Notice is given of, and Greens from across Georgia are urged to gather for, the 2020 Nominating Convention of the Georgia Green Party. We will convene on Saturday, February 22d, at 10am, with plans to adjourn at 4pm that afternoon. Greens from unorganized counties are urged to gather at 9:30 am to caucus to name their delegates to the state convention. The event will be hosted at the Ted Wright Park building, 2841 Moody Road, Bonaire, GA 31005. Bonaire is an unincorporated community in Houston County, six miles from the center of Warner Robins, Georgia. It is accessible from I-75, perhaps an hour South of Macon.
This meeting will consider nominations for partisan offices and endorsements for non-partisan offices, as well as proposed amendments to the state party platform.
The recognized candidates have confirmed their ability to participate, and pending confirmation of the technical requirements, we anticipate soon being able to confirm a virtual candidate forum for those present, where we can hear from the candidates seeking our support for their Presidential nomination at the Detroit Convention in July. As discussed below we anticipate holding a subsequent convention likely on Saturday, June 6th, 2020, and now await confirmation of an Athens-Clarke County venue for that purpose. While this convention will focus on nominations for publicly elected offices and work on our Platform; the June Convention will provide us an opportunity for internal elections (state committee, our Delegation to the Green National Committee) and naming and instructing with a Presidential Preference ballot, our Delegates to the Presidential Nominating Convention, July 10th through 12th, Detroit Michigan.
Our Party has traditionally held its nominating convention on the first Saturday of June in each election year. But the 2017 session adopted HB-268 ignoring case law finding that an early qualifying deadline for emerging political parties is unconstitutional in order to align for the convenience of the office of the Secretary of State, the qualifying period for candidates of a political body (like the Green Party, who nominate by convention and petition) with the qualifying period for candidates of the political parties (Republicans and Democrats which nominate by Primary). This calendar change has cost our party 130 days or more for its candidate recruitment efforts. The officers of the Georgia Green Party welcome queries from Georgia attorneys willing to help us litigate this and other issues related to ballot access for Green Party candidates in Georgia.
Members of the state committee are agreed to hold a subsequent 2020 convention to elect members of the state committee and our delegation to the Green National Committee, to name delegates to the 2020 Quadrennial Presidential Nominating Convention of the Green Party of the United States (scheduled for the weekend of July 9-12, 2020 in Detroit Michigan). This subsequent state convention will also consider changes proposed to the state party bylaws and additional changes to the platforms of the state party and for the national party’s 2022 Platform cycle.
Already, 2018 state party nominee for the U.S. Congress in Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, Jimmy Cooper, has announced his intention to again seek the nomination of the Georgia Party for 2020. We are in communication with a handful of other possible candidates considering a run for partisan office in this election cycle. By the time we get to the Bonaire Convention we will need sixteen candidates for Presidential Elector as a part of the process for qualifying our Presidential slate to be nominated at the Detroit Convention. Party officers remain eager to speak with you about opportunities to run for public office in your community as well.
Participants are urged to review the Platform_Report_2020_Bonaire_Convention_v0.30, ahead of time.