[GPCA-SGA-Votes] Imminent CC vote regarding Statewide offices (Healing the CA Green Party from within)

[Jane Jarlsberg]

Dear Coordinating Committee
​ members,​


We are two long-time Green Party members - Carol Bouldin since the GPCA’s
founding ballot drive in 1990-1991 and Jane Jarlsberg since right after
that.  We are both deeply concerned about the internal divisions in our
party - and specifically about a proposal you are considering
​soon ​
at your monthly teleconference
​, which we only learned about by chance when it was posted to SGA email
list.​
​W
e believe
​this proposal ​
will only make it worse by putting us through an unnecessary and divisive
endorsement process over statewide Green candidates
​.

We want to share with you our experience with two Greens both seeking the
same statewide office. Both each came separately to speak to our county
council in San Bernardino County.  One candidate came and spoke positively
about the issues and didn’t mention the other candidate. The other
candidate had little to offer about the issues, but spent most of his time
trashing the other candidate seeking that same office.
​  ​


On one hand, we were shocked to see this direct personal attack at a formal
Green Party meeting. But on the other, it helped us see first-hand what was
behind some of our party's internal divisions - the worst divisions either
of us are aware of as a state party, since we both got involved - and
bringing our party down at exactly the moment we should be taking advantage
of, where so many people seeking an alternative to the Democrats and
Republicans
​!​


Now the Coordinating Committee wants to exaggerate that internal conflict
by putting it to a formal vote by proxy, by having both of those candidates
placed before the Standing General Assembly for endorsement.  To both of
us, such a path is long on divisiveness and short on benefit.

The last thing we need during these next few months is to be spending time
fighting over candidates, when we should simply be campaigning for the
candidates of our choice in order to advance Green issues and build the
Green Party.

Furthermore we don’t believe the state party should be making endorsements
in the primary.  Instead we should leave it to our party’s members to
select among
​ all​
the Greens running for state office.  That is in keeping with our Key Value
of Grassroots Democracy.
​ ​
We also believe that we should allow each candidate to appeal to as many
other voters, without the st
​igma
 of a non-endorsement.

For all of these reasons, we implore you not to make the internal divisions
in our party worse by putting forward a process forcing us to chose among
Greens running for statewide office. If you do that, you will be simply
pitting party members against each other, making things even worse than
they are now.
​ ​
At this time of
​ troubling
 internal divisions, we need leadership from the Coordinating Committee to
find ways
​t​o
 bring us together, not tear
​ u
s apart.

​Sincerely and peacefully,
​
Jane Jarlsberg​
​ and
​
Carol
​A. ​
Bouldin,
Green Party​ of San Bernardino County
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