The Green Party of Virginia

The Green Party of Virginia is the electoral arm of the Green movement in Virginia. Recognized by the Virginia State Board of elections, the GPVA, made up of affiliated locals and at large members, is the only Green Party in Virginia accredited by the Green Party of the United States (GP-US), which in turn is recognized by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Hundreds of Greens belonging to the 46 State Parties accredited by the GP-US have been elected to public office, including several in Virginia.

We invite you to join the Green Party of Virginia in building an alternative political party and a movement dedicated to promoting our Ten Key Values, including ecology, democracy, justice, community and peace.

Become a member.


Meetings


Our last state party meeting was held April 27, 2013 in Charlottesville. Details of our next state party meeting will be posted here soon.

To keep things organized, if you are considering submitting a new proposal at future meetings, it is suggested that you download a Proposal Form, fill it out, and have copies handy at the meeting. Remember to break down long proposals into shorter, individual proposals to increase the odds of success.


Stop the Gentrification of Arlington!


The lack of affordable housing in Arlington, Virginia has reached critical proportions. In fact, it is estimated that two thirds of all affordable housing units in the county have been lost in the last decade. The Arlington Green Party (AGP) is petitioning to get a referendum on the ballot that would create a housing authority to increase the supply of affordable housing. If you want to assist AGP in its petition drive, contact Audrey Clement or John Reeder.

For more information, see HERE.

FEC Approves GPVA as a State Political Party Committee


Dear Greens,
I am happy to report that I attended the FEC meeting this morning in which the full commission unanimously approved draft Advisory Opinion 2012-39 designating GPVA as a state political party committee. The practical effect of this ruling is that GPVA's contribution limit to federal candidates has been doubled from $2,500 to $5,000 for both the primary and the general election phase of every federal election cycle.

Thanks to GPVA members  Tamar Yager, Kirit Mookerjee, and  GPUS Secretary Budd Dickinson for providing critical information in support of GPVA's application for state political party status.

Thanks also to  2012 federal candidates Joe Galdo and Jill Stein without whom this designation would not have been possible.
 
Audrey Clement
Co-Chair, Green Party of Virginia

Raise the Virginia Gas and Diesel Tax!


Virginia Governor McDonnell proposed in early January that the General Assembly eliminate the state tax of 17.5 cents per gallon on gasoline, and raise the retail sales tax of 5 percent to 5.8 percent.

This is bad policy on many grounds: motor fuel taxes should be raised to: #1, reduce consumption to help reduce global warming; #2, raise revenues for Virginian transportation by a tax that directly corresponds to the amount of fuel used, and #3 use only transportation tax revenue to fund highway and other transport expenses.

For more information, see HERE.

2012 Campaign Notes

Dear Greens and Friends,

Thank you to all Virginia Greens who supported our three candidates on the ballot this year. I thank everyone who got signatures for the candidates to get on the ballot; for helping distribute campaign literature, and who gave of their own money and time to help them.

Jill Stein for President got about 8,000 votes (0.3%) statewide, fairly well distributed across the state with slightly more in the 8th, 11th and 1st Congressional Districts. Audrey Clement got 9,400 votes in Arlington County Board of Supervisors election or 12 percent of the total votes cast. Green Joe Galdo in his first campaign for office for the 11th Congressional seat in Fairfax area got about 1,200 votes.

Arlington Greens have had a Green candidate for county board for six years straight. Audrey got the highest percentage of the vote for any Green facing both a Republican and Democratic candidate. In 2009, the Green candidate got about 32 percent of the vote against only a Democratic candidate for County Board in Arlington.
 
 
Unfortunately, Jill Stein only got about 350 votes in Arlington County. Despite Audrey's excellent vote results, many Green voters for local candidates showed they would not vote for our national Green presidential candidate.

With that said, Jill Stein got nearly three times the number of votes our 2008 Green candidate Cynthia McKiney received. Nationwide, once the counting is through, Stein is expected to get over 1 million votes, the highest for any Green candidate since Ralph Nader in 2000. The Stein campaign did well and was organized, despite widespread media blackout and considering its lack of funding.

By contrast, the two major parties spent a reported $2 billion directly for the presidential race, plus independent political campaign comittees funded largely by rich people and corporations spent probably another $2 billion. With about 135 million votes cast, the two major parties and their corporate allies spent about $35 per vote cast.

Jill Stein Campaign weblink : http://www.jillstein.org

Audrey Clement Campaign weblink : http://audreyclement.org

Thanks,

--John Reeder

Thank you for volunteering on behalf of the Stein, Clement, and Galdo campaigns!

 


Campaigns 2013 and Beyond

Grassroots Democracy

Green Issues

Have an idea for a grassroots issues advocacy campaign? Contact the Chair of the Activism Committee.

  • The Green Party is Fully Committed to Peace!

  • Opposition to the unpatriotic Patriot Act
  • Publicly Funded Campaigns
  • Open Source Verifiable Voting Systems
  • More Voices and More Choices on the Ballot
  • Open Debates Inclusive of Third Parties and Independents
  • Women's Rights, including access to health care, job equality, and a Woman's Right to Choose
  • Put an End to Racism
  • Repeal Repressive Homophobic Laws - Full Equality for Members of the LGTBIQ Community
  • Single Payer Health Care
  • Affordable Housing
  • Living Wage
  • End Corporate Rule! Corporations should not have status as legal persons.
  • A Level Playing Field for Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Fair, Progressive Taxation
  • Affordable Tuition
  • Free/Open Source Software
  • End the Death Penalty
  • End the War on Drugs
  • Traffic Reduction/Rail/Smart Growth
  • Mattaponi River Dam/Prince William Reservoir
  • Clean, Affordable Alternative Energy. No nukes, coal or other antiquated, expensive and unsustainable power.
  • Identification of the Worst Local Polluters
  • End the colonial status of our nation's capital. DC Statehood Now!

Press Releases of Green Activities

Discuss the Issues with Your Fellow Greens



GPVA

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The Green Party of Virginia
Last Update: May 5, 2013

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