The Green Party of Texas today submitted 90,000 signatures to get on the ballot as a qualified party. The requirement for ballot access in Texas this year was 43,991, meaning the Green Party of Texas submitted more than double the number of needed signatures.
Assuming they get on the ballot, the list of candidates who will qualify for the ballot is as follows:
Bart Boyce Governor
Deb Shafto Governor
Herb Gonzales, Jr Lieutenant Governor
Edward Lindsay Comptroller of Public Accounts
Art Browning Railroad Commissioner
Jim Howe US Congress, District 11
Ed Scharf US Congress, District 23
Paul Cardwell State Board of Education, District 9
Ryan Seward State Representative, District 94
Joel West State Representative, District 144
Don Cook County Clerk, Harris County
Roger Baker County Clerk, Travis County
Earl Lyons County Clerk, Bexar County
kat swift County Commissioner, Pct 2, Bexar County
Chuck Robinson Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Place 1, Bexar County
Joy Vidheecharoen-Glatz Justice of the Peace, Pct 3, Dallas County
Jeffrey Dale Glatz County Surveyor, Dallas County
Esther Choi County Clerk, Dallas County
The deadline for turning in signatures was today, so the Green Party of Texas is the only new party which could conceivably qualify for the ballot. The three parties who already have ballot access are, the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and the Libertarian Party.
h/t to Christina Tobin
Excuse me, the non-profit corporation that did the petition signatures was Tobin’s Free and Equal, but the GOP money-men had those signatures done for the Greens, which then makes it an illegal contribution from corporations, supposedly.
Some people in the state are now saying that the “gift” of the 90,000 signatures to the Green Party could be illegal since the “gift” was from Tobin’s non-profit corporation…and in Texas, gifts from corporations are illegal.
This could be interesting…
I forgot the Democrats were even a party in Texas, sorry. And thanks for counting.
Seriously, Democrats are in short supply where I’m at, at least. Not a single Democrat filed for contested races in Ellis County. The GOP’s only opponent will be a LP.
D, R, G, L – wouldn’t that be 5 with +C?
Constitution Party, honest in the same sentence! Hmmmmmm, not so neat trick.
Plz join the fakey dakey Veterans Association. It is nothing more than an unChristain, cynical, dishonest ‘bait and switch’ CP recruiting tool!
Plz then report back what they are doing for the problems of abused veterans ………..
I wish someone would donate to the Constitution Party and get those guys on the ballot so we can have four honest-to-God formidable parties in Texas…
Kat, I agree with your quotes in today’s Dallas Morning News story…
But as we all have probably figured out, it was the GOP big-money men who helped get the Green Party on the ballot:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/060610dntexballot.243bca8.html
Great job, Kat!
oh and no, most of the signatures were on paper so yes, any challenge will be survived, but i’ve heard of no challenge yet.
we know for a fact that there were at least 51,000 valid signatures turned in. still waiting final numbers.
Thanks everyone.
I’m glad Mary Ruwart is running. the Libertarians were asinine to not select her as their Presidential candidate in 2008. (no offense guys)
let’s hope both the L and Gs get 5% in a statewide race so neither of us have to waste our time with Ballot Access again.
Honestly, we don’t want the ignorant voters who continue to support the D & R corporate hack candidates. we want the other 70% who don’t vote to get off the couch and pick something closer to their values and that could be the Libs or the Greens this time around.
If ballot access wasn’t centered around statewide races we’d not even bother and focus solely on local races – that is one problem with the system.
Libs and Greens have a lot of common ground also, so let’s work together and hash out the differences after we instill democracy into our state and country.
Dondero has no idea of what he speaks – do some research!
thanks again everyone – i am emerging from my 75 days of hell and a week off and yes, i did work my ass off despite the money and paid petitioners.
I just wanted to let Dondero know that the black helicopters are in the air and he is the first one the Green Communist Totalitarian Workers Collective will pick up so he had better hide.
It is amazing to hear people talk about losing their liberty when they were so willing to submit before King George II and the Republican/Democrat fascist corporatocracy.
No one will fight for individual rights like the Greens. No one has spoken out against our absolutely corrupt government like the Greens. Unfortunately, it is hard to hear through all the filth and trash that is submitted to us on a daily basis by corporate media.
Dondero, you have been continuously losing your liberty since the end of WWII and you have not noticed. It is time to open your mind and learn who is truly in favor of individual rights and who fights against corruption! 3rd parties must work together to secure all of our liberty and return our country to democracy.
Robert Milnes, where are you and your famous Progressive Libertarian Alliance Strategy/ Fusion Executive Ticket??
Look at the polling being done in our gubernatorial race here in the Lone Star State (www.texastribune.org), featuring Gov.Rick Perry (GOP) vs. Bill White (Democrat.)
Currently it’s a 44-35% split, with 9 percent undecided and 7 percent for someone else.
I’ll tell you why the Republicans (if that’s even true) are backing the Greens…for one this gubernatorial race is going to be closer than people might think.
I for one like the competition. Maybe the Greens will score even higher than 5 percent in the state comptroller race (GOP’s Combs vs. LP’s Ruwart.)
Texas could use a few more political parties and ultimately, competition.
Oops, forgot about that, kat. Namaste.
Andy
Regardless of your supposition of where the money came from, I can guarantee you that Kat and Texas Greens were working very hard, and there is no reason to rain on them with negativity, regardless of what contractor they (or the money people) chose. Regardless of any personal issues between me and Sean: Congratulations to Kat and the Texas Greens and good luck on the state validation.
Congratulations to the Texas Green Party! Very cool achievement.
(And a sidenote: A lot of Greens are “Libertarians”. In NY State, hardly anyone registers “Libertarian”, because it is newly a party and so small. So, a lot of Libertarians work with or inside the Green Party.
There are differences. But, a lot of shared values. And, a lot of the energy and values of the greens–which are sometimes expressed as slogans–includes: “Not left, nor right, but forward.”)
Thanks Richard – you’re a national treasure.
“No one challenged Billy Talen’s petition in New York city last year, so no one knows about the validity rate.”
A “little birdie” told me that it was not good.
It’s time for the sophisticated readers of IPR to stop repeating the ignorant line of the mass media that having a party on the left on the ballot always hurts Democrats, and having a party on the right always hurts Republicans. It’s much more complicated than that. According to Samuel Lubell, who did extensive polling in 1948 and published his results in “The Future of American Politics”, Truman in 1948 was helped by having Henry Wallace run against him as a Progressive. Why this happens was explained in the recent book “Predictably Irrational”. Lots of experimental evidence shows that when people have 3 choices, and two of the choices are markedly similar but one of those two is obviously inferior to the other similar choice, then the third choice (the one that is very different from the other two) is less likely to be picked. In the case of elections, a minor party is often similar to a major party on the issues but is perceived as an inferior choice because of the voter’s desire to vote for someone who can win.
Greens on the Texas ballot can also make the Democrats appear more centrist.
The Texas vote test for a party to remain on the ballot is either 2% for Governor, or 5% for any statewide race.
No one challenged Billy Talen’s petition in New York city last year, so no one knows about the validity rate.
Only 17% of Texas registered voters voted in this year’s primary or run-off primary. So the primary screenout isn’t all that much a factor this year, or in midterm years generally in Texas. For some reason Texas constantly has unusually horrible turnout in midterm primaries, which of course is lucky.
“Paul Cardwell // May 25, 2010 at 12:49 am
Why would Republicans support Greens?”
Because they think that by having a party on the ballot that will mainly draw votes away from Democrats will help them get & keep more Republicans in office.
If the Green Party can get at least 2% of the vote in any statewide race they won’t have to petition for party status in the next election. If they can get at least 2% of the vote in any statewide race in every election they can stay on the ballot indefinetely.
So for the Republicans, getting the Green Party on the ballot in Texas could be the gift that keeps on giving for years to come.
Why would Republicans support Greens? The Comptroller of Public Accounts and State Board of Education district 9 have no Democrats interested enough to run for those offices. Why would they throw away a walk in for competition?
The Comptroller’s office made a foul-up of the recent energy efficient appliance bonus by giving it to some corporation to run rather than doing their duty themselves.
The scandalous State Board of Education, which suddenly went from 8-7 cultist to 10-5 on party lines could become 8-7 rational if the Democrats can take districts 4 and 10, and work with the Greens for district 9 and a coalition Board and textbook facts rather than current fiction.
Do you really think that is what Republicans want to see?
“Congratulations to Kat and the Texas Greens and good luck on the state validation.””
You mean “kat” I’m sure.
Wow
Congrats on the Texas Green Party.
Seriously.
“Thomas L. Knapp // May 24, 2010 at 8:16 pm
“Even in New York City where they got the Reverend Billy on the ballot as the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor, they had to turn in over 18,000 signatures to meet a 7,500 signature requirement.”
“Had to” or “did?” There’s a difference.”
Given what I’ve heard about their validity, had to is more accurate.
“paulie // May 24, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Congratulations to Kat and the Texas Greens and good luck on the state validation.”
The Greens didn’t really do much of anything here. This is a “gift” from the Republicans, and these Republicans are obviously just using the Greens as tools, so this is actually something that could come back and bite the Greens in the ass.
Thanks to Audrey Clement for the addition to the string about the Green being the only alternative in one of the races.
IIRC Mary Ruwart of the Libertarian Party is in that race.
This is a great victory for the Green Party in Texas…
Let’s hope they make the ballot and win ballot status with 10 per cent of vote.
Thanks to Audrey Clement for the addition to the string about the Green being the only alternative in one of the races.
and from Virginia here’s a story about the Independent Green Party of Virginia’s Ron Fisher on the ballot and running for congress…
Opposing the waste of the wars…
Fisher hopes to capitalize on the anti-incumbent mood likely to prevail in the 2010 elections. And he’s hoping to use his military background as a retired captain to good use…to oppose the wars.
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=340776&paper=60&cat=104
“Even in New York City where they got the Reverend Billy on the ballot as the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor, they had to turn in over 18,000 signatures to meet a 7,500 signature requirement.”
“Had to” or “did?” There’s a difference.
Congratulations to Kat and the Texas Greens and good luck on the state validation.
“Trent Hill // May 24, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Andy,
I suspect they’ll pass–they have double the number and Christina isn’t known for turning in low-validity petition counts.”
You are wrong about that. See the Sundwall campaign. Also, see the states where Haugh and/or Tobin failed in 2008 (such as Connecticut). Even in New York City where they got the Reverend Billy on the ballot as the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor, they had to turn in over 18,000 signatures to meet a 7,500 signature requirement. That’s MORE than double the signature requirement.
So yes, I’d say wait until the validity check. Also, keep in mind that Texas has a primary screen out. That is that they can disqualify the signatures of anyone who signed who voted in the primaries which were held back in March.
“It will, however, be a result of lots of money and effort.”
Yes, lots of money from the Republicans and lots of effort from the two petition crews that were already in Texas working on other projects as well as the other petitioners that got flown into the state. Not much effort from Haugh or Tobin whose main “talent” is jumping in front of other people to take credit for their work. I gaurentee you that just about anyone could have done what they did given the same set of circumstances.
Great job by the Green Party of Texas! Getting 90,000 signatures in 75 days in spite of the primary screenout is quite an accomplishment.
There is no Democrat in the State Comptroller’s race, but there is a Green. This really increases our chances of getting 5% in November.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a more corrupt Libery-hating, Libertarian-blocking political party than the Greens.”
Oh, not that hard-pressed.
Many if not most of those signatures are electronic signatures right? Could that survive a court challenge?
Andy,
I suspect they’ll pass–they have double the number and Christina isn’t known for turning in low-validity petition counts.
It will, however, be a result of lots of money and effort.
Let’s see if they pass the state’s validity check.
If they do make it, it will only be due to the large amount of money that they recieved from Republicans and the fact that there were already two crews that were on the ground in Texas working on other petitions, so all they had to do was give those crews the Green Party petition and they knocked out a bunch of the signatures.
“Eric Dondero // May 24, 2010 at 5:57 pm
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more corrupt Libery-hating, Libertarian-blocking political party than the Greens.
All Libertarians should do whatever we can to oppose them in elections. They’re worse than the Democrats, and that’s a hard feat to accomplish.”
Well, your buddy Sean Haugh facilitated this.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more corrupt Libery-hating, Libertarian-blocking political party than the Greens.
All Libertarians should do whatever we can to oppose them in elections. They’re worse than the Democrats, and that’s a hard feat to accomplish.
All the Texas Green Party petition gathering people have just done an amazing job in the Lone Star State.
This is a great American victory tonight.
Let us applaud them all…
Green Party presidential candidate in Brazil..
Brazil Green Party candidate mixes green, pro-market proposals
Mon May 24, 2010 12:54pm
* Criticizes Lula govt for destruction in Amazon
* Wants autonomy of regulatory watchdogs
By Raymond Colitt
BRASILIA, May 24 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Green Party presidential candidate Marina Silva proposed on Monday to cut taxes and social security benefits, giving a market-friendly slant to her platform of clean government and environment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2425582020100524?type=marketsNews
Kick ass! It is becoming increasingly apparent to everyone that Free and Equal is the winning team that should get all ballot access contracts.
Sean Haugh is the best petition coordinator.
The Loser Team (TM) – “paulie,” Andy, Gary, Jake and their friends – will be increasingly shut out of work. NO MORE WORK for the losers. With any luck they will all go kill themselves.
Notable that Free and Equal does not hire any of them. Clearly Free and Equal (Sean Haugh and Christina Tobin) know what they are doing and have good reason.
The German Green Party Chair Claudia Roth today called for a boycott of BP of the Gulf Oil disaster…
Would like to see the U.S. Green Party do same..
http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/drastische-strafen-gruene-rufen-zum-widerstand-gegen-oelriesen-bp-auf;2587248
Amazing achievement.
Looks like Christina Tobin and her team has done a great job for the Green Party.
Thanks to all..