Green Party of Minnesota

It is with deep sadness that St. Paul Greens have seen our city become an armed camp during the past week. The presence of the RNC gave St. Paul an opportunity to set a shining example of a community where diversity of opinion and freedom of expression are welcomed and where civil disobedience is handled firmly but with restraint. The result would have been trust and respect for law officers and a long step toward realizing our vision of St. Paul as one of the world's greenest cities.

Thanks to hard work by volunteers and lots of signatures of regular Minnesotans, the Secretary of State has accepted our petition to put Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente on the ballot in November. To read more about the Green Party nominated candidates for president and vice president, check out our candidates page.

Greens have been among those targeted for harassment and intimidation by police in a wave of pre-emptive actions taken before the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

On Saturday police surrounded the home of Michael Whelan, a long-time Green Party supporter, whose Arise Bookstore at one time housed the party's office. He was host to a group of independent journalists. The police broke down doors and subjected occupants to house arrest. "You figure this would be going on in South Africa, or Russia, not in St. Paul," Whelan said. "St. Paul is nice."

On Tuesday, August 26th, supporters of Cynthia McKinney delivered over 2,700 petition signatures to gain ballot access for the candidate and her running mate Rosa Clemente. A minimum of 2,000 certified signatures is required by the state of Minnesota in order to gain ballot access in the November 4th general election.

As always, the Green Party of Minnesota will be spending lots of time at the great Minnesota get-together. We'll be distributing information, collecting signatures for our candidates, selling buttons, and spreading the green message. Our booth is staffed by volunteers, and we need some help. If you want to help us out and meet fellow greens, candidates, and office holders, please drop us a line.

We especially need volunteers on August 25th and 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st, for 4-hour shifts. Please contact Suzanne Linton at SuzanneLinton@mngreens.org or by phone at 651-414-9485.

The Green Party of Minnesota held its biennial convention over the weekend of June 7th and 8th in Mankato. The two main items on the agenda were selection of national delegates and endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate.

Diane Peterson of the St. Paul Greens spearheaded a reform bill in the legislature that removed a barrier to her service as an election judge, and that of many other Minnesotans. She served as an election judge for the first time in 2004, when Greens had major party status. Election law allowed major party individuals to serve, but not others. When she learned that soon she would no longer be able to serve because the Greens were scheduled to lose their major status, she decided to change the discriminatory law.

The Green Party of Minnesota's 2008 convention will be in Mankato on June 7th and 8th.

At the convention we'll be endorsing candidates for Senate, choosing delegates to the national convention and making changes to our party's platform. Read on for more information!

At the Green Party's caucus on March 4th, Cynthia McKinney led the state's straw polling at 60% of the votes, with 56 out of 67 senate districts reporting. While the straw poll is non-binding, it is a good indication that Ms. McKinney will likely have a lot of support in the coming June convention, where Minnesota's 12 delegates to the national convention will be chosen.

Full results can be found on the MN Secretary of State's caucus result website.

The Green Party of Minnesota will hold its caucuses on March 4, the date designated by state law, even though the DFL, Republican and Independence parties have agreed to follow the national trend toward ever earlier caucuses and will hold theirs on February 5. Greens emphasize that they object on principle to the lengthening of campaigns for national office.