Blog

  • Protecting Our Water: A Georgia Green Party Imperative

    Recent news exposing the contamination of Georgia’s water systems with “forever chemicals” is a wake-up call for us all. This issue hits close to home and resonates deeply with our Georgia Green Party platform.

    Here’s how:

    1. Honor the Rights of All to Clean Water: We believe in the fundamental right of every individual to clean air, water, soil, and food. The contamination of our water systems threatens this right and demands our immediate attention.
    2. Protect Our Water Resources: Clean, potable water is essential for the well-being of our communities. The contamination with PFAS chemicals underscores the urgency of protecting our precious water resources.
    3. Prevent Pollution: Rather than merely controlling pollution, we advocate for prevention strategies. It’s crucial to address the root causes of pollution and reduce toxic substances at their source.

    We cannot afford to ignore the urgent need for environmental protection measures and regulatory action. Together, let’s raise awareness, demand accountability, and work towards cleaner, safer water for all Georgians.

    Read the full article here.

    Let’s stand together for a greener, healthier Georgia!

  • Candidates for the 2024 Presidential Nomination of the Green Party of the United States

    A week before our February 17th, 2024 Nominating Convention, we invited the six candidates recognized by the Presidential Campaign Support Committee “a video statement of five or ten minutes, addressed to Delegates to our state convention.”  We heard back from two campaigns.  To explore what is published for all six candidates, see the links included in the letter we sent a week or so ago to Green Party supporters in Georgia.

    To prepare for our Presidential Preference Caucus, Georgia Greens are urged to learn more about our options at the links below.  These are the six candidates who have met, to one degree or another, the minimum thresholds for recognition by the Presidential Campaign Support Committee of the Green Party of the United States as candidates seeking seeking the Green Party’s Presidential nomination. In alphabetical order by last name, they are:

    The ballot access coordinator for the Jill Stein campaign reached out to the party to discuss efforts to place Dr. Stein on the Georgia ballot in 2024.  He urged us to search the web for any number of video interviews which their candidate has given on a wide number of outlets.

    Jorge Zavala sent us a link to the 2m19s video embedded here.

    Source: Jorge Zavala, candidate for the 2024 Presidential Nomination of the Green Party of the United States

     

  • Georgia Green Party Sends Condolences; Urges End to the Militarism

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Tuesday, January 30th, 2024

    For further information, please contact:
    press.secretary@georgiagreenparty

    Georgia Green Party Sends Condolences
    Urges End to the Militarism Which Will Only Produce More Death

    On behalf of members, supporters and Green voters across the state, the officers of the Georgia Green Party extend condolences to the families of Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah.

    Successive presidential administrations have continued to deploy military forces throughout the world, mostly against the will of significant groups in the regions of deployment. Rather than attempt to resolve conflicts using diplomacy and in accordance with international humanitarian law, our elected officials have time and time again chosen sanctions, occupations, assassinations and bombings as their methods for dealing with the peoples of the world. In addition to causing mass death in those countries, this militarism inevitably results in USA casualties. Furthermore, these policies bring other long-term negative consequences to our own society.

    The Party calls on the Biden Administration to end its support for the Israeli war against Palestinians, its own war on Yemen, to withdraw naval and ground forces from the Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Sea, and to bring home the roughly fifty thousand US troops deployed throughout the region, half of those deployed since October 7th. It should also renounce the goal of regime change, whether it be in Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, or any other state, and renounce covert operations and population-targeting sanctions as policy tools. Hostilities produce retaliation. Peace produces peace.

    “Politicians and pundits who have sought to expand USA militarism in the region are exploiting the tragedy which befell our soldiers to pursue policies which will ensure greater loss of life,” said Ayman Fadel, treasurer of the Georgia Green Party. “Our Party calls instead for policies which will reduce the risk that Georgia families will again experience such loss.”

    ###

    The featured image is a 1905 illustration by John S. Pughe first published in Puck magazine. It shows “a flotilla of ships with Theodore Roosevelt’s face on the lead ship; the figure of Peace (or Columbia), wearing armor and carrying a sword in one hand and an olive branch fashioned out of bayonets in the other, is sitting atop this ship. Two doves flying by her side are wearing armor and are armed as well.”

  • Party offers conditional support to HB-910, to protect minors from exposure to Pornography

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Friday, February 2nd, 2024

    For further information, please contact:
    press.secretary@georgiagreenparty.org

    Georgia Green Party Expresses Conditional Support for HB-910
    to require age-verification for distribution of pornography to minors

    On Thursday of this week, the officers of the Georgia Green Party sent a statement of conditional support for HB-910 (LC 56 0039), a bill intended to create a “civil remedy for damages against commercial entities that distribute material harmful to minors without performing age verification”.  The testimony was offered on the initiative of first term party co-chair Kristin Zebrowski and supported unanimously by the party officers.

    The letter expresses the party’s “broad support for this bill’s intention to protect Georgia children from child abuse and our conditional support for the particulars of this bill”.  It goes on to express a handful of concerns for the specifics of this narrowly scoped legislative proposal.  The letter states “we would welcome an opportunity to consider legislation which seeks to remedy the harms to the so-called ‘performers’ who the evidence suggests are often victims of trafficking and exploitation, to the consumers (regardless of age), to their families and to the treatment and status of women and girls, generally.”  It goes on to also “urge the formation of a study committee to examine the (pornography) industry and to recommend for consideration in the coming legislative term appropriate comprehensive state regulation to protect the health and welfare of Georgia citizens” from that industry.

    The full text of the Party’s testimony on the subject is published to the website at a link below.

    – 30 –

    Party offers conditional support to HB-910, to protect minors from exposure to Pornography
    GaGP–expresses_conditional_support–HB-910–LC-56-0039–20240131

    Image credit: CultureReframed.com. For more information, visit https://culturereframed.org/courses/.

  • Legal Notice for 2024 Nominating Convention

    To register for the 2024 Georgia Green Party Nominating Convention on February 17, 2024, visit https://georgiagreenparty.org/nc2024/.

  • FAQ for Georgia Greens Asking about the 2024 Presidential Election

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Georgia Greens Asking about the 2024 Presidential Election

    Greens are understandably excited about supporting a Green candidate for Georgia’s 16 electoral college votes. As the Georgia Green Party has already begun receiving inquiries from Greens eager to begin action and from representatives of campaigns for candidates seeking the party’s nomination, the Georgia Green Party has put together this document to answer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If, after reading this document, you have other questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

    Section 1: Information for Candidates

    1. How can a candidate earn the nomination of the Georgia Green Party?

    Contact the Secretary of the Georgia Green Party and let us know of your interest.  Read more below.

    2. What do I need to know about the Presidential Preference Caucus?

    The Nominating Convention Rules of the Georgia Green Party provides in Article V a Policy on the Presidential Nominating Convention. This policy outlines the process whereby the Georgia Green Party prepares for the Quadrennial Presidential Nominating Convention for the nomination of candidates for President of the United States seeking the Green Party nomination. https://f908ee.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GGP-NC-Rules.pdf

    3. How can my preferred candidate be included on the Georgia Party’s Presidential Preference Caucus ballot?

    A state convention delegate must nominate a candidate for inclusion on the Georgia party’s Presidential Preference Caucus ballot. That candidate must meet specific qualifications outlined in the rules. The convention delegate must be a member of the Georgia Green Party and must be recognized by the convention as a Delegate for their county affiliate or caucus. The most essential first step to being a delegate is to join the party. For information on how to do that, visit:
    https://georgiagreenparty.org/join-or-contributeto-the-georgia-green-party/

    4. How can my candidate get on the Georgia ballot in the 2024 November General Election?

    The nominee of the Georgia Green Party, to appear on the Georgia 2024 November General Election ballot, must meet a petition-gathering requirement and be certified to the Secretary of State by the Party as its candidate. If a petition form for your candidate of choice is not linked here, obtain a copy of the necessary petition form and instructions and contact the Secretary of the Georgia Green Party. As campaigns contact the state party, the necessary forms will be generated and linked from this FAQ.

    5. When can we begin circulating the petition? When is the filing deadline?

    The period for circulating this petition begins 2024-January-11th (estimated), and the filing deadline is expected to be Tuesday, 2024-July-09. We traditionally ask petition circulators to turn in their petitions the weekend before they are due to allow time for their final preparation for filing on Tuesday morning and for use as evidence for potential litigation to ensure our candidates’ places on the ballot.

    6. How many signatures will it take to place our candidate on the Georgia ballot?

    The requirements of the Georgia Election Code for presidential races were struck down as unconstitutional on March 17th, 2016 in a case, styled, Green Party of Ga. v. Kemp, 171 F. Supp. 3d 1340 (N.D. Ga. 2016). Under the 2016 Court Order, we are required to file 7,500 valid signatures to place a Presidential candidate on the Georgia ballot. To survive the validation process, we urge Green Party supporters (1) to avail themselves of the training provided by experienced petition circulators in the party; and (2) to help us raise a minimum of 15,000 signatures.

    7. Will the Georgia Green Party campaign for my candidate?

    Prior to the Presidential Preference Caucus, the Georgia Green Party will not differentiate in its treatment of candidates, meaning that it will neither endorse a candidate nor provide support to one candidate in preference to others. It has been our practice (though not mandated by rule) that our officers are asked to remain publicly neutral with regard to the Presidential race until after our Presidential Preference Caucus has been conducted. This does not preclude Georgia Green Party members from supporting the candidate of their choice under the guidance of the candidate’s campaign.

    If the Georgia Green Party nominates a candidate, the Coordinating Council (the governing body of the Georgia Green Party) would be empowered to make decisions regarding the extent of the support the party can provide to the candidate’s campaign.

    Section 2: Information for Georgia Greens

    1. When can I start gathering signatures for my candidate to appear on the Georgia 2024 November General Election Ballot?

    The formal petition gathering process begins 2024-January-11. Preparation for a successful petition gathering drive is essential, so contact the candidate’s campaign and the Georgia Green Party and express your willingness to help. You will also want to communicate with the campaign of your preferred candidate to see how you can connect and work with other supporters.

    2. What can I do to persuade the Georgia Green Party to nominate my candidate?

    Make sure you and other Greens are eligible to participate in the Presidential Preference Caucus of the Georgia Green Party by joining the Georgia Green Party. Seek election at the Georgia Green Party’s Nominating Convention as Delegates to the Quadrennial Presidential Nominating Convention. Educate fellow Greens on the merits of your candidate and ask them to vote for them at the Nominating Convention.

    3. Regardless of the nominee, I understand that 16 Greens need to run as Electoral College members. I’m interested in doing that. What do I need to do?

    Presidential Elector is a publicly elected partisan office. To be nominated as a member of the Georgia Green Party’s slate of Presidential Electors requires, as for any other partisan office, that you must be a member of the Georgia Green Party. You must be a registered voter in Georgia. You must file a Notice of Intent to Seek the Nomination of the Georgia Green Party, supported by an Affidavit of Candidacy, the affidavit must be notarized and include a money order with a nominal filing fee (3% of the $50 compensation, should you be elected, or $1.50). Contact the Georgia Green Party to indicate your willingness to pursue this or any other candidacy for public office.

    4. What other actions can I take to promote Green politics in Georgia?

    Thanks for asking. There are so many ways you can help!

    Join the Georgia Green Party! Spread its posts on social media. Tell people in your circle that there is an alternative that promotes people, peace and the planet over profits. Consider running for office. Learn about the party’s platform and participate in its amendment process. Become a county contact. Help form an affiliate. Contribute money.

  • How Do I Receive Announcements from the Georgia Green Party?

    Do you want to make sure you never miss an announcement from the Georgia Green Party?

    The best way to receive announcements from the Georgia Green Party is to join the party and get on its member email distribution list.

    But we’ve all missed important e-mails before, and sometimes these e-mails get placed in the Bulk or Spam folders. So you may want to make sure you increase your chance of seeing important announcements by connecting with the Georgia Green Party on one or more of the following channels:

    At this time, in addition to announcements, the party distributes news items of interest to Greens via Facebook and Twitter. So if you are looking for less frequent messages, use one of the other channels.  Facebook (and some other social media platforms) has a reputation for shadow-banning political content.  Subscribing or following our feed on facebook may not be sufficient.  If you are not seeing our content, please consider these facebook configuration options described by our party treasurer who reports: “So I changed some settings, and now I like my feed better.”

    Please note that e-mail remains the official organ for the distribution of meeting notices required by the rules of the party. We try to, but make no promises that we will consistently propagate such notices through the social media channels listed above.  We urge Greens in Georgia who want to find notices of opportunities to participate with our internal decision making processes to subscribe to our email lists.

     

     

  • Georgia Green Party Coordinating Council 2023-24

    Our coordinating council reflects an election conducted among party delegates assembled at the annual convention convened on July 29, 2023. The members of the Quick Decision Council were selected in the new council’s initial meeting on August 6, 2023.

    The year in parentheses indicates expiration date of a member’s term. A full term is two years. Officers’ roles on the Quick Decision Council last one year.

    Quick Decision Council (2024)

    • Denice Traina, (2024), co-chair email
    • Hugh Esco, secretary, (2024), email, 912-571-1833
    • Ayman Fadel, treasurer, email (2024)

    Additional members of the state committee:

    • John Fortuin (2024), email
    • Steve Carr,  co-chair, (2025), 678.886.8666 [no email]
    • Christine Inglis (2025)
    • Michael Inglis (2025)
    • Bradley Smith (2025)

    + signifies members of the Delegation on National Green Party Affairs

    Georgia Green Party Coordinating Council 2023

  • Greening Georgia’s Future: The Georgia Green Party Platform

    Platform: a declaration of the principles on which a group of persons stands

    The Platform Committee of the Georgia Green Party invites the public to a monthly virtual examination of sections of its platform. Registration is required.

    (more…)

  • The Georgia Green Party urges Support for the Stop Cop City Initiative

    Atlanta Referendum!

    We — all of us — need your help to put the “Stop the Atlanta Safety Training Facility Public (aka Stop Cop City) referendum on the up-coming November 7 Atlanta ballot.

    We need all registered Atlanta voters — including your friends, neighbors and even peeps that you don’t like — to sign the ballot-access petition before the August 14th deadline. If you are not registered to vote, please do so. You can sign the petition the next day. Then please put the Tuesday November 7th election day on your calendar and vote !

    This referendum is more than militarization of much-needed green space, more than the execution-murder of a peaceful protester in a public DeKalb park, more than the heavy political hands of Atlanta’s mayor and Georgia’s governor and attorney general, more than behind-the-scenes power plays of Atlanta’s corporate businesses, more than the back-door politics of the Democratic and Republican Parties, more than the corrupt influence of the Atlanta Police Foundation, more than the pollution of South River and Intrenchment Creek, more than . . . .

    This referendum is about our promised democracy, is about necessary over-sight and accountability of Atlanta’s decision-makers, is about making Atlanta’s governance listen to us, is about two public comment sessions (the first in September 2021 and the second just this last June 5th) where speakers were over-whelmingly against the proposed “Cop City.”

    We are a political party that is always looking for good people to run for elective office, including for Atlanta City Council. Your help is needed, whether it’s collecting petition signatures, educating your neighbors, spreading the word on Social media, helping us build a campaign for law enforcement to be accountable to the people and civilian authorities, and perhaps running for office on these and other issues.