About the Green Party

The Green Party has its origins in the environmental, civil rights, anti-war, anti-nuclear and feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The first Green parties formed in Tasmania and New Zealand in 1972. Today there are Green parties and political movements in almost 100 countries. Greens are represented in the national governments of Mexico, France, Germany, Belgium and Latvia.

The Green Party began in the United States in 1984 with the formation of the Green Committees of Correspondence. The Ten Key Values were adopted at this time. In 1990, the Green Party of Alaska became the first green party in the U.S. to achieve ballot status. Today, the Green Party has ballot status in 22 states.

In 1986, only one green candidate stood for election in the United States. In 2010, 336 Green candidates ran in 35 states. Thirty Greens were elected. This growth signals the Green Party's evolution into an increasingly strong political force. For more information about Green Party officeholders in the US, visit the GP-US Election Database.

One of the best ways to understand the Green Party is to read our platforms.

The Green Party of New York

The Green Party of New York regained ballot status with the Nov. 2, 2010 election. GPNY first obtained ballot status in 1998 after organizing in this state since the late 1980s. We lost ballot status in 2002, but won a federal court order in 2005 directing the Board of Elections to continue allowing New Yorkers to enroll in the Green Party or in any other party that successfully places a candidate on the ballot in the previous gubernatorial election.

Under the New York Election Law, political parties gain or lose ballot status depending upon how many votes their gubernatorial candidate receives. New York has one of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the country, due to the fact that ballot status hinges entirely upon one race every four years. In many states, any statewide candidate or presidential candidate can qualify a party for ballot status. In New York, only one race qualifies.

Despite the increased difficulties of getting on the ballot during the years when the Green Party of New York did not have ballot status, Greens were elected to local office in New York. Green officeholders in New York as of September 2010 are:

Mayor:
David Doonan, Greenwich
Jim Sullivan, Victory

Common Council:
Jennifer Dotson, City of Ithaca

Town Council:
Mary Jo Long, Afton

Village Trustee:
Brian Kehoe, Catskill

School Board:
Rome Celli, Brighton School Board, Rochester
Edgar Rodriguez, New Paltz School Board

Town Planning Board:
Margaret Human, Jonathan Wright, New Paltz

The Green Party of Steuben County

The Steuben Greens formed in 2002 to help build the Green Party in Steuben County. We work on Green issues and run candidates in local, state and federal elections. Steuben County is in Region 6 of the Green Party of New York.

Four members of the Steuben Greens have run for public office. In 2009, Joe Duffy ran for Mayor of the City of Hornell in a two-way race and received 34% of the vote. Also in 2009, Darin Robbins ran for 7th Ward Alderman in the City of Corning in a three-way race and received 10% of the vote. In 2007, Joe Duffy ran a write-in campaign for 10th Ward Alderman in the City of Hornell, and Mike Povoski ran for Bath Town Board on the Bath Citizens party line. In 2006, Rachel Treichler was the Attorney General candidate of the Green Party of New York and received almost 62,000 votes, about 1.5%. In 2005, Joe Duffy ran as a write-in candidate for Mayor of Hornell and received 78 votes. Darin Robbins ran for 7th Ward Alderman in the City of Corning in a two-way race and received 27% of the vote. Darin received a similar percentage of the vote when he ran for the same office in 2003. In 2002, Rachel ran for US Congress in the 29th CD and received almost 2% of the vote.

 

 

 

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