Chronology of GPCO Recalls and Expulsions
Date
Event
Result
Aug 31, 2016
GPCO Cochair Bill Bartlett submitted proposal to endorse 2016 ballot initiative for universal health care insurance (ColoradoCare Amendment 69).
Unclear. The voting was extended to allow chapters time to meet and discuss ColoradoCare. The facilitator for this proposal never posted a final vote tally. There was confusion about whether Poudre Valley and Southwest chapters were active at the time. Assuming there were 10 active chapters the proposal needed participation from at least six chapters to reach quorum; 6 chapters participated. 7 YES votes were cast: Susan Hall (Boulder), Kevin Alumbaugh (Boudler), Michael Haughey (Jefferson), Scott Lupo (Jefferson), Larry Dunn (Adams), Bill Bartlett (state Co-chair) and Meral Sharper (Pikes Peak). 3 STAND ASIDE or DISAGREE votes were cast: Sean Friend (Arapahoe), Bob Kinsey (Pikes Peak) and Andrea Merida (Denver).
Sep 22, 2016
GPCO Secretary Sean Friend submitted proposal to Recall Cochair Bill Bartlett, sponsored by Sean Friend (Arapahoe chapter) and Dave Bell (Poudre Valley chapter).
Rejected by Council Facilitator Brittany Hoover on Sep. 23, 2016.
Sep 27, 2016
Proposal submitted to Recall GPCO Cochair Bill Bartlett
Failed. But Bill Bartlett resigned as Cochair.
Oct 15, 2016
Proposal for immediate elections for both Co-Chair positions for interim terms, a cooling off period, and then elections at the next State Party meeting for full terms.
Failed.
Jun 14, 2017
CRGV filed grievance with GPUS Accreditation Committee (AC) and Steering Committee (SC) and notified the respondents – Andrea Merida, Dave Bell and Jason Justice.
July 14, 2017
AC published preliminary findings and recommendations on 7/14/17.
AC Findings:
“We believe that there has been a break-down of the consensus and democratic processes within the Green Party of Colorado.
“We believe that a toxic atmosphere with retaliatory behavior has developed between factions of the Green Party of Colorado through the use of inflammatory language which is further dividing the party and disrupting its activities. This toxic atmosphere is contrary to Green Party values and only serves to escalate discord.
“We believe that consolidation of power in the party structure is ultimately counter-productive to the growth and longevity of the party, and tends to attract suspicion whether warranted or not.
“At this time, the Accreditation Committee agrees that the evidence presented does not warrant disaffiliation of the Colorado Green Party with the National Green Party. We do however, reserve the right to revisit the issue of accreditation if some of the grievances by the complainants are not met.”
AC Recommendations:
“We recommend that the GPCO delegate the administration of the Forum to two members in good standing who would be agreeable to both the complainants and the respondents.
“We recommend a call for new elections that preclude the possibility of top party offices being held by the same person. GPCO’s upcoming elections in August may fulfill this recommendation.
“Since members of both parties expressed the willingness to enter into conflict resolution, we recommend that the complainants and the respondents or their representatives use the tools of the national party and work with the Dispute Resolutions Committee to develop a mutually respectful working relationship.
“We recommend that one or more outside observers attend the upcoming GPCO Membership Meeting in August, and report back to the Accreditation Committee as to how the use of the state bylaws and ten key values were handled, as well as the level of discourse observed at the meeting.
“We strongly urge that GPCO does not make any involuntary changes to the status, roles, or access of current GPCO members until the votes of the August elections.”
Jun 21, 2017
Poudre Valley chapter proposal to Revoke Rights of Participation from Judy Harrington
Passed on July 17, 2017.
Jul 8, 2017
Notification of proposal to Revoke Rights of Rights of Participation from Andrea Merida.
On recommendation from the GPUS AC, Harry Hempy dropped the proposal.
From the Proposal: Alternatives to the proposal: “Andrea could acknowledge the following actions have hurt GPCO, make amends, and commit to work in a transparent, inclusive, team-oriented spirit in the future.
(a) ColoradoCare: Andrea published an erroneous report on ColoradoCare Amendment 69 (then known as Initiative 20) in the Denver chapter newsletter in July 2015. She covered up the error by blocking Harry Hempy from the Denver chapter’s Facebook page when he tried to post accurate information and blocking him from the GPCO public website. She retaliated against Bill Bartlett in September 2017 when he submitted a proposal to endorse ColoradoCare by getting him recalled as her state co-chair.
(b) Anti-feminist behavior: Andrea excoriated men who commented on a Jill Stein meme with the words, “I respectfully request the males to butt out of this discussion. Men have no right to inject their opinions in Green discussions of feminism.” This is just one example of Andrea acting more like a dictator than a feminist who values cooperative ways of interacting.”
Jul 12, 2017
Notification of proposal to Revoke Rights of Participation from Harry Hempy
Passed on Aug. 3, 2017.
The Bylaws requirement that rights of participation can only be revoked by a vote at an Annual Meeting was suspended to allow Council to pass this proposal. This proposal was not reviewed or ratified at the 2017 AM. Harry was not afforded an opportunity to address the AM before having his rights revoked, in direct violation of GPCO Bylaws.
Jul 24, 2017
Greater Boulder chapter submitted proposal to Reactivate Jefferson County chapter, after the chapter “missed” voting on three proposals. (The proposals were actually in the “Proposal Drafting” section of the forum, not the voting section).
Failed. GPCO Secretary, Sean Friend, argued to not reactivate the Jefferson County chapter because Michael Haughey and Scott Lupo co-signed the CRGV grievance.
Jul 24, 2017
Proposal submitted to amend Bylaws to allow Disciplinary Actions by State Council
Passed by Council on Aug. 11, 2017 with (only) 12 YES votes. The Annual meeting, held Aug. 12, 2017, was not allowed to review or ratify the Bylaws change.
Aug 12, 2017 – GPCO Annual Convention at the Eloise May Library, 1471 S. Parker Rd., Denver CO
2017 GPCO AM: proposal to reinstate Harry Hempy’s good standing.
Failed.
Andrea Merida and Gary Swing elected as co-chairs
Preface and Statement by Gary Swing
Aug 15, 2017
Proposal submitted for protocols for GPUS National Committee Delegates
Passed on Aug. 22, 2017.
Aug 22, 2017
Proposal to appoint Veronique Bellamy, Dave Bell and Vincent Cervantes to GPUS Accreditation Committee
Passed on Aug. 31, 2017.
Sep 7, 2017
The GPUS Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) recommended that the parties enter into mediation with a DRC mediator in order to repair the intra-party personal relationships and, as a second focus, IF agreed to by both parties, identify joint recommendations to improve GPCO processes in the future.
Harry Hempy, Michael Haughey, Judy Harrington and Kevin Alumbaugh formally requested the DRC to provide mediation for a series of discussions in regard to the CRGV grievance with Andrea Merida, Dave Bell and Jason Justice.
Andrea declined to participate without (unacceptable) preconditions
DRC Mediation failed on Oct. 18, 2017
Respondents did not agree to mediation by the Oct 16 deadline.
Jan 18, 2018
Proposal submitted to Revoke Rights of Participation from Gary Swing
Passed on Jan. 25, 2018
Jan 18, 2018
Proposal submitted to Revoke Rights of Participation from Bill Bartlett
Passed on Jan. 25, 2018
Jan 18, 2018
Proposal submitted to Revoke Rights of Participation from Kevin Alumbaugh
Passed on Jan. 25, 2018
Jan 18, 2018
Proposal submitted to Revoke Rights of Participation from Scott Lupo
Passed on Jan. 25, 2018
Jan 18, 2018
Proposal submitted to Revoke Rights of Participation from Susan Hall
Passed on Jan. 28, 2018
Jan 18, 2018
Proposal submitted to Revoke Rights of Participation from Tom Hall
Passed on Jan. 28, 2018
Jan 18, 2018
Proposal submitted to Revoke Rights of Participation from Carolyn Bninski
Passed on Jan. 28, 2018
Jan 18, 2018
Proposal submitted to Revoke Rights of Participation from Michael Haughey
Passed on Jan. 28, 2018
September 10, 2018
The Green Party of the US (GPUS) Accreditation Committee Subcommittee working on the complaint against the Green Party of Colorado (GPCO) released its report for review by the full Accreditation Committee.
By this time the AC Committee had been stacked by Andrea Merida supporters and the committee refused to release the report.