Maryland Green Party Urges General Assembly Support for Fracking Ban
February 26, 2013
The Green Party urges the Maryland General Assembly to approve House Bill 337 and Senate Bill 514, prohibiting the hydraulic fracturing of wells in Maryland. The Green Party opposes "fracking" and urges all Marylanders to ask their representatives to support a full prohibition on the risky practice.
"Maryland can be a leader in development of the clean energy we need to power our future demands," said Tim Willard, Co-Chair of the Maryland Green Party. "We support the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act and further investment in off-shore wind power, which presents many fewer risks than continued oil production and fracking."
"Just as other nations are taking the lead on showing the United States how to create jobs and industry with solar technology, so should Maryland take the lead on developing a wind energy infrastructure. Spending time and taxpayer money on fracking is a huge step backwards."
"Much research shows that we have reached and passed the peak of fossil fuel production while our demands for energy continue to increase," said Ken Eidel, the Maryland Green Party's 2010 candidate for Lieutenant Governor. "Making the transition from one fossil fuel to another will not create energy independence or a sustainable future. The only way we can end dependence on fossil fuels is to make investments in the transition to truly renewable energy sources now."
The Green Party notes the upcoming third anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and questions the ability of any private contractor or governmental agency to prevent either natural gas or fracking chemicals from infiltrating drinking water throughout the East Coast.
The Green Party in Pennsylvania and New York has long opposed fracking of the Marcellus Shale formation. The Green Party's national platform - approved last July at the party's national convention in Baltimore - calls the combined impact of fossil fuel extraction, refining and combustion an "unparalleled assault on environment and human rights" and urges immediate investment in a new energy infrastructure designed to utilize non-fossil fuel sources.
The Green Party argues that - weighed against the increasing cost of climate change, including extensive recovery needed from larger and more frequent storms - such an investment in a new renewable energy infrastructure is the most rational and economical approach to our energy needs.
Maryland Green Party Urges A "No" Vote on Hagerstown Question A
Maryland Green Party Issues Recommendations for 2012 Ballot Questions
February 26, 2013
The Green Party urges the Maryland General Assembly to approve House Bill 337 and Senate Bill 514, prohibiting the hydraulic fracturing of wells in Maryland. The Green Party opposes "fracking" and urges all Marylanders to ask their representatives to support a full prohibition on the risky practice.
"Maryland can be a leader in development of the clean energy we need to power our future demands," said Tim Willard, Co-Chair of the Maryland Green Party. "We support the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act and further investment in off-shore wind power, which presents many fewer risks than continued oil production and fracking."
"Just as other nations are taking the lead on showing the United States how to create jobs and industry with solar technology, so should Maryland take the lead on developing a wind energy infrastructure. Spending time and taxpayer money on fracking is a huge step backwards."
"Much research shows that we have reached and passed the peak of fossil fuel production while our demands for energy continue to increase," said Ken Eidel, the Maryland Green Party's 2010 candidate for Lieutenant Governor. "Making the transition from one fossil fuel to another will not create energy independence or a sustainable future. The only way we can end dependence on fossil fuels is to make investments in the transition to truly renewable energy sources now."
The Green Party notes the upcoming third anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and questions the ability of any private contractor or governmental agency to prevent either natural gas or fracking chemicals from infiltrating drinking water throughout the East Coast.
The Green Party in Pennsylvania and New York has long opposed fracking of the Marcellus Shale formation. The Green Party's national platform - approved last July at the party's national convention in Baltimore - calls the combined impact of fossil fuel extraction, refining and combustion an "unparalleled assault on environment and human rights" and urges immediate investment in a new energy infrastructure designed to utilize non-fossil fuel sources.
The Green Party argues that - weighed against the increasing cost of climate change, including extensive recovery needed from larger and more frequent storms - such an investment in a new renewable energy infrastructure is the most rational and economical approach to our energy needs.
-end-
Maryland Green Party Urges A "No" Vote on Hagerstown Question A
November 5, 2012
The Maryland Green Party opposes Washington County (Hagerstown Only) Question A and urges all voters to vote against the question on November 6th.
The Hagerstown charter currently allows five nominees of each recognized political party - Green, Libertarian, Democrat, and Republican - to appear on the General Election ballot for City Council, and for one nominee of each party to appear as candidates for Mayor. Question A would cut these numbers in half and could severely curtail the political and ideological diversity of the General Election ballot.
The Maryland Green Party sees Question A as another example of 'top-two' balloting proposals making its way across the country. California's Proposition 14 introduced 'top-two' schemes to the national stage in 2010.
"The story supporters of 'top-two' laws tell is that nominating the top two candidates for a General Election 'without regard to political party' increases voter choice," said Brian Bittner, Treasurer of the Maryland Green Party. "In fact, it limits voter choice in the end. If the 'top-two' Mayoral candidates in the next Hagerstown primary election happen to be from the same party, voters will be stuck with a single ideological viewpoint on the ballot. Those who don't agree with it will stay home. Of course, political parties won't sit back and let this ideological consolidation 'happen'. They will work behind the scenes to make sure it happens, in their favor."
The Maryland Green Party supports wider ballot access and opposes attempts to limit voter choice in General Elections. It urges all Hagerstown voters to oppose Question A.
-end-
Maryland Green Party Issues Recommendations for 2012 Ballot Questions
October 26, 2012
The Maryland Green Party makes the following recommendations for the questions on this year's General Election ballot:
Question 1 (Qualifications for Orphans Court for Prince George's County) - No Position
Question 2 (Qualifications for Orphans Court for Baltimore County) - No Position
Question 3 (Removal From Office for Elected Officials Convicted of Crimes) - Vote Yes
Question 4 (In-State Tuition for Undocumented Immigrants) - Vote Yes
Question 5 (Approve Congressional Redistricting) - Vote No
Question 6 (Approve Marriage Equality) - Vote Yes
Question 7 (Approve New Casino in Prince George's County) - Vote No
The Maryland Green Party supports Question 4. The party wholeheartedly supports universal funding of postsecondary education regardless of an individual's citizenship status. While the party supports the Maryland "DREAM Act" it is wary of the federal DREAM Act - which broadens military recruiting efforts in a way that disproportionately impacts immigrant Americans - and notes that support for Question 4 should not be interpreted as support for the federal DREAM Act.
The Maryland Green Party opposes Question 5. The party agrees with the Washington Post's editorial board that "brazenly partisan redistricting leads to non-competitive elections whose winners need never fear a plausible challenge from the opposing party. The result is a Congress stuffed with incumbents who, lacking any incentive to compromise, provide the building blocks for political paralysis".
The Maryland Green Party enthusiastically endorses Question 6. The party is a coalition partner of Marylanders for Marriage Equality and has publicly proclaimed its support for marriage equality for over a decade.
The Maryland Green Party opposes Question 7. The party advocates broader support for public education and is concerned that revenue resulting from Question 7 will not be spent as promised. The party opposes a government role in promoting gaming to generate revenue.
The Maryland Green Party issues no further recommendations on any candidates other than its nominees - Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala for President and Vice President, Bob Auerbach for U.S. House of Representatives for the 5th District, and George Gluck for U.S. House of Representatives in the 8th District.
-end-
Maryland Green Party Joins Marylanders for Marriage Equality Coalition, Urges Support for Question 6 This November
September 11, 2012
The Maryland Green Party has joined Marylanders for Marriage Equality, a coalition of organizations working to defend marriage equality during this year's general election. The Green Party urges all Marylanders to vote in support of Question 6 this November 6th, to uphold the Civil Marriage Protection Act.
"The Green Party has unequivocally supported marriage equality since its recognition by the State Board of Elections in 2000," said Karen Jennings, former Green Party candidate for Annapolis City Council and Volunteer Coordinator for the Chesapeake Pride Festival. "Greens have testified in Annapolis on behalf of the Civil Marriage Protection Act. Our past candidates for Governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate have frequently reiterated their support for state and federal protections for all marriages, regardless of the gender of the persons involved."
The Green Party has a lengthy history of support for marriage equality and the LGBT community. In 2004, the Green Party's Jason West, Mayor of New Paltz, NY, was charged with 19 misdemeanor counts for marrying same-sex couples. The Green National Committee has accredited a Lavender (LGBT) Caucus with year-round voting privileges in addition to delegates at the party's Presidential Nominating Convention. The Green Party has supported marriage equality in its national platform for over a decade.
"We are calling on all Greens and all Marylanders to get out and vote in support of marriage equality this November," said Michael Cornell, member of the Columbia Council and former Chair of the Maryland Green Party. "Maryland has the opportunity to make history by upholding marriage equality by a popular vote. The Green Party is proud to have joined with many other groups working to make this a reality."
-end-
Maryland Green Party Once Again Certified, Will Appear on General Election Ballot
August 27, 2012
The Green Party had been ballot-qualified continuously since it was first recognized in 2000. Greens had successfully fulfilled the requirements for re-certification three times by collecting 10,000 signatures of registered voters.
The party's latest petition was rejected by state officials in March of 2010 for various technical discrepancies, including the omission of middle initials of many signers. Greens protested the severity of the state's signature scrutiny by filing a lawsuit against the State Board of Elections in cooperation with the Libertarian Party of Maryland. The parties won the suit in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County but were de-certified after losing the state's appeal in May of this year.
"In spite of the numerous hurdles put up over the last two years, we had no doubt we would prevail in the end," said Tim Willard, Co-Chair of the Maryland Green Party. "We are now finally certain, less than three months before the election, that Marylanders will actually be able to vote for our candidates."
"We continue to work to end these exclusionary ballot access laws," said Michael Cornell, former Maryland Green Party Co-Chair and current River Hill Representative to the Columbia Council. "Imagine an Olympic race that required some runners to appeal to the crowd to be allowed to participate while others had already started. This would not be a fair game, and it's not fair to Marylanders at the ballot box. The exclusion of Green Party and other smaller party candidates in many states deprives voters of the choices they deserve across the country."
"Many people are concerned about voter suppression in southern states but the petition process is the Maryland version," said Bill Barry, Membership Coordinator of the Maryland Green Party. "When only two parties are allowed to run in districts drawn to prefer one, voters stay home. This is a legal and relatively secret method of suppressing voter turnout for partisan reasons."
The Green Party has nominated two candidates for U.S. House of Representatives - George Gluck of Rockville for the 8th District and Bob Auerbach of Greenbelt for the 5th District - in addition to its Presidential ticket. Jill Stein of Massachusetts and Cheri Honkala of Pennsylvania were nominated by the national Green Party as its Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates, respectively. Delegates from 33 Green Parties cast their votes at the party's national convention in Baltimore last month, the first convention of a national political party in Baltimore since 1912.
"The Maryland Green Party is poised to be a leader among Green Parties, as our successful hosting of this year's national convention proved," said Brian Bittner, Treasurer of the Maryland Green Party. "Winning re-certification as a political party once again was only the next step in that national leadership."
-end-
