 2023.
Based on Mahon's report, Robinson concluded, "There can be no doubt that the GPPA 2023 Goals have been useful in building the Green Party, especially when county leaders make use of them as a blueprint for organizing.”
The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which 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.
For more Information:
“GPPA 2023 Goals,” Green Party of PA, Statement, December 10, 2022,
https://www.gpofpa.org/2023_green_party_of_pa_goals
“New Leaders Vow to Expand PA Green Party, Green Party of PA, News Release, January 23, 2023,
https://www.gpofpa.org/new_leaders_vow_to_expand_pa_green_party
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