Welcome to the February 2018 issue of the Sunflower Seed! In this issue you will find upcoming events, get a recap of our Winter Membership Meeting, catch up on the swearing in of two Minneapolis Greens, read our tribute to Annie Young, learn about the recent success of the Green-Left Party in Iceland, hear #MeToo statements from Green Party Women and more. Enjoy!

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“We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender.” –Green Party 10 Key Values

The #MeToo Movement has launched a powerful conversation about the toxic Patriarchy which dominates our political, social, environmental and economic landscape and how we overcome it.

Below are powerful statements from Green Party Women on how they view this movement and what they have to say about how we “transform the relationship between men and women from one characterized by exploitation, violence and dominance to one based on equality and mutual respect” (Green Party of Minnesota Platform).

It is with a heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of former Green Minneapolis Park Board Commissioner Annie Young.

Annie had always been a pioneering and visionary activist in all the fields she endeavored to enter. Politics was certainly no exception. Annie was one of the very first Green Party elected officials in the state of Minnesota. She had recently retired as one of the longest-serving Green Party elected officials in the entire country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

St. Paul, Minnesota (December 7, 2017) - We find Minnesota in an embarrassing national spotlight due to the egregious and inappropriate behavior of one of our highest office elected public servants, Senator Al Franken. We fully accept, and approve of, his resignation today as it signals his admission that he has broken our public trust and the ability to represent us Minnesotans.

In a night which saw progressive gains across the country, Minneapolis Greens returned Cam Gordon to the City Council in Minneapolis for his fourth term, and maintained a presence on the Minneapolis Park Board as well, where LaTrisha Vetaw won a seat at-large, and will replace retiring Green Annie Young on that body.

Green Party Candidate for Minneapolis Park Board District 1 on KMOJ 89.9!

Frederick Melo Pioneer Press

PUBLISHED: November 1, 2017 at 7:00 am | UPDATED: November 1, 2017 at 1:25 pm

Elizabeth Dickinson was putting the finishing touches on two employee management books about self-coaching and coaching others when representatives of a progressive women’s group approached her.

With no other viable female candidates in the race, how would she feel about running for St. Paul mayor?

Dickinson, 57, has been an actress, a psychologist, a state lobbyist and personal life coach. But mayor?

Her prior campaigns — 2003 for city council and 2005 for mayor — both ended in busy political primaries, eliminating her from contention well before election day. And that was a dozen years ago, when she was still active with the West Side Community Organization and Clean Energy Now, the advocacy coalition she co-founded.

But this time around, there is no primary election to pare down the candidates. On Nov. 7, the Green Party-endorsed Dickinson will appear on the ballot, though the 10-person field remains as crowded as ever.

“They said there’s a hole in the race and we think you should fill it,” said Dickinson, recalling the conversation that got her back into politics shortly after Christmas Day, a relatively late start for serious contenders. “There wasn’t anybody carrying an environmental agenda and energy agenda. There wasn’t a woman. And there wasn’t a person that I saw with the leadership skills that I’ve developed over the past 20 years.”

By Eric Roper Star Tribune

St. Paul mayoral candidate Elizabeth Dickinson, left, chats with Stuart Schmitz outside his home. “I’m the only Green. … What makes me the most different … is emphasizing energy and the environment,” she says. Elizabeth Dickinson.