By Richard Gomez
Richard Gomez
The California Green Party will be sending a delegate to the Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC) in Baltimore in July. California has been allotted 65 delegates out of about 150 nationwide. Greens from Fresno and the Central Valley are encouraged to participate. The Delegate Selection Committee will choose after the Primary Election from a list of those capable and interested folks. Every state has its own procedure to select delegates, and California’s procedure is as follows:
- Interested persons must be California Green Party members at the time of application and must remain so through the convention in order to serve on the delegation. This applies to delegates or alternates to the Green Party’s PNC to be held July 12–15.
- You can either apply in support of a particular candidate or through your own county with no designation.
- Applications must be submitted before April 5.
Your application is your name, address, phone number and e-mail. If you are selected, you will also need to submit your year of birth.
You may apply directly to the candidates by sending your application with the subject line “CA Delegate to PNC” to one of the following:
- To be a delegate for Jill Stein, e-mail Erika P. Wolf at wolf@jillstein.org.
- To be a delegate for Kent Mesplay, e-mail Kent Mesplay at info@mesplay.org.
- To be a delegate for Roseanne Barr, e-mail Farheen Hakeem at farheen@gp.org.
These are the only Green Party candidates listed by the California Secretary of State. If you are applying through your county, send your application to your County Council. If you lack access to a computer or for questions, please contact the author.
The candidate delegate slates and the county delegate slates will be submitted to the Delegate Selection Committee. After the June 5 Primary Election, the committee will select delegates in proportion to the results of the Primary Election votes. The committee will need to notify delegates quickly, and delegates will need to be prepared to make their final decision to accept the position quickly as the convention occurs about five weeks after the California primary. If you are selected, you will need to register immediately, although you may register now if you so choose (https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/175/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=7503).
The cost of registration is currently $100, but it may rise after June 1. The Green Party of California will not fund your trip as a PNC delegate.
On April 12, the Fresno Green Party will be discussing and making recommendations on Primary Election Propositions 28 and 29. If interested, please attend or send an e-mail to the author on your opinion as to whether the local Green Party should accept, reject or have no position on them. The complete wording of the propositions can be found on the California Secretary of State’s Web site at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures.htm.
The Fresno County Green Party meets on the second Thursday of the month (the next meeting is April 12) at the Hugh M. Burns State Building (2550 Mariposa Mall) at 7 p.m.
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Richard Gomez is currently a council member of the Fresno County Green Party. Contact him at 559-408-3320 or nate136_66@yahoo.com.