Green Party of Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
| Green Party of Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990s |
| Colors | Green Green Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered... |
| Political ideology | green Green politics Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy... , social democratic or agrarian |
| International alignment | Global Greens Global Greens The Global Greens is a global network of Green parties and political movements. It was founded in 2001 in Canberra, Australia at the First Global Greens Congress, where the Global Green Charter was approved. The Second Global Greens Congress was held in 2008 in Sao Paolo, Brazil... |
Key values
The Green Party of OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
is a third party
Third party (United States)
The term third party is used in the United States for any and all political parties in the United States other than one of the two major parties . The term can also refer to independent politicians not affiliated with any party at all and to write-in candidates.The United States has had a...
founded on the Four Pillars of the Green Party
Four Pillars of the Green Party
The Four Pillars of the Green Party are a foundational statement of Green politics and form the basis of many worldwide Green parties. The Four Pillars are:* Ecological wisdom* Social justice* Grassroots democracy* Nonviolence...
: ecological wisdom, social justice, grass-roots democracy and non-violence.
History
The state party's original roots are not certain, but the best known history is that there were two local Green Party chapters active in the late 1990s, the Central Oklahoma Green Party (which later split into the Oklahoma County Green Party and the Cleveland County Green Party) and the Green Country Green Party (representing the Tulsa metropolitan area and Northeastern Oklahoma).Prior to the formation of a statewide party, Green Party members in Oklahoma (through state-wide nominating conventions) sent delegates to the national Green Party nominating conventions in 1996 and 2000. Greens state-wide also cooperated in the publication of The Greenleaf (a state Green Party newspaper).
In 2002, the local chapters joined together in issuing a call for the Founding convention of the Green Party of Oklahoma, which was held at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in Norman on November 16, 2002. At this convention the party elected the following members to the state executive board: Rachel Jackson & Ben Alpers as co-chairs, Secretary Danelle ?lastname, Doug Vincent as Treasurer, and James M. Branum, Alice Anderton, and Brian Wright as members at large. (shortly after this convention Danelle resigned as Secretary and Belinda Silverstar was selected by the executive committee to serve in her place).
The second state convention was held at Dwight Mission
Dwight Mission, Oklahoma
Dwight Mission is a census-designated place in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 32 at the 2000 census...
near Vian in May 2003 (where the party drafted its state platform), and the third state convention was held in the spring of 2004 at the Newcastle Senior Citizens Center in Newcastle, OK (at this convention Branum succeeded Alpers as co-chair, and Micah Atkins was elected to fill the vacancy left by Branum's change in position. The party also elected Alpers, Branum, Silverstar, and Curtis Andrew Beckwith to represent the state at the GPUS national convention in the summer of 2004). Later in 2004, Brian Wright resigned his position and Serena Blaiz was chosen to serve in his place.
The fourth state convention was held at the campgrounds of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Chickasaw National Recreation Areais a National Recreation Area situated in the foothills of the Arbuckle Mountains in south-central Oklahoma near Sulphur.-History:...
in Sulphur, OK. The convention was notable for its adoption of the so-called "Radical Proposal", a bylaws revision that abolished the current state Executive Committee and replaced it with a state Cooperative Council, composed of voting representatives from each of the local chapters, as well as non-voting membership by GPOK members who wish to participate. The party now has a Facilitator who manages the flow of discussion at meetings but no longer has the executive position of Co-chair.
The fifth annual state convention was held in Tulsa in 2006. Major business of the convention included the endorsement of the party's first candidate for the State House. In 2007, the party held its Sixth annual convention in Stroud, Oklahoma at the historic Rock Cafe on old Route 66. The speaker at this convention was Sean Hough, a worker from the Libertarian Party who had come to work with Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform. Stroud also hosted the Seventh Annual convention in 2008. In 2009, the party returned to its birthplace in Norman for this Eighth Annual Convention.
Currently there are four local chapters in Oklahoma County, Cleveland County, Green Country, and the Rural Oklahoma Green Party (a local chapter that represents Oklahoma Greens outside of the major metropolitan areas).
Major events that received press coverage
The Oklahoma Greens conducted protests in 2000 against Ralph NaderRalph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
's exclusion from the state's Presidential ballots.
In 2002 the party circulated a candidate questionnaire to all of the statewide candidates for Oklahoma political office that year. Following the election a controversy arose over candidate Brad Henry
Brad Henry
Charles Bradford "Brad" Henry was the 26th Governor of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected governor in 2002...
's statements regarding the death penalty, in which the governor denied that he had authorized his statement in favor of a death penalty moratorium to the Green Party. (This was discussed by several statewide media outlets.)
Current areas of concern
The state party has been active in organizing on the issues of peace, anti-death penalty, minority language rights, gay rights, rural sustainability and academic freedom. The party has also worked with the Oklahoma Libertarian PartyOklahoma Libertarian Party
The Oklahoma Libertarian Party is the branch of the Libertarian Party in Oklahoma. It has been active in state politics since the 1970s, but due to what critics characterize as Oklahoma's restrictive ballot access requirements the party has been an "official" party during only portions of the last...
and the Oklahoma Constitution Party
Oklahoma Constitution Party
The Oklahoma Constitution Party is a member of the Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform Coalition and is affiliated with the national Constitution Party.-External links:Party Website:...
in seeking to reform Oklahoma's restrictive ballot access laws through the Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform coalition (OBAR).
In 2000 the party unsuccessfully petitioned to place Ralph Nader on the Oklahoma Presidential ballot . In 2004, the party held a "protest petition drive" (gathering a nominal number of signatures as a form of protest) to place GPUS presidential nominee David Cobb
David Cobb
David Keith Cobb is an American activist and was the 2004 presidential candidate of the Green Party of the United States .-Career and political activities:...
on the Oklahoma Presidential ballot. Following this, the party joined with other members of the OBAR coalition in calling for Oklahoma voters to cast a blank ballot for President as part of a so-called "None of the Above
None of the above
None of the Above or against all is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of all of the candidates in a voting system...
" Presidential campaign.
In 2005, the state party was accredited as a state Green Party by the Green Party of the US. (see Green Party US Voting Page (external link).
In 2006, Green Party memberJames M. Branum ran for State House (District #99-Northeast Oklahoma City) as an Independent that was endorsed by the local and state Green parties as their first candidate for public office in Oklahoma. He received 306 votes or 4.81% of the votes cast in the three way race.
The state party also called for a boycott in 2006 of Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
in solidarity with the National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy group in the United States "dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system . ....
and other groups protesting the firing of workers who were members of the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
union.