[GPCA-SGA-Votes] GPCA Needs and Internal Primaries: SOS No Endorsement

[Erik]

 When one candidate receives the majority of the vote to endorse them...

Erik Rydberg for Secretary of State

and the other candidate receives the majority of the vote to oppose them...

Michael Feinstein for Secretary of State

​and the result is that the Green Party of California endorses no one...
changes must be made.

We are going to grow as a party exponentially. There will be more and more
candidates running for the same seats. This is why I suggest creating an
internal primary system where endorsing more than one candidate is not an
option. Endorsing two candidates for the same office is meaningless... and
not endorsing anyone when you clearly have a candidate that the party is in
favor of is hindering. Now GPCA cannot do anything for either candidate.

75% is too high of a threshold when you have two candidates running for the
same seat. Especially if both candidates are highly liked by the party
which is not the case in this scenario... it was a landslide for one
candidate over the other... but if it was a close race, it would be a much
tighter in percentages and neither candidate would come out with an
endorsement every time.

We need to prepare ourselves for multiple good candidates in the same race
in the future. We need to take back our primaries that were taken from us
by Top Two. We need this internal primary system to be conducted early,
well before the filing date closes. We need to lower our endorsement
threshold so that we never have a "No Endorsement" outcome and we must
never endorse more than one candidate.

If we make these kind of changes we will empower our state party to be
ahead of the game in terms of campaigning for endorsed candidates, in terms
of fundraising for them and in terms of submitting our endorsements to the
California Voter Information Guide on time. We cannot afford to be behind
the curve when we're running against capitalist funded parties.

I hope everyone has paid close attention to who it is among us that fought
these endorsements every step of the way. We have to make bold changes if
we want bold results.

I am very proud that GPCA is going to send a loud signal to Peace and
Freedom Party and all socialist and Corporate Free Independent Candidates
that we will be inclusive and endorse them. It's the least we can do for
Peace and Freedom seeing as they endorsed 5 Greens in comparison the 4
Peace and Freedom candidates we endorsed.

This is a step in the right direction. We have a lot more work left to do.
I couldn't be happier to be doing this work alongside every member of Green
Party CA who wants to grow and build the party. Thank you to every SGA
Delegates that voted for me and to those that didn't you will see in time
that I am here to help grow the party and take our power back rich
capitalists and corporations.

Solidarity

"Dream big, but it's always one step at a time."  - C.T. Lawrence
Butler(Food Not Bombs/Green Committees of Correspondence)
​


-- 

*Erik Rydberg *

*Green Party of California(GPCA) Spokesperson*


*erikrydberg34 at gmail.com <erikrydberg34 at gmail.com>530-781-2903*

                cagreens.org
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