Green Party Unveils 2020 Legislative Agenda

December 19, 2019 - Albany - The Green Party of New York announced its four top state legislative priorities for 2019: enact Single-Payer Universal Healthcare through passage of the NY Health Act; move towards a Green New Deal with an initial $10 billion annual investment, a halt to new fossil fuel infrastructure including in homes and buildings, and a declaration of a climate emergency; Marijuana Legalization and Criminal Justice Reform and Electoral Reform, starting with overturning the Public Campaign Finance Reform Commission's ballot access thresholds, reform of the campaign finance system they constructed, alongside ranked-choice voting and proportional representation to ensure democratic elections in New York State.  Listen to the Green's December 19, 2019 press conference (Thanks to The Sanctuary for Independent Media). Continue reading

Green Party & Libertarian Party Blast Democrats’ Anti-democratic Ballot Access Changes

(Albany NY) Green and Libertarian Party officials announced they will pursue litigation against the anti-democratic changes in ballot access recommended by the Public Campaign Finance Reform Commission. Continue reading

Green Party Says It Will Pursue Litigation Against Public Campaign Finance Commission Ballot Access Thresholds

12/3/19 - Green Party officers today said they will have no choice but to pursue litigation against the draconian ballot access thresholds threatened by the Public Campaign Finance Reform Commission if the Legislature fails to remove them.  Continue reading

Green Party Calls Cuomo Comments Undemocratic and Wrong

Albany, NY November 26, 2019 - Green Party leaders said Gov. Cuomo's comments at a press conference today, in which he stated third parties needed to prove their viability before receiving public funding, are not just wrongheaded, but dangerously undemocratic. Officers said that the exact opposite should be true: public campaign financing should aid third parties and candidates in becoming viable. By placing nearly insurmountable barriers to entry to the ballot and public campaign financing Cuomo and the Commissioners expect third parties to run a marathon with a weight attached to their legs, while Democrats and Republicans are driven to the finish line in limos. Continue reading

Green Party Slams Cuomo and Commission for Trying to Kill Third Parties

State Legislators Need to Come to Albany in December to Clean Up Elections Green officials said today the Public Campaign Finance Commission's decision to raise ballot access thresholds to 2% of the vote or 130,000 votes (whichever is greater) for presidential and gubernatorial elections was an anti-democratic decision that would limit voter choice in New York. Continue reading

“You had *one* job!”: GPNY Says Public Campaign Finance Commission is Trying to Kill Third Parties, Mocking Mission to Curb Influence of Big Donors

ALBANY, 11/20/2019 — Green Party of New York (GPNY) officers said today the Public Campaign Finance Commission is making a mockery of democracy, and it appears their secret plan all along has been a bipartisan effort to eliminate third parties and real competition from New York State politics. Continue reading

Public Campaign Finance Commission Suggestions Are Cartel Politics

Green Party officers called the public campaign finance plan taking shape from the Commission a cartel agreement between Democrats and Republicans to protect incumbents and the two-party duopoly. Absurdly high contribution limits, initial matching funds thresholds, the ability to carry over campaign funds from previous cycles, and the specter that third parties will be frozen out make it impossible to imagine this is about increasing competition or grassroots democracy. The Greens called on the Legislature to return in December and alter the Commission's recommendations to create truly democratic campaign finance reform. Continue reading

New York’s public campaign finance commission

Read the November 1, 2019 op-ed in The New York Daily News from GPNY co-chair Peter LaVenia taking issue with specious claims by Governor Cuomo, former Governor Paterson, and Public Finance Commission member Jay Jacobs, that campaign finance and third-parties can't co-exist. Continue reading

Green Party Decries Jacobs' Ballot Access Plan

Albany, October 29, 2019 — Green Party officers said that the plan floated by Campaign Finance Commission co-chair Jay Jacobs to raise the minimum vote total for ballot access to roughly 250,000 votes was an unacceptable attack on real third parties in New York. Party officers said the Commission should instead ban fusion and make ballot access for third parties easier, including allowing any statewide office vote totals to qualify a party. (See NY Times article.) Continue reading

Green Party Proposes Fix For Latest Campaign Finance Commission Flip-Flop

Albany — Green Party officers said the Campaign Finance  Commission's latest about-face on whether to allow out-of-district donations to count towards a proposed public matching funds system highlights the flawed nature of public matching funds. Continue reading

Early Voting Comes to New York State 10/23-11/03

For the first time, New York voters will be able to vote at designated polling sites in advance of Election Day. So how does this work? Continue reading

Green Party Opposes the 'Long Island Six' on Williams Pipeline Ban

The Green Party of New York (GPNY) expressed its disagreement with the 'Long Island Six' State Senators who called last week for an end to the moratorium on the Williams gas pipeline construction to Long Island. GPNY officers said an immediate halt to fossil fuel infrastructure construction was an absolute necessity to combat the climate crisis. Green leaders instead called on the state to require use of renewable energy sources for new home construction and a program to aid retrofitting old houses. This has long been part of the Green Party's vision of the Green New Deal. Continue reading

2019 Legislative Report Card: Marijuana Bill Still Leaves Many Vulnerable to Overpolicing

It's the Penultimate Edition of our 2019 Legislative Report Card Series, brought to you by GPNY Summer Intern Dylan Lynch! We've been breaking down what Democrats in Albany achieved (or failed to achieve) in the legislative session, with control of both houses and the governor's mansion. This week: Cuomo and the Leg decriminalized marijuana...OR DID THEY? (Spoiler: Only sort-of!) New York, over the past twenty years, has become what the Drug Policy Alliance calls the “marijuana arrest capital of the world.” During this time, in lamentable depths of the so-called “tough on crime” era, there were over 800,000 arrests for small scale marijuana possession with, on average, sixty people being arrested statewide per day for the offense. Despite the fact that marijuana consumption is rather equally balanced amongst race and ethnicity, Latino and African-American individuals consistently made up roughly 80% of those arrested on marijuana charges in New York City. And in 2016 that percentage was 85%, the highest since 2006 when it reached 89% under Michael Bloomberg. These arrests, no matter how minor the offense, leave longstanding records that hinder the formerly arrested/incarcerated from gaining or re-gaining employment and housing, thus further exacerbating the racial wealth gap structurally maintained by our “New Jim Crow”: the drug war and mass incarceration. Continue reading

Green Party On Public Campaign Financing Commission Meeting: “Pivotal Moment” for New York Politics

NEW YORK —The Green Party of New York (GPNY) said today's meeting of the Public Campaign Financing Commission, empaneled by the Governor and Legislature, has the opportunity to propose urgently-needed reforms to broaden and strengthen democracy in New York. GPNY officers stated they “support a system of full public campaign financing, broader than had been proposed by the Governor,” and the “banning of fusion.” Party officers also promised their members will express support of these reforms to the commission.  Continue reading

2019 Legislative Report Card: Solid Steps For Farm Workers and Immigrant Rights

Welcome to the third post in our series breaking down what Democrats in Albany achieved (or failed to achieve) in the legislative session, having gained control of both houses and the governor's mansion. We've been pretty blunt about the half-measures (or no-measures) the Dems have squandered their majority on, this year, but we want to show some appreciation for two bills that labor and community activists fought hard to get passed that will improve working conditions for farm workers and restore mobility and autonomy to undocumented immigrants in New York. GPNY 2019 Summer Intern Dylan Lynch explains. We speak of the United States’ rich history of militant labor struggle perhaps less often than we should, enjoying its hard-earned fruits without the perspective needed to continue to foster its vital legacy. We must pay close attention not only to this courageous history, but to how this movement continues to fight for justice into the present day. Fortunately, this past legislative session, New York added one more significant achievement to this longstanding workers’ tradition by passing Assembly bill A8419, the Farm Laborers Fair Protection Act, signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 17th.  Continue reading

2019 NY Legislative Report Card: Healthcare Justice

Welcome to the second post in our series breaking down what Democrats in Albany achieved (or failed to achieve) in the legislative session, having gained control of both houses and the governor's mansion. Cuomo says they achieved "99.9%" of what they wanted. So...what explains the New York Health Act for single payer going MIA? GPNY 2019 Summer Intern Dylan Lynch explains. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given our penchant for fostering violence, death, and religiously upholding the “infallible” market wherever we leave a trail, the United States willfully and irresponsibly persists as the only “major” nation on the planet to refuse guaranteed healthcare to all its residents through some form of single payer system. To this day, 30,000-45,000 people across the nation die annually from a lack of healthcare – more than the casualty equivalent of a “domestic” Vietnam War every two years. Nearly one million people remain uninsured in New York state alone, while countless more are woefully underinsured, incapable of affording skyrocketing deductibles and prescription drug prices (in fact, fifty-seven-percent of Americans cannot afford a five-hundred-dollar emergency without going into debt, and when we speak of crippling debt we’re really talking about a form of bondage to a system of predatory institutions). Continue reading

GPNY Demands Justice for Eric Garner

The Green Party of New York (GPNY) renewed its call for justice for Eric Garner in response to the Justice Department’s announcement that it would not bring federal civil rights charges against the New York City Police Department officer responsible for killing Garner, an unarmed citizen, five years ago today. Continue reading

2019 NY Legislative Report Card: The Climate Crisis

This post is the first in a series that will break down what Democrats in Albany achieved in the legislative session with their control of both houses and the governor's mansion. Cuomo and other leading Democrats promised "historic" results. Did they deliver? When it comes to the climate crisis, the answer is a resounding "No", as GPNY 2019 Summer Intern Dylan Lynch explains. The response to New York’s passage of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) should not be an unquestioning victory party, but rather a skeptical postmortem. The “landmark” legislation, which promises to cut carbon emissions by 85% of 1990 levels (the further 15% will be covered by carbon offset projects) by 2050, and the Democrats supporting it, practice and promote their own form of odious climate change denial. Theirs is driven by a neoliberal obsession with political “maturity” and “feasibility,” given credence by a political class determined to maintain current socioeconomic power structures into a “greener future” rather than fundamentally alter the relations that have led us into oligarchy and to the brink of climate catastrophe. The CLCPA is the type of milquetoast legislation that offends no one, does just enough to warrant calling it a victory, and changes nothing fundamentally significant about our political realities, present and future alike — leaving us perfectly set up for a “milder” climate catastrophe and potential civilizational collapse than the Republicans would deliver. Continue reading

Ranked Choice Voting May Come to New York City . . . But Not for Everyone

The Green Party of New York (GPNY) said last night's vote on a ballot measure to introduce ranked-choice voting (RCV) for New York City municipal primaries and special elections was disappointing, as commissioners voted 8-6 against applying RCV to general elections. Party officers praised the six commissioners, including Democrat Sal Albanese and Republican Stephen J. Fiala, who made a strong case for RCV in all municipal elections for New York City voters. Continue reading

Green Party Calls Proposed Public Matching Funds Proposal a Sham

For Immediate Release ALBANY—The Green Party of New York today called the campaign finance matching funds proposal put forward by the Governor an incumbency protection system, and discriminatory against candidates not running as Democrats or Republicans. Party officials said the legislature needs to pass a full public campaign finance system like Maine and Arizona. Continue reading

Green Party Supports Cuomo’s Effort to Expand NYPA Role with Renewable Energy

For Immediate Release ALBANY—The Green Party today urged state legislative leaders to drop their opposition to the Governor’s budget proposal to expand the role of the New York Power Authority in developing renewable energy, including providing electricity to CCAs (Community Choice Aggregation) and other public entities. “With time running out to save life on this planet from catastrophic climate change, this is not the moment for state lawmakers to focus on protecting the profits of private developers of renewable energy. This needs to be an all-hands-on-deck moment. Public ownership of renewables would speed up their development and reduce costs for consumers,” noted Peter LaVenia, state party co-chair. Continue reading

Green Party Slams Healthcare and Marijuana Omissions In One-House Budget Resolutions

For Immediate Release NEW YORK—Green Party officials said today that while there were some positives in the Assembly and Senate one-house budget resolutions, they did not move far enough or fast enough on critical issues such as healthcare, ending the drug war, and wealth inequality. Party officers said the Legislature needed to ensure it passed crucial legislation this session outside of the budget process, and that the party and its members would continue to press their agenda. Instead of moving boldly, now that the Democrats are in total control of the State Legislature, the Assembly and Senate budget resolutions leave important issues on the table. Single payer healthcare, for instance, has overwhelming support among the public and even a majority of Democratic state legislators, yet it still faces an uphill struggle and was not introduced in the budget. Continue reading

Green Party Agrees it is Time to Get Rid of Electoral Fusion

Albany, March 4, 2019 - The Green Party of New York agrees with Monday’s decision by the Democratic Party State Committee to ban electoral fusion, though for fundamentally different reasons. Fusion, often presented as a tool to expand democratic choice, is in reality ballot lines-for-hire used to entrench the two-party system and provide political cover for the Democratic and Republican parties. It enables patronage machines that masquerade as small parties and shifts power from rank and file party members to candidates and campaign donors. And it contributes to an electoral arena where it is all but impossible for legitimate, independent third-parties like the Greens to compete. Fusion breeds confusion. Continue reading

Green Party members testify at State Senate hearings on climate crisis

For Immediate Release  New York - Members of the Green Party of New York (GPNY) came out in full force to demand immediate and comprehensive action to address the planetary emergency of climate change at New York State Senate hearings held the week of February 10, 2019. Greens called for the elimination of new fossil fuel infrastructure, particularly the building of new gas pipelines and gas-fired power plants, and moving to a carbon-neutral, 100% clean, renewable energy economy by 2030. They emphasized the need for a just transition for workers and frontline communities most affected by climate change. Continue reading

Participate in Renewing the GPNY Platform

The Green Party of New York will adopt a new platform at our State Committee meeting on May 11, 2019 and the GPNY Platform Committee needs your help to create it! We are inviting all registered Greens in New York State, and GPNY Supporting Members not legally allowed to register, to contribute proposed planks and amendments to the draft platform revision on the topics you know and care about most. This is a great opportunity for you to help sharpen our message with a statement that speaks to the issues that concern you. We also encourage Green Party locals and affiliated counties to discuss and submit their ideas for the new platform. The current platform can be viewed and downloaded at www.gpny.org/our_platform. To facilitate our discussions, GPNY is using an online message board where users can submit and discuss platform ideas. To participate, please fill out the enrollment verification form. Upon verification of your enrollment (or eligibility to participate as a Supporting Member), we'll send you the forum registration link.  Continue reading