NOTE: I have added a sequel/denouement to this piece here.
Farewell, Harris County Green Party. It was nice knowing you. I didn't just walk out of the General Meeting tonight. I stormed out, kicking an empty chair dolly that someone had conveniently left between me and the exit. Just for good measure, I kicked it again, turned at the door, raised both my hands, and said, "Bye." Someone I barely know asked as I hit the door, "What the fuck's your problem?" It occurred to me to re-enter and answer her question, but my problem could not be reduced to a short, tidy response. She would not have listened to the whole answer anyway. The group with which I have been active for 18 years, more or less, has now ceased to function. That's only the beginning of my problem, the headline. It runs much deeper: HCGP didn't just die; it was killed, and the people who killed it have names, to paraphrase Utah Phillips. And I have given—or perhaps recycled—my very last fuck. Please indulge me as I get intentionally vague about a sensitive issue of great importance to me.
This past Saturday afternoon, I met with about ten other Harris County Greens, who shall remain unnamed for now, at a location that I shall not disclose. The extraordinary meeting was called in response to some continuing difficulties within the party, with an eye toward possible resolutions. The most proximate motivation for this impromptu huddle was the painful drama of HCGP's November general membership meeting last Monday. Those attendance trained their focus on a particular member, not in attendance, who appears to have gone out of his or her way to create or compound those difficulties over the past three years. There was also some discussion regarding whether those assembled simply did not have the personal relational skills to communicate effectively with the aforementioned problematic member, as well as a strategy for informing him or her—with all due compassion, perhaps through a trusted intermediary—that he or she is broadly perceived as an obstacle to the county party's effectiveness. With a mixture of wistfulness and diffidence, I can report that Saturday's get-together
This week's Texoblogosphere (below the ReadMore) links to Harry Hamid's recent blog entry relating his visit to the meeting last Monday evening, and his egress in the middle thereof to escape the toxicity therein. Please be forewarned that Harry's post consists of a dozen flavors of irony thickly wrapped around a frail stalk of sincerity, and it gets even thicker in the comments. It illustrates amply, if with a vagueness as purposeful as this post, why HCGP has been unable to attract new members and has recently been driving off party veterans. Saturday afternoon, by sheer serendipity, I had the privilege of addressing this year's Rising Stars class from the League of Women Voters, Houston. Rising Stars is LWV's program to connect with politically engaged youth and helping them build their knowledge of political mechanics, especially on the local level. Janis Richards, a current member of the Harris County Green Party's Steering Committee, accompanied me and delivered a portion of the 45-minute talk.
The best information I could find on the web via Duck Duck Go was this Houston Media Source video from 2014. LWV Houston has a regular live program on HMS, just as HCGP does (GreenwatchTV). The program's co-host Linda Cohn also served as one of the hosts for the September 2017 Rising Stars workshop, which took place Saturday at the Leonel Castillo Community Center on the Near Northside. It was originally scheduled for 26 August, but our area had a most unwelcome and very wet guest named Harvey that weekend. This is what I did between calls at the Blackboard help desk this afternoon. It has been quite some time since I last posted a blog entry on hcgp.org, and I took too long getting around to putting up something Harvey-related. But then, so has the rest of the party.
Everybody and his proverbial dog has posted something about our recent unwelcome parade-pisser-onner Harvey, on magnillions of websites and social media pages. The Harris County Green Party's Steering Committee hasn't even posted an Ooh, Look! Climate Change in Action! piece. Some of them have been rather busy dealing with the after-effects of two feet of standing water in their living rooms. As HCGP has no designated blogmeister, I took on the task and presumed to speak for the party organization. Having known these folks for 17 years or more, I feel comfortable in presuming, even though I no longer attend regular meetings. I hope you enjoy it and are sufficiently inspired to click some of the many links in it. ***** UPDATE: As sustainability wonk Jay Crossley so eloquently put it on Facebook, Wow. Just wow. (From the Dallas Morning News, so you may run into a paywall.) Two-time Green Congressional candidate Hal Ridley, Jr., will perform solo acoustic sets Sunday evening, 16 July, at NOKturne in Clear Lake City. The event begins at about 7 pm. In addition to the live music, attendees will have a chance to express their vision of the nation or world they would like to see brought into being. These visions may be captured on video for Green Party promotional purposes. NOKturne is located at the corner of Saturn Lane and Gemini Avenue, just off Bay Area Boulevard. It offers a variety of fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, fine coffees and teas, vegetarian bites, and a few items with chicken or fish. Admission for this event is free, but donations will be accepted. If you'd like to reread the text above on a different site, go here. I have rolled it over in my mind since at least last August and vacillated between "Hell yeah!" and "No way!" Now I have reached a decision, and the noes have it: The Green Shadow Senator from Texas will not be candidate for US Senate or any other public office next year.
Although about five months remain before the filing deadline, during which I might change my mind, I hope that I can avoid that temptation. Lots of friends and Green Party comrades would like a chance to vote for me, and have said so; my hope is that a Green more willing and able than I can emerge to run for the Senate seat, or for Harris County Judge. Last night's monthly General Membership meeting of the Harris County Green Party went into extra innings. I'd like to think that HCGP emerged with a victory, even if the victory was over ourselves.
Perhaps it was for the best that co-chair George Reiter discovered yesterday afternoon that our regular meeting space at Trinity Episcopal Church had not been reserved. Trinity's security staff kicks us out promptly at 9:30, and last night we needed an extra hour to take care of our pressing business. Part of that business was electing half of the HCGP Steering Committee, including one of the co-chairs. Our fallback space upstairs at Midtown Bar & Grill was taken, but the Midtown folks love us and let us occupy the main dining area. (There was basketball on two of the TV's, CNN on another, so I was horribly distracted but made it through somehow.) The strategic proposal that I crafted and originally presented in November 2016 was passed, with amendments. I am supremely satisfied with that result, and the sense of accomplishment I feel is not small. Now I must prepare myself for the real work that follows: I have agreed to coordinate the standing Ballot Access and Campaign Coordination Committee for the 2018 election cycle. Who wants to be a part of that effort? Below the Read More is the complete text of the message that I sent to the HCGP Discussion list this morning, followed by the text of the proposal as adopted. Before last night's general meeting of the Harris County Green Party, I honestly thought that I would be able to tell you today of a new direction for HCGP and a plan to get back on the ballot in 2018. That little dream of mine was deferred until next month, in favor of the important but tedious and contentious recrafting of the HCGP by-laws.
Before the November general election, before we knew for certain that Texas Greens would lose ballot access, I put together a proposal to present at that month's general meeting. The proposal, outlining a strategy for the 2017-18 election cycle, is complex and has long-term implications. Thus, I had no expectation that it would be adopted in November. Since we usually do not meet in December, I agreed that we could put off further debate until January. By-Laws Prioritized At the January meeting of the Steering Committee, the focus was on the by-laws. I had to remind those present that I had a proposal on the table, which specified dates by which we would take some actions toward building party infrastructure, so the proposal would actually be on the agenda. |
Blogging Sporadically since 2014Here you will find political campaign-related entries, as well as some about my literature, Houston underground arts, peace & justice, urban cycling, soccer, alt-religion, and other topics. Categories
All
Archives
April 2023
|