Current Projects
Combatting Systemic Racism in Steuben County
We are working to combat Systemic Racism in Steuben County. We
are shocked by the ACLU Marijuana Arrest Report showing that Steuben
County ranked number one in NYS for the greatest racial disparity
in marijuana arrests. Black people were 19.1 times more likely
to be arrested for marijuana than white people in Steuben County.
See https://graphics.aclu.org/marijuana-arrest-report/NY.
For more information, visit our Racial
Disparities in the Steuben County Criminal Justice System page.
Community Control of the Police
We are working to participate in the police reform process being
conducted by Steuben County and the City of Corning. See Police
Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. Our efforts build
on our long-standing support for police reform. In 2016
the
Steuben County Green Party voted to endorse the
Community
Control
Platform
adopted
by
the
Black Lives Matter movement. The platform calls for direct democratic
community control of local, state, and federal law enforcement
agencies. Click
here for the SCGP resolution. Click
here for an essay, "Who
Polices the Police," by Terry Gerych, a Green Party member
from Bath.
Promoting Participatory Budgeting
We are working to promote participatory
budgeting in the City of Corning. Click
here to download and sign a petition calling for the City
to set up a participatory budgeting process. A second, related
petition, which grows out of our work on the budgeting referendum,
is for a referendum to add a formal referendum process to the
City Charter. Click here to
download and sign the referendum process petition. The petition
have been developed by Darin Robbins, a Green Party member from
Corning. Return completed petitions to Darin, 78 Sterling Street,
Corning, NY 14830. Click
here for more information about participatory
budgeting and how it relates to
police reform.
Supporting Green Party Candidates in 2020
The Steuben Greens are working to support the presidential campaign
of Green Party candidates Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker and
the eleven Green Party candidates running in New York State for
Congress, State Senate and State Assembly. For
info, visit http://www.gpny.org/2020_candidates .
Challenging New York's Restrictive Ballot Access Rules
The Green Party of New York and the Libertarian Party of New York
filed a Federal lawsuit on July 27, 2020 in the Southern District
of New York to invalidate restrictive ballot access provisions
passed as a rider to the FY2021 New York State Budget.
Read
GPNY press release. "Whatever justification they may use
for it, the choice by Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature to create
new and onerous ballot-access thresholds this year is clearly designed
to eliminate any threat of competition, preserve the state's anemic
and uncompetitive electoral system, and satisfy their corporate
paymasters. The Green Party stands with all other affected political
parties, as well as the voters of New York State, who deserve a
robust and expansive democracy," said Peter LaVenia, co-chair
of the GPNY. The Steuben Greens are supporting this effort.
Protecting Local Water Bodies
We are working to protect local water bodies. Five members of
the Steuben Greens are participating in the NY
Water Sentinels program, monitoring local streams and rivers.
Promoting Small Local Solar and Wind Projects
We work to promote small, locally-owned clean energy projects
and stop the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Working for a Ban on Fracking Wastes in NY
Landfils
We are working for a ban on fracking wastes being spread on New
York roads or being deposited in New York landfills because of
our concerns about hazardous chemicals and radioactivity going
into our air, soil and water.
Supporting the Ban GMOs Movement
The Green Party of Steuben County joined other local groups in
sponsoring a March
and Rally against Monsanto in Corning on May 21. We marched
along Denison Parkway and rallied in Canfield Park. The event was
part of the worldwide March against Monsanto events on May 21. Click
here for an excellent video of the Corning march and rally
by Heriberto Rodriguez.
Adopting a Steuben County Green Party Platform
On June 18, 2018 we adopted a platform proposing ways in which
we can achieve greater democracy in Steuben County . Click
here to check out our platform.
Supporting the Occupy Movement
The Steuben County Green Party supports and stands in solidarity
with the Occupy movement, that began with Occupy Wall Street on
September 17th and has grown to hundreds of cities across the United
States and 950 cities across the globe. The Green Party is based
on principles such as grassroots democracy, community economics,
and decentralization of power. We find a congruence of the principles
with the Occupy movement.
Gigantic income inequality, the inordinate power of corporations
on our democratic process, and calls for austerity that push more
people into poverty with less economic rights reveal that the status
quo is untenable. What is also vital to this movement is the internal
democratic process practiced by the General Assemblies. This process
offers a new political model for our society as well as developing
a method for the movement to articulate its grievances, demands,
and solutions. This is in marked contrast to the Tea Party that
has been consistently backed by corporate funding and supplied
with a prefabricated agenda and talking points from such corporate
organizations as Americans for Prosperity. The range of concerns
of Occupy supporters is shown by the posting on the tumblr, We
Are the 99%.
The internal democratic process of the various occupations is
coupled with the formation of food distribution systems, medical
services, and libraries at each protest site, further showing that
this is something quite new in the political and economic landscape.
With its many unique characteristics, the movement also does have
historical precedents such as the Bonus Army of the Great Depression,
the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960's, and the worldwide
protests during the Spring of 1968.
The Green Party is the only existing political party that is able
to fully comprehend the political and economic context that has
resulted in such harsh conditions for our fellow citizens. What
the movement has been driving home through nonviolent civil actions,
the Green Party has been talking about for decades. As the Occupy
movement has grown and garnered more media attention, there has
already been inclinations for it to be coopted by the two-party
system, but the movement is structured in such a way as to avoid
this weakening. The Green Party has been the only political party
that has shown actual support through actions rather than mere
talk, and we hope that through prolonged cooperation the members
of the movement will see that the Green Party and the Occupy movement
are naturally aligned not by political gain but by a vision for
a better future.
Working for Demilitarization and Peace
In 2009, the Steuben Greens and the Hornell Alfred Unitarian Universalist
Society sponsored a presentation in Hornell by Dr. Ismail Mehr
about his recent humanitarian mission to Gaza. Dr. Mehr led a team
of 9 physicians and 2 non-medical personnel on a ten day medical
mission to Gaza in February 2009. Dr. Mehr is an anesthesiologist
at St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell. The trip was sponsored
by the Islamic Medical Association of North America.
Building Local Economies
On May 29, 2008, the Steuben Greens held a panel discussion on
grassroots strategies for building Bath’s local economy.
The Steuben Greens have been active in the Bath NY Group, which
is working to build Bath's local economy. The group believes that
many small local businesses will provide a much healthier long-term
economy for the area than chain stores and big box stores. Steuben
Green member Darin Robbins is the author of our flyer on How
to Build a Local Economy.
Creating a Locally-Grown Food Network
The Steuben Greens initiated the formation of Farm to
You, a network of consumers, farmers, food producers
and food markets whose mission is to build markets for local
grown food in Steuben County and the surrounding Southern Tier
area. For information about our goals in setting up this project, click
here for the CSA proposal prepared by Lisa Chacon. We are
now promoting the program through the Friends
of Steuben County Farmers Facebook page.
Supporting State and National Green Party Candidates
Members of the Steuben County Green Party are working for Jill
Stein's campaign for President of the United State
Working to Promote IRV and Proportional Representation
The Steuben Greens are working to support the adoption of IRV
and proportional voting in local elections. Darin Robbins
is working to get the Corning City Coucil to conduct a nonbinding
referendum to ascertain voter support for these voting methods.
Opposition to Electronic Voting
Members of the Steuben Greens are working on issues relating to
the use of electronic voting machines by
Steuben County and elsewhere in New York State.
Editorial Campaign
The Steuben Greens have a campaign to
write letters to the editor on a regular basis. In this way, we
keep the Green Party and our values in the public discourse. At
election time, we write letters in support of our Green candidates.
Living Wage Campaign
Members of the Steuben Greens are working for the adoption of
a living wage ordinance in
Corning.
Peace and Justice Issues
The Steuben Greens work on peace events through our local, which
is a member of the Finger Lakes Peace
Coalition, and through other local peace groups, including
the Bath Peace and Justice Group, the Corning Peaceful Gatherings
Group and the Elmira Peace Studies group. We have organized programs,
local demonstrations and local participation at demonstrations
in New York City and Washington, DC.
Medical Marijuana
On April 2, 2004, the Steuben Greens sponsored a community forum
on medical marijuana. Dr. Jennifer
Daniels, from Syracuse, spoke on the medical properties of marijuana,
their efficacy compared to legal drugs, and a current bill to legalize
medical marijuana in New York .
Bill of Rights Defense Resolutions
Members of the Steuben Greens helped get a Bill
of Rights Defense resolution passed in the Town of Urbana,
and are working on resolutions in the Town of Bath, the City
of Corning, and the Steuben County Legislature.
Steuben County Green Party Bylaws
In November 2004 we formed a county Green Party organization in
accordance with the state Green Party bylaws to facilitate our
participation in the state platform process. Click
here to review our bylaws.
Green Party of New York State Platform
The Steuben Greens have submitted a number of suggested planks
to the Green Party of New York for inclusion in the state
Green Party platform. A 2006 state platform was approved at
the May 20, 2006 meeting of the Green Party of New York state committee.
Supporting the Green Party of New York State
We work to support the state Green Party. Five of our members
are supporting members of the state party. Darin Robbins is our
state committee representative, and has been elected to serve on
the state party executive committee.
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