Mountain Party
Encyclopedia
The Mountain Party is a political party
in the state of West Virginia
that on July 8, 2007, at its state convention, voted to become the West Virginia affiliate of the Green Party
. At the 2007 Green Party National Meeting the party was admitted to the Green Party as a state affiliate. It is a progressive
and environmentalist
party. The party platform calls for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining
. It also calls for timber
regulation that reduces flood
ing, erosion
and eliminates clear-cutting and destruction of old-growth forests. Other platform planks include an end to corporate welfare
, and the establishment of small community school
s, universal health care
and campaign finance reform
.
The party, similar in its outlook to the liberal
wing of the Democratic Party
, was created partially in response to the perceived conservative
tilt of the state's Democratic Party.
laws, a party gains automatic ballot access for the subsequent election cycle by gaining one percent of the votes for Governor
. Having obtained access by petition in 2000, the party achieved that one percent in that election and again in 2004 and won over 4% of votes in 2008.
The Mountain Party was born as a direct result of the Denise Giardina
for Governor campaign in the year 2000 general election.
Gubernatorial candidate Jesse Johnson unsuccessfully sued to be included in debates between the major candidates in 2004 and again in 2008.
While the Mountain Party has never elected anyone to any statewide office, it has obtained good results in local elections. In 2004 Richwood
elected party member and local poet Bob Henry Baber
as its mayor, although this was in a non-partisan election.
As of November 2009, 1041 West Virginians had registered as Mountain Party voters and were eligible to vote in party primaries.
Governor
11th Senate District
30th Senate District
51st House District
12th Senate District
55th Delegate District
36th Delegate District
Governor
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in the state of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
that on July 8, 2007, at its state convention, voted to become the West Virginia affiliate of the Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
. At the 2007 Green Party National Meeting the party was admitted to the Green Party as a state affiliate. It is a progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
and environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
party. The party platform calls for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
. It also calls for timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
regulation that reduces flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing, erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
and eliminates clear-cutting and destruction of old-growth forests. Other platform planks include an end to corporate welfare
Corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a pejorative term describing a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment on corporations or selected corporations. The term compares corporate subsidies and welfare payments to the poor, and implies that corporations are much less...
, and the establishment of small community school
Community school
The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...
s, universal health care
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
and campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
.
The party platform
As of April 27, 2002, the party's platform focused on:- Environmental Protection: sustainable energySustainable energySustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
, sustainable agricultureSustainable agricultureSustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
, pro-environmental economic development; a halt to mountaintop removal coal mining in order to preserve forestland and streams; timber regulation that reduces flooding, erosion and eliminates clear-cutting and destruction of old-growth forests; full enforcement of current environmental protection laws; and phasing out the most ecologically harmful sources of energy
- Election law reform: Promote political justice, Enhance voter access, Full Public Financing of elections, Same day registration, Independent, non-partisan election commission, Free airtime and access to debates * Accurate and verifiable voter rolls, Instant runoff voting and other progressive voting systems
- Corporate accountability: Require corporations to pay higher tax rates and be responsible corporate neighbors; Hold the executives of a corporation directly liable for their decisions; Challenge corporate personhood; Enforce laws governing corporate crime and violence
- Economic fairness: Promote economic justice and community-based business organizations and activities; promote a living wage for all West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
workers; and promote the ability to form unions and have collective bargaining
- Education: Small community-based public schools and enforce time limits on busing; realign state budgetary priorities to ensure that all citizens attain an adequate educational level; provide civic education that encourages active participation in the democratic process beyond voting
- Universal Health Care: Enact universal healthcare to include medical, dental and prescription benefits; promote healthy lifestyles in order to decrease medical expenditures for preventable disease; curtail corporate-induced disease
- True democratic principles in government: promote political justice; no privatization of government; proportional representation in the state legislature; transparency and sunshine laws for all government functions
- Tax Reform: Elimination of the sales tax on food and clothing; tax relief for small businesses; elimination of corporate welfare; make the tax code progressive; fair assessments of mineral holdings and properties
- Gambling: Hold citizen referendums on any gambling initiatives in the state
- Fair TradeFair tradeFair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
, Not Free TradeFree tradeUnder a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
: oppose the North American Free Trade AgreementNorth American Free Trade AgreementThe North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA), the Free Trade Area of the AmericasFree Trade Area of the AmericasThe Free Trade Area of the Americas , , ) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas but Cuba. In the last round of negotiations, trade ministers from 34 countries met in Miami, United States, in November 2003 to discuss the proposal...
treaty (FTAA), the World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
treaty (WTO), the General Agreement on Tariffs and TradeGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and TradeThe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization . GATT was signed in 1947 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World...
(GATT), and any future global trade treaties
The party, similar in its outlook to the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
wing of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, was created partially in response to the perceived conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
tilt of the state's Democratic Party.
History
Under West Virginia ballot accessBallot access
Ballot access rules, called nomination rules outside the United States, regulate the conditions under which a candidate or political party is either entitled to stand for election or to appear on voters' ballots...
laws, a party gains automatic ballot access for the subsequent election cycle by gaining one percent of the votes for Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
. Having obtained access by petition in 2000, the party achieved that one percent in that election and again in 2004 and won over 4% of votes in 2008.
The Mountain Party was born as a direct result of the Denise Giardina
Denise Giardina
Denise Giardina is a novelist. Her book Storming Heaven was a Discovery Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and received the 1987 W. D. Weatherford Award for the best published work about the Appalachian South. The Unquiet Earth received an American Book Award and the Lillian Smith Book Award...
for Governor campaign in the year 2000 general election.
Gubernatorial candidate Jesse Johnson unsuccessfully sued to be included in debates between the major candidates in 2004 and again in 2008.
While the Mountain Party has never elected anyone to any statewide office, it has obtained good results in local elections. In 2004 Richwood
Richwood, West Virginia
Richwood is a city in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,477 at the 2000 census. A former coal and lumber boom town, the city's population once flirted with 10,000 but the closure of many underground coal mines caused many of Richwood's residents to leave the state...
elected party member and local poet Bob Henry Baber
Bob Henry Baber
Bob Henry Baber is an American writer, politician and college employee. He is an Appalachian poet who was the first member of the West Virginia Mountain Party to be elected to office when he became mayor of Richwood, West Virginia in 2004...
as its mayor, although this was in a non-partisan election.
As of November 2009, 1041 West Virginians had registered as Mountain Party voters and were eligible to vote in party primaries.
2008 elections
President- Cynthia McKinneyCynthia McKinneyCynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
received 2,327 votes, less than 1% of presidential votes cast in the state.
Governor
- Jesse JohnsonJesse Johnson (politician)Jesse C. Johnson, Jr. is an Executive Committee member and former chair of the environmentalist Mountain Party, the West Virginia affiliate of the Green Party. He has twice been his party's candidate for Governor of West Virginia, and once for a Senate seat...
received 31,195 votes or 4.46% of gubernatorial votes cast.
11th Senate District
- Andy Waddell received 2,788 votes or 7%.
30th Senate District
- John Wellbourn received 3,889 votes or 1.5%.
51st House District
- Robin Mills received 1,655 votes or 24%.
2004 elections
Governor- Jesse Johnson received 18,430 of 744,433 votes or 2.48%.
12th Senate District
- John M. Williams (Weston) received 2048 of 43,858 votes or 4.67%.
2002 elections
15th Senate District- Kit Patten (Great Cacapon) received 1173 of 26,264 votes or 4.47%.
55th Delegate District
- Vince George (Shepherdstown), in a two-candidate race against John Overington, a Republican, received 1396 of 3589 votes or 38%.
36th Delegate District
- Bob Henry Baber (Richwood) received 376 of 3868 votes or 9.72%.
2000 elections
President- Ralph NaderRalph NaderRalph 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....
received 10,680 votes or 1.63% of presidential votes cast in the state.
Governor
- Denise GiardinaDenise GiardinaDenise Giardina is a novelist. Her book Storming Heaven was a Discovery Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and received the 1987 W. D. Weatherford Award for the best published work about the Appalachian South. The Unquiet Earth received an American Book Award and the Lillian Smith Book Award...
received 10,416 votes or 1.62%.