We have an update to last week's entry on candidates for nomination by the Green Party of Texas in 2020. (Actually, we had it several days ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting the information.) There are two more names on the list, bringing the total to four:
Apart from Ridley, I don't recall ever meeting these guys. I may have met them, but the names are not familiar. But then, I haven't been to a state meeting or convention since 2017. Mulligan has participated in discussions on the GPTX Slack channel. In recent Slack discussions, former GPTX co-chair Laura Palmer and others have observed that the paucity of paying candidates strongly illustrates the dampening effect of filing fees. This is useful information to present in the pending lawsuit against the Secretary of State's Office. Meanwhile, Texas Libertarians have considerably more candidates, putting their fundraising apparatus to good use and making sure money was available to cover fees. Sadly, lptexas.org does not have a list of candidates online where I can find it—but then, neither does txgreens.org yet. No candidate listings really became official, vis-a-vis the state, until yesterday (19 December). Months ago I noted (somewhere in this blog) that the Greens need to start devoting more time and energy to active fundraising, via NationBuilder or other means. We cannot count on a favorable outcome to the lawsuit. If I had any fundraising acumen at all, I would be among the first to get the effort underway. More to follow, I'm sure. Per Green Party of Texas co-chair Alfred Molison, two people have filed to run as Green candidates in 2020 and accompanied their applications with the requisite fees. Neither of the paying candidates has applied to run in a statewide race, although eight Green presidential candidates have filed in Texas. Despite rumors that Charles Waterbury would make another run for Supreme Court, he is not among those listed as having filed.
Those Who Paid Golden Triangle hellraiser Hal Ridley, Jr., will make his third run for Congress from House District 36, which extends from eastern Harris County to the Louisiana line and up into the Piney Woods a few counties. Democrat Rashad Lewis has also filed to run for the extremely safe seat that Republican Brian Babin, D.D.S., currently occupies. In Texas House District 92, northeastern Tarrant County, Brody Mulligan has filed to run for that seat. Incumbent Jonathan Stickland is not seeking re-election; he also is not seeking higher office. Two Republicans and three Democrats are contending for the nominations of their respective parties. The Rebels The other prospective Green candidates have filed in hopes of the pending lawsuit succeeding in overturning the fee requirements imposed by HR 2504. Keep in mind that this may not be a complete list, although it does include two instance kat gruene. Longtime Greenie gruene has not been active with GPTX for a while, pursuing other projects, but she has filed for a statewide position and a districted position, both without paying a fee. To see where the various legislative districts lie, see the District Viewer site for Texas House, Senate, and State Board of Education. US Senate David B. Collins US House of Representatives Alfred Molison District 8 Tommy Wakely District 21 State Positions katija "kat" gruene for Texas Railroad Commissioner Debbie Russell for State Board of Education, District 5 Texas State Senate Corey Bowers, District 9 Texas State House of Representatives Dan Lyon, District 45 katija "kat" gruene, District 51 Forest Hampton, District 66 Kashif Riaz, District 67 Jamar Osborne, District 103 (I hope he hasn't also filed with the Libertarian Party this time.) Antonio Padron, District 119 This past Sunday, Rev. Dr. Collin Bossen, interim senior minister at First UU Houston, delivered one of a series of sermons on the topic of hope. He began his talk with reminiscences of his participation in the massive "Teamsters & Turtles" protests against the World Trade Organization's meeting in Seattle 20 years ago last week. I loved reliving the Battle of Seattle with him, although in 1999 I was watching it all via IndyMedia from 2,000 miles away.
After all the warm-fuzzy nostalgia, I became a little perturbed and more than a little perplexed. A towering majority of my congregation identify as Democrats. It's practically assumed that UU's are Democrats by default, a great many of them on the progressive wing. Voting for Democrats and cheering on favored candidates in primaries are practically autonomic reflexes in this crowd. I noticed a few fellow-congregants in the sanctuary yesterday getting the same nostalgic feels from Rev. Bossen's recounting of anti-corporate demonstrations and the movements they sparked. So why the perplexity and perturbation? It boils quickly and neatly down to this: How the Olympic-size fuck does anyone who agrees with the sentiments of the WTO protesters—not to mention the Occupy Wall Street activists of 2011-12—justify continuing to vote for Democrats in our national elections? or even our state and local elections? Hi y'all. This blog is back in business, although its proprietor may have to return it full strength gradually.
Two months ago, I put this thing on hold. A week before that, I was making noise about running as a Green for the US Senate currently occupied by Texas's senior senator John Cornyn. The plan was to run on the standard Green platform but make a lot of noise about Instant Runoff Voting and Move to Amend's proposed "We the People" Amendment. Today, 9 December, is Texas's deadline to submit to the Secretary of State's Office (or the various County Clerks' offices) applications to run in the 2020 elections. Last Wednesday I gave mine to Green Party of Texas co-chair Alfred Molison, so that he could take it to Austin today. However, unless something changes very dramatically and very soon, my candidacy will be over before it has even begun. Click the Read More link to get the details. |
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