2020 Green Party of the US nomination bias
Dario Hunter was the second place candidate for the Green Party’s presidential nomination. Darlene Elias was his running mate for the Green Party’s presidential nomination. Here, Dario writes about efforts to purge Darlene Elias from the Massachusettes Green Party. He also references the purge of Green Party members in Colorado. Purged Green Party members put Dario Hunter on Colorado’s general election ballot as a “Progressive Party” candidate for President. Darlene Elias initially filed for vice president, but she withdrew for personal reasons. Dawn Neptune Adams stepped in to replace her on the ballot.
https://medium.com/@dariohunter/green-purge-how-the-green-party-us-is-too-busy-eating-its-own-to-save-the-planet-5c1adcdc4b87
Five candidates who sought the Green Party’s 2020 presidential nomination (Dennis Lambert, Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry, David Rolde, Ian Schlakman and Chad Wilson) complained that the Green Party’s nomination process was rigged in favor of Howie Hawkins.
https://medium.com/team-schlakman/joint-call-to-action-statement-issued-by-five-2020-green-party-presidential-candidates-8b488b044142
Five candidates for the Green Party’s 2020 presidential nomination signed this complaint concerning the Green Party’s nomination of Howie Hawkins. (Signed by Chad Wilson, Dario Hunter, Dennis Lambert, Susan Buchser-Lochocki, and David Rolde. Also signed by Dawn Neptune Adams, who became the Progressive Party nominee for Vice President, placed on Colorado’s ballot by purged Green Party members). Altogether, seven candidates for the Green Party’s presidential nomination signed complaints that the Green Party’s presidential nomination was rigged in favor of Howie Hawkins. Andrea Merida, state co-chair of the Green Party of Colorado, was Howie Hawkins’ campaign manager.
This letter references attachments filed with the FEC as part of a complaint about the invalidity of Howie Hawkins’ nomination. I don’t have the attachments.
Statement of Green Party Presidential Candidates on the Invalidity of the Rigged Primary: Suggestions for Moving Forward.
The Green Party 2020 presidential primary process was conducted unfairly (or rigged) in some states with members of Howie Hawkins campaign team in key committee positions controlling the process and keeping candidates off primary ballots, out of debates, and uninvited for party events. Paid members of the Hawkins campaign team served in Green Party leadership roles in which they administered aspects of the presidential primary process at the national and state levels while they promoted Hawkins’ campaign and obstructed the campaigns of other candidates.
In Spring 2019 Hawkins was invited and paid to speak at a number of state Green Party conventions at which other candidates were not allowed to speak. His campaign team members were also paid to attend party events while promoting the Hawkins campaign.
Hawkins is in violation of the party affiliation rule (by being a member of another party) and is not eligible to be an “Officially Recognized” candidate by the GPUS rules. Despite the violation of this PCSC rule, Hawkins was included on state primary ballots and debates on the basis that he was “recognized” while other candidates were excluded on the basis that they were not “recognized”.
We are attaching evidence from an FEC complaint filed by Clean the Greens on July 9, 2020. We are attaching or linking to several joint statements beginning on July 19th, 2019 that have been issued by GPUS presidential candidates during this cycle about the unfair practices within the Green Party that have been benefitting the Hawkins campaign. We are linking to a statement by former Green Party presidential candidate Ian Schlakman ending his campaign due to Green Party insiders obstructing his ballot access. We are linking to recent videos by candidate Dario Hunter about his experiences with these issues, and on issues about the current GPUS National Convention being controlled by the same Hawkins campaign members simultaneously holding national leadership positions responsible for the planning of the 2020 convention. The PCSC has not allowed Hunter’s delegates to challenge the validity of state GP delegations. Screen time at the online nominating convention will be controlled by Michael O’Neil, the Green Party US Communications Manager and is paid by the Hawkins campaign.
To remedy this situation, we call on Hawkins delegates at the nominating convention on July 11 to recognize that the primary was rigged and invalid, and to therefore serve the interests of justice for the Green Party and the people by refusing to vote for Hawkins on the first round and instead abstaining or voting for NOTA. We would then have a multi-round contested convention.
If a rigged convention is allowed to go forward and nominate Hawkins, then we presidential candidates demand that Green Party US leadership bodies take the following steps:
1. The rigged nomination decision must be thrown out. The current primary results must be declared invalid.
2. The primaries must be redone, perhaps with nationwide online voting by Green Party members, followed by a new convention in August or late July based on ballot access restrictions.
3. Howie Hawkins must be disqualified from participating in the new primary and nominating process
4. All declared/announced GP presidential candidates must appear on all primary (or convention or caucus or equivalent) ballots. Candidates will have an opportunity to make the declaration following the acceptance of these demands.
5. If possible, the GPUS will conduct at least one, with the best option of a series of presidential debates from now until the rescheduled primary vote including all presidential candidates.
6. All declared/announced presidential candidates must be allowed to speak at all conventions, forums, debates and other events in the future with the PCSC creating a list of these events and providing this information to the candidates. State parties will be responsible for providing a calendar of events to the PCSC for communication of this information.
7. If state Green Parties need to file for ballot access before the new convention, if possible they should file a placeholder for the eventual GP nominee to be on the ballot rather than naming a specific candidate. All parties should communicate ballot access information to the PCSC so that they may provide it to presidential candidates who may then plan their campaigns to help state parties with ballot access issues.
8. The Hawkins campaign must repay any and all money that was misappropriated from the Green Party by members of elected and paid Green Party staff used to promote the Hawkins campaign at state or national events.
9. An immediate creation and adoption of an Ethics and Morals Committee of the Green Party to ensure that a future conflict of interest does not arise in the future. (Future Focus) The Ethics and Morals Committee shall not have members of any candidate’s committee and they shall also not serve in other positions of influence within the party. This committee should be impartial and base its decisions on the Ten Key Values and the Four Pillars of the Green Party of the United States.
The Candidates for the Green Party Nomination for President
Signed Chad Wilson
Signed Dario Hunter
Signed Dennis Lambert
Signed Susan Buchser-Lochocki
Signed David Rolde
Other Concerned Green Party Candidates
Signed
Other Green Party Members
Signed Dawn Neptune Adams