AZGP Ratifies New Bylaws & Moves to Dues-Based Membership
As of the AZGP Statutory Annual Meeting on January 22nd, 2022, the Arizona Green Party has officially ratified sweeping revisions to our party bylaws through a unanimous vote of approval from the AZGP members at that meeting. Among these changes- which include efforts to make our party processes more democratic, efficient, and true to our 10 Key Values- is a significant change to the state party’s definition of an “AZGP Member” to require monthly/yearly dues payments to the party.
Why Dues-Based Membership?
From 2020 Green Party Presidential Candidate Howie Hawkins’ “The Case for an Independent Left Party: From the Bottom Up”;
If the Left in America is to challenge the capitalist two-party system, it will have to build a political party based on working-class independence from the corporate rulers and their political representatives in the Democratic and Republican Parties. To build that kind of party, it will have to build a mass-membership party that is structured quite differently from traditional American parties. Its members will have to be organized into local branches and finance their party with member dues, just as labor unions do, which is why unions have by far the most resources of any institution on the popular left. A dues-paying mass-membership party has been the missing ingredient in third-party politics throughout American history.
There are several reasons that the proposal to transition to dues-based membership was introduced and ratified. Financially, it allows our party to have an initially humble, but steady flow of individual donations to our county chapters to help fund their operations. Administratively, it gives us a method of keeping track of our currently active members, whether or not our county chapters gain or retain their ballot access and party recognition. Finally, and maybe most importantly, dues-based membership reinforces the collective ownership that we all as members have of this party, and ensures that the individuals who are “buying-in” to this party with their time, funds, and energy are the ones who have grassroots democratic decision-making power in our organization.
Dues-paying members exclusively are afforded the following privileges;
- The right to participate in and vote on state party issues at AZGP general membership meetings, including the nominations, elections, and/or recall of Officers of the State Committee
- The right to join and participate in any of the AZGP’s active Working Committees
- The right to submit proposals to the AZGP State Committee for consideration/ratification
- The right to be nominated and elected to an internal party position as an Officer of the State Committee following an initial 6-month period of active dues-paying membership.
- The right to be considered for an official endorsement/nomination for political candidacy by the AZGP
How to Pay Dues?
Members determine their own level of dues based on income or ability to pay.* Our suggested dues rate is a simple 0.3% of income. A few examples:
- $5 a month or $60 a year (for an annual income of $20K)
- $10 a month or $120 a year (for an annual income of $40K)
- $15 a month or $180 a year (for an annual income of $60K)
- $20 a month or $240 a year (for an annual income of $80K)
* The minimum dues required to be an AZGP member are $12 a year ($1 a month). The AZGP recommends $12 a year for those experiencing extraordinary financial hardship.
Dues may be paid as a donation(s) to the county chapter that is active where an individual resides. If there is no active county chapter in your county, individuals can retain an “at-large” membership with the AZGP by paying their dues directly to the state party through our website donation link at the same recommended rate. Every dollar goes towards building, growing, and maintaining the Green Party as an independent political party here in Arizona!
We’ve set up the following options to make participation as easy as possible. If you live in...
Maricopa County:
Pima County:
Anywhere outside of the above counties:
AZGP General Membership Meeting - January 22, 2022
Annual Statutory Elections General Membership Meeting on Zoom
Saturday, January 22, 2022, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
- Election of AZGP State Committee Officers
last updated by
Sam Hales
January 16, 2022
Anti-War Rally Marks 20th Anniversary of 9/11
Join us in the Arizona Green Party and our friends in the Arizona Libertarian Party for an “End The Damn Wars!” rally on September 11th in Phoenix! You won’t see this kind of cooperation on the issues that matter from the Dems and Republicans, so come out, join us, and get to know us & some of the other electoral parties in AZ fighting for peace!
Facebook RSVP
Website RSVP
Global Conflicts Over Fossil Fuels, Nuclear and Alternative Energy
The monumental increase in the use of energy is provoking conflicts across the Earth. We express our solidarity with those struggling against extraction, including these examples.
- Standing Rock, North Dakota
We stand in solidarity with the on-going Native American protests at Standing Rock in North Dakota protesting environmentally irresponsible and culturally damaging pipelines that transport crude oil extracted from tar sand, destroying their ancestral lands. So-called “clean” and “renewable” energies depend on the climate killer oil for their production.
blog.nationalgeographic.org/2017/04/28
- Ogoni People vs. Shell
We stand in solidarity with the Movement for Survival of Ogoni People against Shell. The Niger-Delta was devastated and traditional culture weakened by soil, surface and groundwater contamination that makes farming and fishing impossible.
Local communities still seek to receive denied compensation, clean-up, a share of the profits and a say in decision-making.
- Coal extraction in India
We stand in solidarity with the Centre for Policy Research in India as it opposes efforts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to to open 41 new coal mines because burning coal is a major factor in climate change, leads to asthma, premature births, and spreads toxins (including mercury) by air, water and land.
energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/coal
climatechangenews.com/2020/06/19/india
- Fracking in Pennsylvania
We stand in solidarity with the Green Party of Pennsylvania which has opposed fracking since 2008 when it realized that use of volatile chemicals could harm local communities and waterways and contribute to climate instability. Local residents have become ill and major waterways and delicate ecosystems have been damaged.
gp.org/pa_greens_push_for_an_end_to_fracking
gp.org/municipal_efforts_against_fracking_are_grassroots_democracy
- Nuclear power and Olympic Games
We stand in solidarity with the No Nukes Action Committee of the Bay Area who are demonstrating against the Olympic Games slated for Tokyo in order to raise awareness of the ongoing disaster of Fukushima nuclear power since nuclear power is deadly and intimately connected with the potential for nuclear war.
- Uranium Mining in Africa
We stand in solidarity with “Solidarity Action for the 21 Villages” in Faléa, Mali against the French multinational COGEMA/Orano. After years of struggle, this NGO defeated a uranium mine through community mobilizing, aware of the detrimental effects on health, environment, agricultural land, water sources and cultural heritage, still fighting to undo already done infrastructural damage.
beyondnuclearinternational.org/2020/03/16
- Solar arrays in Washington State
We stand in solidarity with rural Klickitat County, WA residents who are being invaded by industrial solar facilities which would exceed 12,000 acres and undermine wildlife/habitat, ecosystems, ground/water, and food production because solar panels and lithium ion batteries contain carcinogens with no method of disposal or re-cycling and could contribute to wildfires from electrical shortages.
- Wind turbines in Broome County NY
We stand in solidarity with the Broome Tioga Green Party’s fight against industrial wind turbine projects that would increase drilling and mining, dynamite 26 pristine mountain tops, and destroy 120,000 trees while requiring precious minerals and lithium for batteries and being dependent on fossil fuels for their manufacture, maintenance and operation.
- Hydro-power in Honduras
We stand in solidarity with the indigenous Lenca people opposing the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque River in Honduras whose leader Berta Cáceres was murdered for uniting different movements to expose how dams destroy farmland, leave forests bare, disturb ancestral burial sites, and deprive communities of water for crops and livestock.
- Lithium mining in Thacker Pass
We stand in solidarity with activists aiming to stop Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass open-pit mine (Nevada). Essential for electronic devices including electric cars, the mine would destroy rare old-growth big sagebrush, harm wildlife including many endangered species and lower the water table. Its operation would require massive fossil fuel use and toxic waste ponds.
- Cobalt Extraction in DR Congo
We stand in solidarity with the child laborers slaving and dying in Democratic Republic of Congo cobalt mines.
Cobalt is an essential ingredient for some of the world’s fastest-growing industries—electric cars and electronic devices. It co-occurs with copper mining, used in construction, machinery, transportation and war technology worldwide.
Most of all, we stand in solidarity with thousands upon thousands of communities across the Earth opposing every form of extraction or transmission for energy which seeks to cover up human health and environmental dangers.
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In Solidarity,
Arizona Green Party
Newly Elected State Committee Members!
- Co-Chairs: Colette Jennings & George Rascón
- 1st Vice-Chair: Liana West
- Media Outreach Coordinator: Ryan Kelly
- Delegate to GPUS: Natalie Woods
- Alternate Delegate to GPUS: Cody Hannah
Arizona Green Party Statement on Derek Chauvin Trial Verdict
The AZGP, although relieved by the news that Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts for the killing of George Floyd, understands there remains much to be done at every level to heal from institutional injustice. There is an entire unjust system to dismantle and replace.
On the same day that the guilty verdict for Chauvin was announced, another white supremacist was released from a Phoenix jail on bond. Burt Colucci of the White nationalist group National Socialist Movement Corporation was arrested in Chandler on April 19 for pointing a loaded handgun at a Black man and threatening to kill him and his friends.
The AZGP will continue to stand in solidarity with social justice organizations such as Black Lives Matter, Poder in Action, People Demanding Justice Community Coalition, Moms Demand Action, Code Pink, Popular Resistance/The Alliance for Global Justice and Tonatierra as we work to dismantle a system based on racial oppression and class exploitation. This system resulted from genocide and terrorism which killed off and displaced most Indigenous inhabitants and established an economy dependent upon the enslavement of African people and the deprivation of the legal rights of all Blacks in this country. The terrorism continues as this system props up corporate power by treating people as commodities and further militarizing the police. As Margaret Kimberley asserts in her Freedom Rider column of Black Agenda Report (April 21, 2021 -- Gun Violence Starts at the Top):
"It is all connected. State sanctioned violence tells the people that individual violence is just fine. The hand wringing over the latest shooting doesn't mean anything if the wars and law enforcement brutality continue."
The AZGP says DEFUND THE POLICE: cities must decrease amount budgeted for policing and allocate these funds to social programs, especially in the realm of mental health, alleviation of poverty and drug rehabilitation, three areas the police have NEVER, despite vast investments in training, been equipped to handle.
Furthermore, and interconnected with the push to end state sponsored violence, the Arizona Green Party advocates for the use of sustained, disruptive non-violent action in the streets along with a commitment to withhold our votes from the corporate-ruled duopoly and vote only for independent left opposition candidates.
Finally, as part of our Ten Key Values, we call upon ourselves to take personal and global responsibility and further educate ourselves on this and other issues. We must be the change we want to see. Please explore the recent press release published by the Green Party National Women's Caucus.
Campaign for Howie Hawkins in Arizona!
Hello Arizona Greens!
WE are calling for volunteers to help collect signatures for Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker to be printed on the Arizona ballot in November. As you are aware on July 11, 2020 the Green Party met online in an all day nominating convention at which Howie Hawkins was nominated as the Green Party presidential nomination along with our vice presidential candidate Angela Walker The Arizona Green Party is excited to help the Howie Hawkins campaign and elevate the Green Party Platform. Link to Hawkins Platform: https://howiehawkins.us/platform/
- Our goal is to collect approximately 40,000 signatures before August 31, 2020. These petitions will be turned in on September 4. So we have a short but achievable deadline. WE believe that if we are able to engage all of the 7000 Greens in Arizona to collect 7 signatures each then we could meet our deadline very quickly.
Each page of the petition sheet has space for 10 signatures, so if we are able to obtain 400 volunteers and they obtain 100 signatures (10 sheets) each then we could reach our goal very quickly, as well.
- WE have steps for each of our petition collectors to follow in order to maintain safety from Covid 19. We have safety drop offs/pick ups and zoom meetings set up for the duration of this campaign.
Steps for volunteers: go to https://howiehawkins.us/volunteer/ complete the information and the campaign will contact you directly.
Feel free to download the Independent Presidential Elector Nomination petition here. The document is a two page document that needs to be printed on one page.
Completed petitions will be collected weekly. Please contact the Arizona Hawkins campaign director Angel Torres by email: [email protected] for date and times of the petition collections.
We look forward to meeting you soon and working with you soon!
~AZGP
*See more videos with Howie and Angela on their website and facebook page, links below.
SAVE Arizona's small businesses - Call to Action
What happened ?
... the PPP loan program for small businesses was funded with $350 billion.
The U.S. has 30.2 million small businesses.
That is an average of $10,769 per small business. It should have been plenty to help close a two month gap.
A loophole in the CARES act allowed national corporations with less than 500 employees *per location* to qualify each individual location as a "small business."
According to the CARES act, the restaurant chain Ruth's Chris steakhouse qualified for a loan.
Last year they made $42 million in profits.
Last year they spent $41 million in stock buybacks.
Last week, they received $20 million in PPP loans - earmarked for small businesses.
It is shameful that a national restaurant chain who used the entirety of their 2019 profits to reward investors then greedily took funding that was earmarked to help 200 other small businesses.
The government created loopholes and left the distribution of loans up to the banks. Banks prioritized their top customers while local small businesses were wait-listed.
On April 16, 2020 small businesses that had submitted a loan request were notified that the program was out of money. In Arizona, 4.7% of small businesses actually received funds totaling only $11,000.00.
Small businesses in Arizona were denied access to funding that was needed to cover payroll. Small businesses such as your local coffee shop or cafe which are listed as essential services were denied adequate funding to support their workers.
This is our chance to truly raise our voices and help small businesses in Arizona and all across the nation.
The deadline is May 4, 2020.
The Citizens' Toolbox, a grass roots initiative to empower and enable our fellow citizens to advocate for themselves and for each other. The Citizens' Toolbox serves to amplify our collective voices and project them upward for rapid reaction to existing initiatives with policy-specific conversations.
Our first objective is to enable increased communication with our senators and representatives in order urge them to replenish the SBA/PPP loan fund.
This fund previously held $350B but ran dry only 14 days after opening. A closer look revealed that millions in funds were disbursed to large chain companies, including 50 publicly traded ones, and showed uneven access to loans across our Nation. Congress is in recess till May 4th, a delay we cannot afford.
Friends, the time to act is now and bring this to the forefront. The link below leads to a fillable form, applicable to EVERY state.
Citizens' Toolbox
Once you have been redirected to the Citizens' Toolbox the following questions will display:
1) Input your name
2) Look up your representative, link provided- and enter the name of ONE of your representatives. Be sure to secure their contact information from their official website.
3) Choose your voice: Small Business Owner or Concerned Citizen.
4) Enter your email address and TCT will send you a personalized letter you can then forward or mail to your representative.
After clicking on SUBMIT you will receive the email template that you can then forward to a senator or representative of your choice. Repeat steps 2-4 for each of your representatives. Mail, email, post & tag your elected officials.
Below are links for Senators and House of Representatives. Most have Contact pages on their own websites where you can paste the template letter and send directly to their office.
Contact U.S. Senators
Contact the House of Representatives
It is our hope to grow this quickly to serve as additional support to coalitions and platforms in service of the greater good of our local & national communities. Information gathered is secured strictly to facilitate advocacy opportunities. We’re in this together, and we will be successful together.
Friends, we’ve got work to do. It’s time to raise our voices and #SpeakUP.
Read moreCovid 19 - March Updates
As we follow the Covid 19 news, we all are seeking true helpful information. As cities in Arizona post financial assistance for residents we will add them to this page. If you have updates to share from your city or county, please forward to the admin at: [email protected]
To read about each of the following updates click on the links and you will be directed to the full article.
Updates
If you need assistance finding food, paying house bills, accessing free childcare, or other essential services, dial 211, search on the homepage of 211Arizona.com or download the 211 Arizona app.
Utilities, phone companies change policies to help customers amid coronavirus spread. AZ Central reporting on March 15 2020.
City of Mesa, Az link
City of Phoenix, Az link
City of Chandler, Az link
AZGP Co-Chair appointment 3-06-2020
"It is my honor to appoint Celeste Castorena, long-term AZ Green, as cochair and delegate to GPUS to serve until the election at our May, 2020, statewide mtg in Tucson. She will vacate her position as recorder. Celeste has voting rights/responsibility as a member of the AZGP state committee.