Green Growth
The very close showing (48%) of the Green candidate, Board of Supervisors president Matt Gonzalez, in the mayoral race for San Francisco illustrates the growth of the Green Party as a viable electoral force in the US, espcially in local elections. This near win by a Green was in spite of being outspent 10 to 1 and having both Clinton and Gore cmpaigning for rival Democrat Gavin. Details.
The Nader 2000 Campaign so stimulated the growth of our true grassroots alternative movement, that today we are the third largest party in the country. In Florida alone the Green Party grew from one or two active locals before the campaign to over a dozen! Following the Nader campaign, around the US, hundreds of Greens have been running for office.
Ballot Access News reported in September, 2002 that the Green Party grew by 27.7% between 2000 and 2002; all other national political parties lost percentages.
The number of Americans registered in the Green Party has topped 300,000, with 302,120 in 22 states according to Ballot Access News. (Some states do not provide numbers for party registrations, or for registrations outside the Democratic and Republican parties.)
There are 205 elected Greens in 28 states as of November 18, 2003. There are Greens in government in San Francisco, Milwaukee, Madison, New Haven and Hartford. Even in conservative Orange County, CA, a Green won a city council seat on "quality of life" issues. Green Mayor Michael Feinstein of Santa Monica, California with Green council member Kevin McKeown helped that city pass the nation’s first overall living wage law. They illustrate how people can benefit when Greens participate in government.
And that is our model. Our role is to educate and advocate about issues of concern, and to run candidates, informed by Green values and ethics, for local office. From the ground up, help us make Miami-Dade Green.
Looking beyond with a model for "Green Globalization", in 2001 over 70 countries sent 800 delegates to Canberra, Australia to meet and develop a worldwide movement and adopt a Global Green Charter. There is a hemispheric Federation of Green Parties spanning the Americas.
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