[GPCA-SGA-Votes] Discuss ID 155: Endorsement Policy Amendment: GPCA Endorsements for General Election Candidates

[Thomas Leavitt]

I oppose this. What drew me to the Green Party in 1990 was the idea that to
be a member of the Green Party, you MUST adhere to the Ten Key Values (and
if you did not do so, you could not be an active member), that the Green
Party was a party of principle, that refused to compromise its core values
for the purposes of political advantage. Unlike the Democrats, who bluntly
stated "we would rather be a party of the majority, than a party of
principle" (the individual who said this was later convicted of corruption
and removed from office). Candidates running for office in other parties
are not obligated to abide by Green principles, or to adhere to the Green
Party Platform, and are not accountable to the membership of our party.

We should not be endorsing any candidate not registered as a Green, and
running on the Green Party ticket (unless the office is non-partisan and
the candidate cannot run as a Green). The Green Party of California exists
to promote the Green Party, and to support and promote Green Party
candidates. Our limited resources should be focused on promoting our own
candidates and our own party. If people want access to them, they can seek
our endorsement and run on our ballot line. The logic behind this will
inevitably lead to justifying our endorsement of "progressive Democrats"
who ostensibly refuse contributions from PACs and corporations (while
benefiting from corporate funded Democratic Party resources deployed on
their behalf); more importantly, it will be the functional death of our
party as ambitious individuals seek office as "independents" with the goal
of having their cake (our endorsement) and eating it (not being accountable
to our party once elected); the likely result should such individuals be
elected is affiliation with the Democrats for purely pragmatic reasons (and
as the consequence of extreme peer pressure from fellow electeds). We
already lose enough folks to the Democratic Party as it is. We are not a
political lobby, we do not make general purpose endorsements. Either you're
a Green, or you're something else (and not eligible for our state party's
endorsement).

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt


On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 12:43 PM, GPCA Votes <gpca.votes at gmail.com> wrote:

> *Please send your discussion comments to gpca-votes at sfgreens.org
> <gpca-votes at sfgreens.org>*
>
> Discussion has begun for the following GPCA SGA ranked choice vote:
>
> Ranked Choice Vote ID #155
> Ranked Choice Vote *Endorsement Policy Amendment: GPCA Endorsements for
> General Election Candidates*
> Ranked Choice Vote Administrators: Victoria Ashley, Brian Good, Laura
> Wells, Eric Brooks, Mike Goldbeck
> Discussion  02/12/2018 - 03/25/2018
> Voting  03/26/2018 - 04/01/2018
> Voting ends at Midnight Pacific Time
>
> *Background*
>
> The Green Party of California is currently prohibited from endorsing
> candidates who have good Green values and who take no corporate money: the
> GPCA needs visibility, in a positive way, and putting our name on
> endorsement lists of good candidates is one way to get the Green Party name
> in the public eye.  The GPCA wants to help voters vote for good candidates,
> even in races where we have no candidate.  For instance, the Peace and
> Freedom Party can and does endorse Green Party candidates in state and
> federal races, but the GPCA is prohibited from endorsing Peace and Freedom
> candidates.  The GPCA currently cannot endorse candidates with No Party
> Preference or any other voter registration, even when we have no candidate
> running in the race.  The GPCA cannot help voters differentiate between
> good candidates who are aligned with Green values and take no corporate
> money and bad candidates (who may speak well) from the two-party system.
> The current endorsement policy is confusing: county parties are not
> prohibited from endorsing candidates who are not Green, but the state party
> is; in addition, it precludes a possible endorsement even in the face of
> grassroots interest.  The current endorsement policy was promulgated in the
> pre-Top-Two era, and, if left unreformed, will further hobble
> party-building efforts in California.
>
> Changing the endorsement policy would advance the party’s attempts to
> implement Proportional Representation so that we can have a multi-party
> system and not a two-party system. By expanding our endorsement options, we
> will demonstrate that we will work in coalitions and will endorse
> candidates who have green values, but who choose other political party
> affiliations.  As it stands, people who want to “throw their hat in the
> ring” and yet who have no track record with the Green Party or allied
> organizations are able to register Green and use our ballot line, and get
> an automatic advantage in the endorsement process, even though they may not
> be the best candidate.  Moreover, given that there are many public
> perceptions over which Greens have very little control, such as being
> marginalized or cast as “spoilers” or “third-party” candidates who “can’t
> win,” the endorsement area is one we can control.  We can avoid
> marginalizing ourselves as people who are only interested in the label
> “Green Party,” not the green values that we share with millions of ordinary
> folks in the nation and certainly in California.
>
> Furthermore, it is common advice in social media, for example (and even in
> life), that if you want likes, followers and friends, you’ve got to like,
> follow and friend others, as long as you stay true to your values. We need
> to reciprocate and be proactive, not sit back and wait for everyone to
> switch to “team Green Party,” while we display an unwelcoming attitude.
> People want a new party, but our current restrictive endorsement procedures
> make us look as if we do not want to be an “umbrella party” or “big tent”
> for all people who are aligned with our values and stances. It looks like
> we want to remain a small, exclusive “third” party with a narrow
> “sectarian” view of how change happens.
>
> Accordingly, we recommend the following changes to the GPCA Endorsement
> Policy.
>
> *Proposal*
>
> That the current GPCA Endorsement Policy be amended as follows:
>
> That the policy be amended from its current text:
>
> GPCA CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENT POLICY FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS (approved by the
> GPCA General Assembly, June 25, 2006, 43-6-2)
>
> 2. The GPCA shall not make any endorsements of General Election candidates
> who are not Green Party members.
>
> To read as follow:
>
> GPCA CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENT POLICY FOR ELECTIONS
>
> 2. The GPCA shall not make endorsements of candidates who accept corporate
> campaign contributions or who belong to any political party that accepts
> corporate campaign contributions.
>
> Sponsors: This proposal has been endorsed and sponsored by the Green Party
> of Yolo County.
>
> Full details will be available at: http://www.sjcgreens.org/
> sga_vote_bylaw_interpretations
>
> *Please send your discussion comments to gpca-votes at sfgreens.org
> <gpca-votes at sfgreens.org>*
>
> --
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>
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