Green Party Elects Three New National Co-Chairs at Presidential Nominating Convention

Green Party delegates elected three new national co-chairs during the party’s virtual Presidential Nominating Convention held this month. The election coincided with the nomination of the party’s 2024 presidential ticket.

In a press release shared on Monday, the Green Party announced that its delegates elected Cassandra Lems from New York, Justin Paglino from Connecticut, and Charles Ostdiek from Nebraska as the new co-chairs. The newly elected members replace outgoing co-chairs Margaret Elisabeth, Tony Ndege, and Tamar Yager, and will also serve as members of the Green Party’s Steering Committee. Information on the three new co-chairs included in the release reads as follows:

Cassandra Lems is a retired intellectual property paralegal living on Long Island, New York. She is active in the Green Party at the county, state and national levels, most recently serving as co-chair of the committee responsible for credentialing the delegates to the 2024 Green National Convention.

Charles Ostdiek began working with the Green Party in 2000 as a member of Nebraskans for Nader and went on to help found the Nebraska Green Party. He began working directly with the Green Party of the US in 2008 and previously served as national co-chair from 2012 to 2016. As a long-time environmental and anti-nuclear activist, Charles works locally on many public power issues and was an integral part of work to have the Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Station decommissioned.

Justin Paglino, M.D, Ph.D., comes from a medical science background in the fields of clinical pathology and virology, but since 2019 has been working as a piano teacher and as a Green Party activist. He ran for US Congress in 2020 and 2022. In 2023 he was elected co-chair of the Connecticut Green Party and National Committee member of the Green Party of the US and is also serving as co-chair of the party’s Eco-Action Committee. This year he is the Green Party nominee for US Senate in Connecticut.

All co-chairs serve two-year terms on the Steering Committee, as well as act as public spokespersons for the national Green Party. The Steering Committee’s current members also include co-chairs Craig Cayetano, Darryl! LC Moch, Alfred Molison, and Joseph Naham. Additionally, Holly Hart continues as the Green Party’s secretary, and Bob Stuller remains its treasurer.