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The Green Party of Alaska[3] (GPAK) is a political party in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was the Alaska affiliate of the Green Party of the United States from 2001 until 2021. The Green Party of Alaska was the first state to gain Green Party ballot access, in 1990, when Jim Sykes ran for governor. Sykes had previously filed a ballot access lawsuit, citing an earlier case, Vogler v. Miller.
Green Party of Alaska | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | P.O. Box 112947, Anchorage, Alaska 99551 |
| Ideology | Green politics Left-wing populism |
| National affiliation | No affiliation (2021–present; 1990–2000) Green Party (2001–2021)[1][2] |
| Colors | |
| Alaska Senate | 0 / 20
|
| Alaska House of Representatives | 0 / 40
|
| U.S. Senate (Alaska) | 0 / 2
|
| U.S. House of Representatives (Alaska) | 0 / 1
|
| Other elected officials | 0 (June 2024)[update] |
| Website | |
| https://greenpartyalaska.org/ | |
In 2020, the leadership of the Green Party of Alaska refused to place Green Party nominees Howie Hawkins and Angela Nicole Walker on the ballot and instead draft-nominated a ticket with Jesse Ventura for president and Cynthia McKinney for vice-president. McKinney accepted the vice-presidential nomination.[4] Because of this, the Green Party of the United States national committee voted in January 2021 to decertify the GPAK.[5][1][2]
Issues
editThe Green Party of Alaska is opposed to industrial oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It supports the development of alternative fuels and energy sources such as wind power and solar power.
The party supports a national single-payer healthcare system.
History
editEarly history (1990–2020)
editBallot status
editThe Green Party first gained ballot access in 1990, but lost its Recognized Political Party status in 2002. Ballot access was regained in 2003 based on a court order,[6] lost again in 2005, and regained in February 2006 when Superior Court Judge Stephanie Joannides issued a preliminary injunction against the State of Alaska, preventing the state from denying access to the Green Party. On June 3, 2007 a lower Alaska state court upheld Alaska's new definition of "political party" and the Green Party of Alaska was removed from the ballot. The judge wrote that she had to uphold the new definition of "political party", because the Alaska Supreme Court had upheld the old definition of "political party" on November 17, 2006.[7]
In 2005, the party sued the State of Alaska over the issue of joint primary ballots and won in the Supreme Court of Alaska.[8]
In 2012, the Alaska Green party put forth a statewide petition, seeking status as a "limited political party" which would allow them to put names on the ballot for presidential and vice-presidential candidates. A total of 3,273 signatures is needed in Alaska to qualify as a limited political party. The Alaskan Greens submitted approximately 4,500 signatures.[9]
Decertification by GPUS (2020–present)
editIn late 2020, the Alaska Green Party broke from the Green Party of the United States and nominated former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura and former U.S. Representative and 2008 Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney for president and vice president respectively, instead of Howie Hawkins and Angela Nicole Walker.[10] The Ventura–McKinney ticket received 2,673 (0.74%) votes.[11]
In January 2021, as the result of breaking with the GPUS, the GPAK was officially decertified, and as a result is no longer the Alaskan state party chapter of the GPUS. The GPUS has begun the process of replacing it with a new GPAK.[12][1][2]
Organization
edit| State party leader | Position | City |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Shields | Co-Chair | Fairbanks |
| Joshua Hadley | Co-Chair | Kotzebue |
| Lenin Lau | Treasurer | Anchorage |
Elections
editThe Green Party of Alaska has gained more than 10% of the votes in past presidential and congressional elections. The most notable example was in 2000, when Alaska voters gave presidential candidate Ralph Nader his highest state percentage. Nader made headlines when he carried the Girdwood precinct, located at the extreme southern end of Anchorage corporate limits. In 1996, the party's U.S. Senate nominee Jed Whittaker came in second, out-polling Democratic nominee Theresa Obermeyer, who had been disowned by her party.
The first election victory associated with the Alaska Green party was in 1991, when environmentalist Kelly Weaverling was elected mayor of Cordova, then a town of about 2,500.[13][14] Weaverling had previously drawn national attention for his work in the aftermath of the March 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Prince William Sound.[14] Municipal elections in Alaska are nonpartisan, though Weaverling's association with the party was highly publicized at the time.[14]
| Election | Presidential candidate | Vice-presidential candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Ralph Nader | Winona LaDuke | 7,597 | 3.14% |
| 2000 | 28,747 | 10.07% | ||
| 2004 | David Cobb | Pat LaMarche | 1,058 | 0.34% |
| 2008 | Cynthia McKinney | Rosa Clemente | Unknown[a] | |
| 2012 | Jill Stein | Cheri Honkala | 2,917 | 0.97% |
| 2016 | Ajamu Baraka | 5,735 | 1.80% | |
| 2020 | Jesse Ventura | Cynthia McKinney | 2,673 | 0.74% |
| 2024 | Jasmine Sherman | Tanda BluBear | Not on ballot | |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ In the 2008 United States presidential election in Alaska, the Green Party did not have ballot access. Any votes cast for Cynthia McKinney were only processed as "write-in", making it impossible to know how many votes she received.
References
edit- ^ a b c Downing, Suzannie (11 January 2021). "Alaska Green Party decertified by [the] national [Green Party] over going rogue". Must Read Alaska. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ a b c "De-Accreditation of Green Party of Alaska". gp.org.
- ^ Schreurs, Miranda; Elim Papadakis (2007). The A to Z of the Green Movement. Sacrecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8108-6878-6.
- ^ "Green Party of Alaska". Archived from the original on 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ "Alaska Directory of Political Groups". Elections.alaska.gov. State of Alaska : Division of Elections. Archived from the original on 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
- ^ "Green Party fights to stay on ballot". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ Winger, Richard (June 7, 2007). "Alaska Green Party Loses Ballot Access Lawsuit". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ "STATE v. GREEN PARTY OF ALASKA". Findlaw. August 12, 2005. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
- ^ "Green Party Submits Alaska Petition". Ballot Access News. August 8, 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ Downing, Suzanne (September 1, 2020). "Green Party of Alaska nominates Jesse Ventura for president". Must Read Alaska. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- ^ "General Election Results Summary" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ "Co-Chair Hadley's thoughts The GPAK getting kicked out of The GPUS". Green Party of Alaska Blog. Green Party of Alaska. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ Paige, Anjali (July 31, 2013). "Cordova, Alaska". The Rubber Tramps. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ a b c "Environmentalist elected mayor of oil spill town". Washington, DC: UPI. October 4, 1991. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
Sources
edit- Alaska Division of Elections. [1]
- Green Party Election Results. Wayback Machine