Green-Rainbow Party Electoral Strategic Plan
Candidate Development and Legal Committee
Approved by the State Convention on 6/22/2003
2004 will be a significant year for the Green-Rainbow party.
Most towns hold
elections in the first six months of the year.
The Massachusetts House and Senate, filled as they are with Democratic and Republican conservatives who generally run unopposed, are up for reelection.
The presidential election is the only statewide election in 2004. Indeed, if we are to maintain our ballot status, either our presidential candidate will need to get 3% of the vote in the general election, or we will need to register roughly 40,000 voters (1% of all voters) by February 14th, 2004.
The Candidate Development and Legal Committee has spent the last six months thinking about where our party should focus its efforts on electoral issues. This document proposes a set of goals for the 2003-2006 time period for approval by the state convention. Since plans beyond two years are very much subject to change, we focus the remainder of this document on the 2003-2004 time period.
Before we think about how we move forward, we first need to define what we wish to achieve. As such, the committee defined the following set of goals for the party for each year from 2003-2006.
· Help members form more local committees to build the party organization;
· Develop a 2003 voter-registration plan and campaign platform;
· Target races where we definitely want to field candidates;
· Talk with local chapters to define a grassroots process for local chapters to recruit, nominate and support candidates for town and state House and Senate races;
· Develop a recruiting process for those areas where we do not have a local chapter;
· Choose 4-5 cities and encourage Green-Rainbows to run.
· Organize Green-Rainbow chapters in 50-75 towns and 10-15 cities;
· Register 25,000 Green-Rainbows (we currently have over 9,000);
· Run at least one party member for town meeting member in every town that has elected town meeting. 38 towns have elected town meeting.
· Contest a minimum of 6 Massachusetts Senate districts;
· Contest a minimum of 40 Massachusetts House districts;
· Place presidential candidates on the primary ballot, organize the selection of delegates to the national nominating convention and organize a presidential campaign should the national nominating convention decide to field a presidential candidate;
· Support Green-Rainbow US House candidates, who decide on their own to run, with literature, training, and hook-ins to Massachusetts House/Senate races, but do not actively aim to recruit US House candidates.
· Run at least one party member to run for city council/school committee office in 8-10 cities;
· Run at least one party member for town meeting member in every town that has elected town meeting. 38 towns have elected town meeting.
· Register 40,000 voters as Green-Rainbows (1% of 2002 vote) to gain permanent ballot status;
· Establish chapters in half of the towns and 3/4 of the cities;
· Run four candidates for state-wide office;
· Contest at least 10 Massachusetts Senate districts, elect one;
· Contest at least 100 Massachusetts House districts, elect 4-6;
· Be prepared to nominate one candidate for US House in case there is a vacancy.
This section will talk about plans for 2003 as well as the 2004 presidential, state house and senate, local and US Congressional elections. A timetable will be provided with this document.
Most town elections are done by June. To date, at least nine candidates have run for town election and five won their election.
The last half of the year is a time of city elections. City general elections will be held on November 4th, 2003. At least three candidates are running.
We have identified five cities where we believe a Green-Rainbow member could get elected. They are:
|
City |
Papers Available |
Papers Due at
Registrar of Voters |
Papers Due at City
Clerk |
Preliminary
Election |
|
Cambridge |
July 1st |
July 31st |
NA |
None |
|
Easthampton |
July 1st |
|
September 16th? |
N/A |
|
Everett |
? |
? |
? |
? |
|
Northampton |
Now |
July 29th |
August 12th |
September 16th |
|
Somerville |
Now |
? |
? |
? |
We will work with the relevant local chapter to field candidates in these cities. A July/August campaign training is planned dependent on the number of candidates that come forward.
The other major activities we foresee for the party include:
·
developing and
implementing a voter registration plan for 2003/2004 that will increase the
number of Green-Rainbow voters to 25,000;
· increasing the number of organized local chapters;
· revising and expanding on the party platform;
· working with the state committee and local chapters to develop a 2004 campaign plan.
The first item needs further definition. This goal is the purview of the Membership and Diversity committee and we do not wish to interfere with their work. However, since our success fielding a large number of candidates is based on their efforts, we have a few ideas for the committee would like to share.
The committee recommends that the Membership and Diversity committee:
· identify the number of Green-Rainbow voters in every city/town and state representative or senate district (much of this information can be provided by us if need be and indeed the information by state senate district is provided below);
· publicize how far a particular area is off from having 1% of all voters be Green-Rainbows;
· set goals for increasing these numbers as well as methods local chapters/members can use to meet these goals.
We further recommend that Membership and Diversity committee setup some form of recognition for locals, campaigns or individuals who double the number of party voters in their area or register in the party 1%, 3%, 5% or even 10% of all voters in an area.
Our wins will come from local and regional races. Most towns hold elections in the first half of the year and most town elections are every year. Generally, one third of all elected positions are up in any year. Thirty eight towns have elected town meeting where we believe Green-Rainbow members can win easily. Usually, 3-4 seats per precinct are up for election every year. These campaigns are low stress, low expense, grassroots campaigns.
The committee will identify and publicize those towns that have elected town meeting or where past candidates have done particularly well. The committee will work with the Membership and Diversity committee to help build local chapters in those communities and assist those chapters in fielding candidates.
The committee recommends that most of our effort be dedicated to fielding forty state representative and six state senate candidates in 2004. Since we do not need to gather signatures to place a presidential candidate on the ballot (see below), we can devote more time and effort to getting lower level candidates on the ballot.
The value of achieving our target (or higher) number of candidates on the ballot and making a strong showing in the general election should not be discounted. Fielding the number of candidates we propose will not only give voters a second choice, but will raise our standing with voters and the media. It will also win us more votes. The 2002 election demonstrated that our district candidates due better than our statewide candidates.
The Green Party in British Columbia has used a strategy of running many candidates to good effect. In the 2001 provincial election, they fielded 72 candidates for 79 single member districts. They won 12% of the vote overall and are clearly the 3rd strongest party in British Columbia. The Libertarian party has used similar tactics in Vermont and Florida with good results.
In 2002, of the 160 state house districts up for election, the Democrats fielded 148 candidates, the Republicans fielded 62 and the Libertarians fielded 17. The Democrats won 136 districts, the Republicans won 23, and the Libertarians won none. The senate results are not much different. With so many non-Democrats losing, we have little to lose by running a large number of candidates.
State representative and state senate campaigns play to our strengths. For these races, especially for state representative:
· we can use grassroots/door-to-door campaigning;
· the minimum costs are not likely to be excessive;
· the number of nomination signatures campaigns will need to gather are not large;
· most incumbents are unopposed in the general election;
· the house, and, less so, the senate are conservative on many of our issues;
· they are partisan elections and so allow our candidates to advance the Green-Rainbow party in their literature and speeches.
We must encourage members who are not white males to run for these and other offices. The three other major parties may feel that it is ok to not encourage women, people of color, youth, people with disabilities and members of the LBGT community from running, but we should not. However, we will not discourage white male candidates from running, only that we will put a greater emphasis on reaching out to non-white male members.
Candidates for state offices have from February 10th, 2004 to April 27th, 2004 to gather the required number of valid signatures for their nomination papers to be placed on the November 2004 ballot. Only those signatures from voters who are registered Green-Rainbow or unenrolled will be considered valid. Candidates for state representative must gather 150 valid signatures and candidates for state senate must gather 300 valid signatures.
The committee believes that all candidates (or, where relevant, their campaign committees) should be expected to:
· Answer, within 24 hours, all phone calls from the media;
· Return, fully answered, all candidate surveys;
· Appear, and fully participate in, all candidate forums;
· Complete accurately, and file timely, all required legal paperwork;
· Support the candidacies of other Green-Rainbow candidates.
The party must provide each candidate with the following items to help them advance their candidacy and the Green-Rainbow party:
· Literature on the Green-Rainbow party and its candidates for campaigns to pass out when they are gathering signatures, doing voter registration or going door-to-door;
· Demographic information on the district;
· Mention on Green-Rainbow party’s 2004 campaign web site as well as space for their own web site if they desire;
· A common platform that includes 6-8 key issues they can include in their campaign as they desire;
· Issue research on the 6-8 key issues that includes a 1-2 pages summary and 15-20 pages of detailed information. Possible topics may include tax equity, energy, prison reform, etc.
We have gathered a wide set of data on each state senate and house district including the 2002 voting results, the number of Green-Rainbow voters, the district member’s voting record, position and rankings by groups that share a number of our values. We will use this information to identify a number of districts where the party must run a candidate, as well as where we probably should not. We also believe that the party should work with like-minded groups to identify districts where we should run candidates.
The committee believes that the candidate recruitment process must be focused on the grassroots. We will work with local chapters to come up with a grassroots plan to identify candidates for state and local offices. Considering that the party will need at least three to four months prior to nomination papers being available to carry out the recruitment plan, the committee will present a grassroots-focused candidate recruitment plan by September 1st, 2003 to the state committee for approval.
Finally, unlike 2002, we will need a unified campaign plan that ties the state senate and house campaigns with the presidential campaign and advances the Green-Rainbow agenda in the minds of voters. The committee will work with local chapters and other state party committees to define a 2004 campaign plan. We anticipate presenting this plan by December 1st to the state committee for approval.
2004 is a unique year since the election laws allow us to place presidential candidates on the March 3rd, 2004 primary ballot without gathering a single nomination signature. All we will need to do is have the co-chairs provide a list of candidates for the primary to the secretary of state by January 2nd, 2004, and notify said candidates that the party has placed them on the ballot.
The presidential primary ballot includes a “No Preference” (i.e. uncommitted to any particular candidate) choice and a write-in space to indicate presidential preference.
State law does define a minimum set of rules for the selection of delegates to the presidential nomination convention. These include that:
· the distribution of delegates under any such system shall reflect the preference expressed by the voters on the presidential preference portion of the ballot at the presidential primary. I.e. delegate allocation is proportional to the number of votes a candidate gets;
· there must be at least one delegate and one alternate delegate from each congressional district;
· there can be at large delegates and alternate delegates;
·
the state
committee must provide a set of rules and procedures for delegate selection to
the Secretary of State by October 1st, 2003;
·
the state
committee must notify the Secretary of State of the number of delegates and
alternate delegates we will send to the national nominating convention on or
before the first Tuesday in January (i.e. January 6th, 2004).
How many delegates we have will be determined by the GPotUS Credentialing Committee rules. The method of selection of delegates will be determined by GPotUS Credentialing Committee rules and our own rules.
The
Candidate Development and Legal committee will draft a set of rules for review
and comment by members no later than early August, 2003, and submit a final
draft to the state committee for approval by September 1st, 2003.
We recognize that a number of party members have expressed a desire to not field a presidential candidate in 2004 and we are exploring ways that primary voters can express such a preference within the confines of the state election laws.
Holding a presidential primary does not require that we place a presidential candidate on the ballot in the general election and the final decision will likely be made at the national nominating convention. It should be noted that the easiest way for us to maintain our ballot status is to run a candidate in the presidential primary and it is likely that the Republican candidate would not win Massachusetts.
Two suggestions have been made for how to allow presidential primary voters to indicate their support for not running a presidential candidate:
· place a Massachusetts party member who is opposed to running a presidential candidate in the general election on the primary ballot as a proxy for such votes;
· use the “No Preference” as a means of both specifying no preference and a desire to not run a presidential candidate in the general election.
In either case, party members would need to be notified in writing about any plan the party chooses. The committee welcomes any suggestions party members have on this topic.
Finally, by Massachusetts General Law c. 53, § 8 (1998 ed.)., the state committee selects the presidential electors for our presidential candidate in the general election. These names, with written acceptances and their pledges to vote for the candidate named in the filing, must be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth by the second Tuesday of September. In 2004, this deadline is 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 14, 2004. The method of selection of presidential electors will need to be defined for internal purposes.
The Candidate Development and Legal committee will draft a presidential election plan that deal with the two issues just listed above and any other presidential primary issues. It will be available for review and comment by members no later than early August, 2003, and the committee will submit a final draft to the state committee for approval by September 1st, 2003.
The effort of getting one US Congressional candidate on the ballot would allow us to get thirteen state representative candidates on the ballot. Likewise, the state representative candidacies are more likely to build our base and help members develop their grassroots campaigning skills (Door-to-door, voter id, Get Out The Vote (GOTV), etc.) than a US Congress campaign would.
While there are a number of US House members in Massachusetts who have expressed an anti-Green-Rainbow view (pro-Patriot Act, pro-Iraq war, etc.), it does not make sense at this point to field any candidates for US House. However, we should be prepared to support a good candidate if one decides to run.
The Candidate Development and Legal Committee will deliver the following documents to the state committee for approval:
· 2004 Candidate Recruitment Plan – Due 9/1/2003
· 2004 National Presidential Convention Delegate Selection Rules– Due 9/1/2003
· 2004 Presidential Election Plan – Due 9/1/2003
· 2004 Campaign Plan – Due 12/1/2003
Please note that the 2004 National Presidential Convention Delegate Selection Plan must be approved by the state committee and submitted to the Secretary of State by October 1st, 2003 if we wish to have a Presidential primary. Holding a Presidential primary in no way requires the national party to run or not run a Presidential candidate in the general election.
|
2003 |
July |
August |
September |
|
Key Dates |
|
1st – Last day to notify sec.
of state of number of local comm. seats 5th - Nom. Papers available
for local/state comm. Seats 19th - Last day to enroll in
party if run for local/state comm. seats |
1st – Submit candidate
recruitment plan for approval by
State Comm 1st – Submit plan for Pres.
primary for approval by State Comm 1st – Submit rules for Pres.
Delegate selection for approval by State Comm |
|
|
October |
November |
December |
|
Key Dates |
1st – Last day to submit
rules for Pres. delegate selection |
4th - City general elections 7th - File nom. papers for
state and local comm. to registrars 18th - File nom. papers for
state and local comm. Sec of State |
1st – Submit 2004 campaign
plan for approval by state comm. 1st – Compile list of likely
pres. candidates 20th – Finalize list of pres.
candidates to place on primary ballot |
|
2004 |
January |
February |
March |
|
Key Dates |
2nd - Last date to submit
names for Pres. To Sec. of State 6th – Submit to the Sec. of
State the number of delegates we will send to the national nominating
convention |
10th - Nomination papers must
be available for state and federal offices 11th – Last day to register
to vote in pres primary 14th – Last day to register
1% of voters to keep permanent ballot status 24th - Last day for
unenrolled state rep/senate cand. to enroll in party |
2nd – Pres. Primary and
election of state and local committees 2nd - Last day for unenrolled
US House candidates to enroll in party |
|
|
April |
May |
June |
|
Key Dates |
20th - Public policy petition signature forms
available 27th - Last date to submit
nom. Papers for state & county offices to registrars |
4th - Last date to submit nom. Papers for state rep/senate to
registrars 25th - Last date to file nom. Papers for state
& county offices to sec of state |
1st - Last date to file nom. Papers for federal offices to sec of
state 3rd - Last date to fill vacancies for state & county offices 9th - Last date to fill vacancies for federal offices |
|
2004 |
July |
August |
September |
|
Key Dates |
7th - Public policy petition
signatures due to registrars 26th - Democratic Nat.
Convention starts ? - Green Party Nat. Convention |
4th - Public policy petition
signatures due to sec. of state 25th - Registration cut off
to vote in state/federal primary |
14th - State/Federal
(non-presidential) primary 14th – Last day to submit to
the Sec. of State the names of pres. electors, their written acceptances and
their pledges to vote for our pres. candidate. The state comm. must approve the electors. |
|
|
October |
November |
December |
|
Key Dates |
13th - Registration cut off
to vote in general state/federal election |
2nd - State/federal general
elections |
|
|
|
|
|
G-R
Voters |
|
|
|
District |
8.1.1.1.1 Identifying Cities |
Treas.
% |
# |
%
of Voters |
|
|
Hampshire and Franklin |
Northampton, Greenfield |
17.2% |
1292 |
1.41% |
|
|
Second Middlesex |
Medford, Somerville |
14.0% |
616 |
0.71% |
|
|
Berkshire, Hampshire, and Franklin |
Berkshire County |
12.4% |
428 |
0.44% |
|
|
Middlesex, Suffolk, and Essex |
Cambridge, Revere |
12.4% |
374 |
0.44% |
|
|
Second Suffolk |
Boston |
10.9% |
639 |
0.61% |
|
|
Second Suffolk and Middlesex |
Boston, Watertown |
10.8% |
527 |
0.54% |
|
|
First Suffolk and Middlesex |
Boston, Revere |
10.1% |
370 |
0.43% |
|
|
Cape and Islands |
Cape Cod and Islands |
9.7% |
284 |
0.23% |
|
|
Hampden |
Springfield, Agawam |
9.4% |
118 |
0.13% |
|
|
Fourth Middlesex |
Woburn, Arlington |
8.4% |
167 |
0.17% |
|
|
Second Hampden and Hampshire |
Chicopee, Easthampton |
8.4% |
218 |
0.24% |
|
|
First Bristol and Plymouth |
Westport |
8.1% |
107 |
0.11% |
|
|
Second Bristol and Plymouth |
New Bedford |
8.0% |
119 |
0.12% |
|
|
Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin |
Athol, Orange |
7.7% |
|||