Baltimore Greens

Baltimore City Green Party Supports Proposed Bottle Tax

2010-06-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Baltimore City Green Party supports Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposed 4-cent-per-bottle tax increase, and urges City Council members to support this and other ecologically-sound revenue generators for the city of Baltimore.

"The city ought to be cutting taxes on things that are valuable to city residents, like home ownership, re-structuring city taxes to provide incentives for other valuable things like home-based renewable wind and solar power and public transportation," said party chair Brian Bittner, of Westport, "and raising taxes on things that are valuable to beverage corporations and other corporate interests, including oil and energy companies."

The Baltimore City Green Party also urges the Baltimore City Council to seriously consider a plastic bag ban, or pass a plastic bag 'tax' similar to Washington DC's 5-cent-per-bag fee.

According to research published by the Washington Post, in the first month after the District of Columbia imposed a 5 cent fee on plastic shopping bags, the city increased its bag fee revenue by $150,000, even though plastic bag usage went down over 75%.

"We can do more with less," said Bittner. "More revenue to fund city programs with less plastic waste from bottles and shopping bags."

The Baltimore City Green Party recently endorsed the 'Think Outside the Bottle' campaign, which urges Governor O'Malley and other state officials to shift investment from purchasing bottled water for state employees to making Maryland's public water infrastructure more safe and reliable.

The Baltimore City Green Party can be reached at 443-449-4159 or baltimoregreens@gmail.com.

.

Press Advisory - Maryland Green Party Assembly

2010-05-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 16, 2010

Contact: Robb Tufts 443-370-6857, robb.tufts@yahoo.com

PRESS ADVISORY

Kathy Phillips, Keynote Speaker for Maryland Green Party Annual Assembly;
Panel discussion to feature Maryland Green Party 2010 candidates

WHAT: The Maryland Green Party Annual Assembly is the annual meeting for registered Green Party members in the state of Maryland. Maryland Green Party members from across the state will meet to elect officers for the organization and participate in panel discussions. The keynote speaker Kathy Phillips will speak at 1:15 pm and will be followed by a panel of Maryland Green Party candidates running for office in Maryland this year. The event is open to the public regardless of party affiliation.

WHO: Keynote Speaker: Kathy Phillips, Assateague Coastkeeper. The Assateague Coastkeeper organization recently made headlines after filing a suit against Perdue Chicken in an effort to enforce the clean water act on the Eastern Shore.

Introducing Speaker: Fred Tuttman, Patuxent Riverkeeper

MD Green Party candidates: George Gluck - candidate for Montgomery County Council; Mike Shay - candidate for County Executive, Anne Arundel County; Natasha Pettigrew - candidate for U.S. Senate; Maria Allwine - gubernatorial candidate for Maryland

MD Green Party representatives (10:15 am panel discussion): Shanna Borell - Baltimore City Green Party; Tim Willard - Montgomery County Green Party; Ken Eidel - Frederick County Green Party; Karen Jennings - Anne Arundel Green Party

WHEN: Saturday, May 22nd 10 am (doors open at 9:30 am)

10:15 am - Panel discussion of local Green Party representatives discussing the previous year's accomplishments and short and long term challenges facing the Maryland Green Party

11:15 am - Election of officers

1:15 pm - Keynote Speaker Kathy Phillips

2:45 pm - Maryland Green Party candidates panel

WHERE: Maryland Inn, Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, Maryland

.

British Parliament Goes Green – Congress is Next

2010-05-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

from the Green Party of the United States:

Last week the leader of the Green Party of the United Kingdom - Caroline Lucas - was elected to Parliament. Greens around the world celebrated this historic victory.

We need your help to follow suit and elect a Green to Congress.

After her election, Caroline Lucas noted that the British people have "shown that they are prepared to put their trust in the Greens, despite the overwhelming national media focus on the three largest parties and a voting system that is fundamentally undemocratic".

Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May noted that "Caroline Lucas' historic victory proves that Greens can win...The UK has been the only nation in Europe where Greens had been shut out."

Despite some of the same barriers faced by British voters, we continue working to break through the media silence and elect Greens to office on every level.

With your support, we can elect Greens to Congress.

The 200th Green candidate just declared their run for office here in the United States. Check out all of our 2010 candidates and find a candidate near you.

Please support our Green Party candidates on the county, state, and federal levels by making a contribution to the Green Party of the United States. With your help, we can follow the British lead and elect a Green to Congress!

P.S. If you have already shown your support for the Green Party of the United States recently, we thank you. Consider supporting the Green Senatorial Campaign Committee as well. This committee is devoted to collecting resources to support Green candidates for U.S. House and Senate.

.

Petition Drive is in Full Swing!

2010-04-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

The Maryland Green Party has launched its 2010 ballot access petition drive. To stay ballot-qualified, the party must collect 10,000 signatures from registered voters by the end of the year. Baltimore Greens have stepped up to the challenge and have been collecting signatures for several weeks.

Last weekend, Greens were at the Baltimore Eco-Fest collecting signatures and spreading the word about the Green Party in Druid Hill Park.

On April 20th, Ralph Nader - the Green Party's 2000 candidate for President - will be speaking at Maryland Institute of College of Art's Favley Hall at 7pm. Greens will be outside the event collecting signatures from attendees.

Help the Green Party stay on the ballot! Get involved in the petition drive today!

E-mail baltimoregreens@gmail.com for more information.

.

Maryland Green Party Assembly to Be Held May 22

2010-04-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

The Maryland Green Party will hold its annual assembly on Saturday, May 22, 2010 in Annapolis. The event will be held at the Maryland Inn from 10am-4pm.

All members of the Green Party (and any curious non-Greens) are invited to hear a keynote address, meet Green Party candidates, elect party officers, participate in workshops, and more!

You can RSVP (via Facebook) here.

.

Newest Issue of Green Pages is Online

2010-02-26T07:06:00.000-08:00

Green Pages is the national newsletter of the Green Party. The February 2010 issue is now online, featuring stories on Green opposition to nuclear industry development in Florida, a federal court victory for the Arizona Green Party, a profile of the Green City Council majority in Fairfax, California, and much more!

.

Next Meeting Sunday - Stay Tuned for Changes!

2010-02-12T07:16:00.001-08:00

The next monthly meeting of the Baltimore City Green Party is scheduled for this Sunday, February 14th, from 4-6pm at 1323 N. Calvert St. If the meeting has to be canceled due to weather, it will be canceled by noon on Sunday. You can find out one of three ways:

1. an announcement will be posted to the Baltimore City Green Party listserve.

2. an announcement will be posted to www.baltimoregreens.org

3. an announcement will be placed on our hotline, 443-876-8522.

.

Campaign School in Baltimore - January 30th

2010-01-23T17:26:00.001-08:00

Tired of banging your head against the wall?

Had enough broken promises?

Sick of lobbying your elected officials to do the right thing year after year?

The Green Party can help...but don't depend on us. Only you can trust yourself to make the changes you want to see!

Learn how to run for office, manage your campaign, and get elected so you can take the power into your own hands!

Maryland Green Party Campaign School

Saturday, January 30th, 10 am - 5 pm

1323 N. Calvert St, Baltimore

Workshops on Green Party values, fundraising, making paperwork easy, finding help, reaching the media, and more! For more information or to reserve a space contact marylandgreens@gmail.com or call 443-449-4159.

Baltimore City Green Party Responds to the Conviction of Mayor Sheila Dixon

2009-12-02T12:43:00.001-08:00

The Baltimore City Green Party thanks the jury for their service in Mayor Sheila Dixon's trial and hopes that despite Tuesday's embezzlement conviction the people and government of the city of Baltimore can move forward and work to build a truly sustainable, ethical, and economically-just city for all its residents.

The party is disappointed that Mayor Dixon betrayed the public trust, embarrassing not only herself but the city of Baltimore. As long as our city’s elected officials continue questionable relationships with developers and accept campaign contributions and other unaccounted gifts from them, continued embarrassment will be the result.

The party hopes that in the coming year the leadership of Baltimore will show signs of subscribing to Green Party values, particularly grassroots democracy - where people, not profits, drive decision-making - and social justice - where poverty is considered a problem to take on first and foremost, not an excuse for developers to pass gift cards through City Hall.

The party also challenges all of Baltimore's elected officials to strive for the high standards set by the Green Party and its candidates. The Baltimore City Green Party and its candidates refuse all contributions from business entities, corporations, and political action committees (PACs).

"The Green Party will continue to provide an example for our city leaders to follow," notes Brian Bittner, Co-Chair of the Baltimore City Green Party. "If they can't follow suit and give up their contributions - both duly recorded campaign contributions and unmarked gifts - from developers, we hope they will at least use some of their taxpayer-funded resources to

publicly list those contributions in a timely manner so city residents know who is influencing their decisions."

The Baltimore City Green Party can be reached at 443-876-8522.

An Angry Worker's Call to Action

2009-11-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Maria Allwine, Baltimore City Green Party member and former Green Party candidate for Baltimore City Council President, has written a new commentary called Waiting to Die in the Good Ole USA: An Angry Worker's Call to Action. Check it out here.

Baltimore City Green Party Urges Representatives Cummings, Sarbanes, and Ruppersberger to Support Universal Single-Payer Health Coverage

2009-11-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

BALTIMORE, MD - The Baltimore City Green Party calls on our members of the U.S. House of Representatives to reject the private health insurance industry bailout provided by HR 3962 – the Affordable Health Care for America Act – and stand up for a universal, single-payer plan that provides health care to all Americans regardless of their ability to pay for private insurance.

"This bill is a recipe for failure," says Vince Tola, Treasurer of the Baltimore City Green Party. "The weak public option will end up being more expensive than private insurance. It’s unconscionable that Congress wants to force people to pay premiums that they will not be able to afford."

City Greens applaud Representative Elijah Cummings for his recent statement that "Health care is not a privilege – it is a right" and ask him to back up his words with a meaningful public statement and vote in support of HR 676 – the United States National Health Care Act – which he cosponsors. In 2007, Representative Cummings wrote that "All a single payer system would do is eliminate the insurance company middlemen, saving millions of dollars in paperwork and processing fees."

The Baltimore City Green Party asks Mr. Cummings and all our Congressional representatives to reject bills such as HR 3962 that protect insurance company middlemen by mandating private insurance for all Americans. Senator Obama opposed the so-called "individual mandate" during election-year debates with Senator Clinton, yet this has become a central feature of President Obama's bill.

According to the Centers for Disease Control nearly 90,000 Baltimore residents have no health insurance. The Green Party believes that many of these individuals - the most needy city residents - will not be able to purchase mandated coverage regardless of the subsidies provided by President Obama's reforms. "People making the choice between food, shelter, and health care will still have to make the choice between food, shelter, and reduced-cost health care," noted Brian Bittner, Co-Chair of the Baltimore City Green Party. "They are likely to pick food and shelter first, and will now be in violation of federal mandates for making this choice."

In relation to other countries, the United States spends more per capita on health care without improved health outcomes. In fact, Americans fall behind other countries on nearly every health indicator, according to the World Health Organization. American innovation in health care – pioneered by Baltimore institutions like Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland Medical System – is meaningless when people cannot access it. Universal, single-payer health coverage – "Medicare for All" – is the only solution that truly addresses the crisis of our current system. A single-payer system cuts administrative costs, covers all Americans, and simplifies a complicated system filled with gaps and loopholes.

The Baltimore City Green Party believes that the people of Baltimore cannot wait any longer for a real solution to our health care crisis. We urge our Representatives Ruppersberger, Sarbanes, and Cummings to publicly state opposition to HR 3962 and promote real comprehensive health care reform through progressive bills such as HR 676.

The Baltimore City Green Party does not accept any contributions from business entities such as insurance companies or political action committees (PACs) such as the pharmaceutical or health insurance lobbies.

The Baltimore City Green Party can be reached at 443-876-8522 or baltimoregreens@gmail.com.

Maryland Green Party Featured in Green Pages

2009-11-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

The latest edition of Green Pages, the national newsletter of the Green Party of the United States, mentions Maryland in its preview of continuing ballot access efforts around the country. The entire article can be seen here.

The article notes that:

"The Maryland Green Party is preparing for its 2010 petition drive. State law requires the party to collect 10,000 signatures, but the party must collect many more this year due to new, stricter verification requirements. The party is responding by working with legislators to introduce bills to clarify the verification procedure and lower the signature requirement, in addition to collecting as many signatures as possible. “We asked every member of the state Senate to introduce a bill on our behalf to cut the number of signatures we need to collect in half,” said Brian Bittner, who organized last year’s legislative efforts. “We ended up finding both Democrat and Republican sponsors in both the Senate and House and getting a bill through initial committee hearings in both Houses. Now we are working to get the bill pre-filed for the 2010 legislative session and start building support for it well in advance.” Visit www.mdgreens.org/petition to find out how you can help with the petition effort."

Two Wins in Maryland!

2009-11-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

On Election Day, 2009, two Maryland Green Party members were elected to City Councils in the DC-metropolitan area.

Dan Robinson was re-elected to his seat on the Takoma Park City Council (3rd District). He ran unopposed and won re-election with 381 votes. Full results for this race are available online here.

In College Park, Christine Nagle was elected to her first term on the College Park City Council (1st District). Out of five candidates, she received the second-highest vote total (281 votes, or 28%) for one of the two available seats. Full results of her race can be found here.

Congratulations to Dan and Christine, and thanks to all the Greens who supported these candidates.

Anne Arundel Green Party Condemns Race Baiting and Homophobic Smears in Annapolis Ward 3 Campaign

2009-11-03T20:50:00.001-08:00

from our friends in Anne Arundel County:

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Representatives of the Anne Arundel Green Party today condemned the race baiting and homophobic flyer materials distributed about Republican candidate Scott Bowling (the only openly gay candidate in this year's election) in the Ward 3 race. The flyers were distributed in support of Classie Hoyle's campaign urging people to vote for Hoyle specifically because Bowling is gay.

"Homophobia in any form is despicable. What makes this flyer even more disgusting is that the authors equate homosexuality with child abuse. The flyer is an affront to the thousands of gay Americans who proudly serve as civil servants, elected officials, or as members of our armed forces," stated Virginia Smith, co-chair of the Anne Arundel Greens.

Karen Jennings was the Green Party's candidate in the Ward 2 special election in 2007 and spoke out against this type of campaign tactic. "An individual's race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation should always be off limits when it comes to campaigning. Smear tactics based on fear and hatred only cheapen democracy and the democratic process. As someone who is actively working in the LGBT community to create a more diverse and inclusive Annapolis , I find this divisive literature to be extremely damaging to the small-town character of our city. This type of hate speech has no place in Annapolis or any other town across the U.S. "

The Anne Arundel Green Party is disappointed that the Hoyle campaign has not commented on this issue despite the quick response of the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee and the Josh Cohen Campaign to condemn the flyers.

The Anne Arundel Green Party currently has 800 registered voters in Anne Arundel County and has been an active participant in the Chesapeake Pride Festival since 2006. The national platform of the Green Party of the United States embraces full rights and equality regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, including marriage rights and support for legislation ending discrimination in employment, housing, medical benefits, and child custody.

.

Greens Call for Real Action on Climate Change

2009-10-07T12:22:00.001-07:00

from the Green Party of the United States:

WASHINGTON, DC - Green Party leaders criticized the Kerry-Boxer draft "cap and trade" climate change bill in the US Senate, calling it dangerously inadequate as evidence mounts that global warming is advancing more rapidly than scientists believed a few years ago.

"While Democrats are calling the Kerry-Boxer bill ambitious and far-reaching, the proposed legislation doesn't come close to what we need to do now to halt the destruction of our future," said Wes Rolley, co-chair of the Green Party's EcoAction Committee. "When President Obama goes to the UN Climate Change Summit, he needs to show up with real solutions to cut CO2 emissions and lower energy consumption, not with an armful of Kerry-Boxer retreats and compromises."

A recent UN report warned that the earth is likely to heat up more than 2 degrees Celsius, which could lead to a global catastrophe, while the UN Environment Program recently forecast a rise in temperature as high as 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the century's end. The 2009 UN Climate Change Summit will take place December 7 to 18 in Copenhagen.

"The White House and Congress have the opportunity to lead the world in an immediate, intense, and concerted effort to prevent global warming and future wars over dwindling fresh water and other resources. Unfortunately, they're retreating from the most important measures required in such an effort. They're doing so out of deference to corporate lobbies," said Mr. Rolley.

Greens said that the bill would only cut emissions by 7% below 1990 levels by 2020, contrary to a recommendation from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that developed countries, including the US, must reduce emissions by 25%, i.e., by 40% below 1990 levels, by 2020.

Greens also warned that the bill would subsidize costly, dangerous, and false alternative energy sources. Nuclear power is a proven security risk and threat to the environment. Carbon capture creates a new kind of pollution through the disposal of carbon 'washed' from coal and allows coal companies to continue destroying and poisoning landscapes in states like West Virginia through mountaintop removal.

The bill also creates a new and virtually unregulated commodities market, a huge risk in light of the recent economic crisis, which was caused by the repeal of laws regulating major financial institutions. The European Union's underregulated approach to carbon credits has already proven a failure in the effort to reduce CO2 emissions.

"Cap and trade is a loophole for polluters to keep polluting," said Lynne Serpe, Green candidate for New York City Council in Ward 22 and an employee at New York State's largest weatherization service, handling energy efficiency and green-collar job training. "In many instances, emissions trading encourages greenhouse gas emissions, because it allows companies with low pollution to sell their conservation credits to the highest bidders, giving top polluters a license to maintain or increase pollution levels. The Kerry-Boxer bill's offset loopholes, including deals for methane capture in coal mines, gas pipelines, and landfills, will allow even more emissions."

The Green Party calls for bans on new coal fired-power plants, new nuclear power plants (with early retirement of current nuclear reactors), and all mountaintop coal removal. The party endorses a reduction by 90% of mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 2012, targeted carbon taxes, investment in renewable noncarbon-based energy technology, and reduction of CO2 and SO2 emissions by 80% by 2020.

"We need a reorganization of the US economy that will create millions of new jobs in conversion to safe clean energy, conservation, and expansion of public transportation to replace car traffic," said Cam Gordon, Green candidate for reelection to the Minneapolis City Council in Ward 2. "Our children and grandchildren are depending on us not to bargain away their future."

See also the Green Party's press release on the House bill, "Greens give a thumbs-down to the House energy bill, urge Obama and the Senate to pass stronger anti-global warming legislation" (July 15, 2009).

Greens Working for Better Election Laws

2009-10-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

from the Green Party of the United States:

Members of the Green Party work daily recruiting candidates, educating voters, lobbying their local and state governments, serving on local boards and city councils, and lately, challenging obstructive and unequal election and campaigning laws in court. Here is a round-up of some the latest legal moves and victories won by state Green Parties across the country. Your support of the Green Party on all levels is vital if we are going to continue to work for better election laws and candidate recruitment. Click here to support the Green Party of the United States.

Arkansas

The Green Party of Arkansas, with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against the Secretary of State of Arkansas. Even though the party elected a member to the state legislator and won more than 20% in several federal races, the state has moved to decertify the party for lack of support. The lawsuit states that the "state's decertification statute violates rights guaranteed to [the Green Party of Arkansas] by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution".

Mark Swaney, Coordinator of the Green Party of Arkansas, emphasized the importance of ballot access for the Green Party in Democrat-dominated Arkansas, noting that "we are quite literally fighting for freedom and democracy against a conservative Democratic party machine that can, and usually does, see to it that the people of Arkansas have no say whatsoever on election day".

New Mexico

In May of this year, the New Mexico Green party filed suit against the state, which had ceased recognizing the Green Party as a qualified political party. The GPNM's lawsuit claims, among other points, that "The State has no justifiable interest in limiting voter choices to the candidates of the major [Republican and Democratic] parties," that the state has "no constitutional authority to limit the time available for minor party candidates to obtain petition signatures for the office of U.S. Representative," and that state law "Unconstitutionally discriminates in favor of major parties and against minor parties in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution".

Pennsylvania

The Green Party of Pennsylvania joined with the Constitution and Libertarian Parties of Pennsylvania to file a lawsuit challenging several aspects of election law. According to Ballot Access News, the lawsuit challenges "Pennsylvania’s unique system of charging candidates and parties for the costs of checking their petitions...It also challenges the careless way in which some counties count write-ins and others don’t, and the arbitrary manner in which the state tallies write-ins for some candidates and not others, and finally it challenges the requirement that a party have approximately 1,000,000 registered voters before it can be on the November ballot without having to petition for its nominees."

This lawsuit is a result of Carl Romanelli's disqualification from the race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania's 2006 election. After turning in many thousands of signatures to win access to the ballot, his petition was rejected and he was charged $85,000 by the state for attempting to qualify to run for public office. Carl Romanelli has continued to try to convince the court to drop this fee, last filing a new petition with the court in August of this year.

The hearing for the Green Party's follow-up lawsuit is scheduled for later this month.

Florida

The Florida Green Party is uncovering a case of potential abuse of the political system through a lawsuit to uncover the backgrounds of the "Florida Five". In 2008, five registered members of the Florida Green Party filed to run for state legislature, despite being unknown to the Green Party. Suspecting that these mystery candidates were acting in coordination with the Republican Party, Florida Greens filed lawsuits to probe the campaign finance records of the mystery candidates, in order to trace the source of their filing fees.

Earlier this month, the court began calling the five mystery candidates to depositions to begin piecing together the background behind their campaigns. With the court's help, the Florida Green Party continues to probe the events of the 2008 elections and seek the truth about the candidates that appeared on the Green Party ballot line.

Connecticut

The Connecticut Green Party recently won a significant decision against Connecticut's public campaign finance system, which the court ruled was unfairly awarding public finances to major party candidates while burdening the Green Party and other parties with inordinate obstacles to public funds.

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that Connecticut's public financing scheme had created a "discriminatory burden" for minor parties and had unfairly inflated the public campaign funds that major parties were awarded. “We’re very pleased", said Mike DeRosa, co-chair of the Connecticut Green Party, that "the court ruled that real campaign finance reform requires a level playing field.”

The Green Party of the United States and our state Green Parties need your support to continue working to level the playing field in court. Click here to support us with a donation to the Green Party of the United States.

Greens Respond to Indictments, Corruption

2009-08-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

It's getting hard to keep track of the Baltimore lawmakers/powerplayers who are facing trial. Here's a Green perspective.

Bill Barry commented on his campaign against John Paterakis and the City Council's support of private development projects funded with public money:

If you were involved in my campaign in 2007 for the City Council, you should remember one of the main issues that made me mad as hell: the unlimited giveaway of our tax dollars to wealthy developers.

I especially focused on a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) of $ 33 million given to longtime player, John Paterakis for the Harbor East project. A PILOT simply means that he should pay taxes on his real estate ventures but won’t, thanks to the generosity of City Council members, and the shadow government, The Baltimore Development Corporation.

Well, the deal has been finalized, and, according to stories in The Baltimore Sun and The Daily Record, the City Council recognized the current recession by adding another $1 million to the giveaway, so that Paterakis is now getting a PILOT for $ 34 million. This PILOT is one of many scattered across the city, with millions more tax dollars uncollected.

And not a peep of protest, or a “no” vote from a single member of The Big D (Developers Doormat) Party in the Baltimore City Council.

So what? So if,

Your property tax went up (as mine did), or

Your neighborhood is losing a fire station, a rec center or police coverage, or

Your neighborhood school is a wreck, as many are, or

You work for the city and are faced with wage/benefit cuts, or

Your favorite non-profit or community group needs some public financial support,

You’re out of luck. Money that should be collected in taxes, to be spent on public services, has been given away to a millionaire.

Please send a thank you message in appreciation to your council representative.

What we didn’t know in 2007, however, was the lurid tabloid background to this particular PILOT. One of the Paterakis partners was Ronald H. Lipscomb, briefly a boy toy for Mayor Sheila Dixon, and now about to do the plead-and-turn dance as part of the investigation about Dixon.

Yeah, but this PILOT kept workers in the city, right? The goal was to persuade Legg Mason to maintain its center city workforce of 550. OK, so Legg Mason moved to Inner Harbor East but, according to a story in The Sun by Hanah Cho, “Legg's relocation will leave a big dent in the old central business district. The huge vacancy at 100 Light Street, where Legg occupied 22 of the 35 floors, has not been filled. For surrounding businesses at Legg's former home, the loss means more bad news during trying economic times.”

My point is that when times were flush, PILOTs were like stealing from us. Now that we’re in a recession, they are criminal.

And Vince Tola responds to those who consider our city council's legal problems business as usual:

For many, it’s painful to have their mayor be indicted multiple times. Indeed, as the first African-American female mayor of Baltimore City, most Baltimoreans (more than 60% of voters in 2007) had high hopes for Sheila Dixon.

Some supporters complain that with all the good that John Paterakis has done for our city and with all of the major problems that the city faces, why should we even worry about a few thousand dollars worth of gift cards?

I would counter that these indictments speak to the root problem of our political system. For some time, we have allowed a culture of corruption to become business as usual. Many simply assume that the "real work" of government should get done outside of the public view, where deals are made behind closed doors, political favors are exchanged, and big money means big influence. It’s this system that produces tax breaks for developers and hotels while schools crumble and neighborhoods are neglected. It’s exactly this kind of system that produced deregulation, the most damaging failure for consumers in recent history, and still, the politicians refuse to re-regulate.

The problem did not start with Sheila Dixon, nor is it limited to Mayor Dixon and her allies. However, let us use this use this opportunity to say NO MORE. No more secrecy. No more favors. We want honest, transparent government. We want meaningful citizen participation at every level. The public interest must hold sway over government, not private corporations and politically-connected boyfriends.

How Can the Green Party Help Guide City Police Policy?

2009-06-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

The following report was submitted by Vince Tola of the Baltimore City Green Party:

On June 23, 2009, Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP, hosted a meeting on police accountability in the Baltimore area. The main purpose of this meeting was to inform the public of a new initiative being launched by the national NAACP office. The NAACP will soon be launching a website designed to document police misconduct. The NAACP receives frequent reports of police misconduct, especially in Black and Latino communities. This problem is widespread, but complaints are not always documented well, and it is difficult to convince policy makers that police misconduct is a serious issue.

Many individuals use their cell phones and cameras to record video and audio footage of police misconduct. The NAACP is encouraging individuals to submit this footage to the national office, and it will be place on the NAACP’s website for all to see. All submissions will be kept secure and confidential so that no one tampers with the footage, as sometimes happens on Youtube. By keeping a running record of police misconduct and abuse, the NAACP hopes to eradicate this problem. Doc Cheatham was very clear that there are plenty of good, hard-working officers who do their jobs well every day, but there are far too many officers who harass, abuse and break the law. These behaviors damage relations and trust with the community and make crime fighting more difficult for everyone.

During the meeting, an African-American man disclosed his personal experience with police misconduct. Last August, he was walking home at night in East Baltimore. Two officers stopped him and started questioning him about drugs and guns. The man had no guns or drugs in his possession, but the officers told the man to wait while they searched the alley. The officer "found" a hand-gun in the alley. To make a long story short, the man was taken to central booking, accused, tried, convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. The public defender was so upset at the egregious nature of this case, that he filed an appeal immediately. Fortunately, the man won his appeal and was released in January.

This particular man has started to speak out about his story. He notes that one of the same officers who wrongly arrested him has also been implicated in a case of abduction. Apparently, a 14-year old youth was taken into custody by this same police officer and dropped in Howard County (in a scene similar to that depicted on The Wire).

Police misconduct is a serious issue in Baltimore City. Doc Cheatham has it right: we should recognize officers who do their jobs well, but we cannot tolerate police abuse and misconduct. There must be a concerted effort to re-establish trust between the police and the community, especially communities of color. This begins with documenting misconduct and holding the police accountable.

The Baltimore City Green Party should consider a few relevant policy questions:

Should civilian review boards be given the authority to discipline officers (rather than just issue recommendations)?

How can the city recruit more officers who actually live in Baltimore City?

Are there additional measures that can be implemented to improve police/community relations and reduce police misconduct?

Please continue the conversation by adding a comment.

Statement on Ronald Lipscomb Plea

2009-06-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

Green Party Applauds Lipscomb Guilty Plea, Hopes Future Trials Shine Light on Depths of City Corruption

The Baltimore City Green Party applauds developer Ronald Lipscomb's admission of violating campaign finance rules, with the hope that future statements he makes as part of a plea agreement will expose the culture of corruption funding city elections and policies made on the city, state, and federal level. Although his plea dealt only with contributions he made to Baltimore City Councilmember Helen Holton, Mr. Lipscomb made recent campaign contributions to the Democratic State Central Committee of Maryland, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Dutch Ruppersberger, Steny Hoyer, and President Barack Obama.

"Our city's leaders constantly profit from their positions of responsibility while Baltimore residents lose their homes, their earnings, and control of their communities to wealthy campaign donors," noted Brian Bittner, Co-Chair of the Baltimore City Green Party. "We hope that this guilty plea and any future trials illustrate these losses in a way that will inspire the citizens of Baltimore to organize against this vicious circle of payoffs and favors."

The Baltimore Green Party hopes that Mr. Lipscomb's plea and future testimony inspires Baltimore City Council members to clearly and thoroughly identify any links between campaign contributors and individuals or companies doing business with the city and ultimately refuse all contributions from developers and anyone seeking to profit at the expense of Baltimore residents.

The Baltimore City Green Party does not accept any contributions from business entities or political action committees (PACs).

The Baltimore City Green Party can be reached at 443-876-8522 or baltimoregreens@gmail.com.

Maryland Green Party Holds Successful Assembly

2009-05-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

The Maryland Green Party held its Annual Assembly on May 9th. Several Baltimore Greens attended and were elected to the Maryland Green Party Coordinating Council. They also participated in roundtable discussions on political strategies for re-regulating public utilities, protecting the Chesapeake Bay, and winning elections in 2010 and beyond.

Click here to see pictures from the event. You can also see a panel featuring Green city council members from Maryland (yes, Greens do get elected to office in Maryland!) and Rosa Clemente, the Green Party's Vice-Presidential candidate in 2008.

If you'd like to meet the Baltimore Greens who are also officers with the Maryland Green Party and share your ideas for building a strong second party in Baltimore, both the Maryland and Baltimore parties will be meeting in Baltimore on Sunday, June 14th. E-mail baltimoregreens@gmail.com for directions.

But don't wait! Comment right now with your ideas on how to help organize the Green Party city-wide and put a dent in Baltimore's one-party rule.

Record Number of Green Candidates Running in 2009

2009-05-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

Green Parties across the U.S. are running a record number of candidates in local and state elections. Fewer elections are scheduled in odd-numbered years, but that hasn't stopped over 100 Greens from running for office in 2009. In 2005, 69 candidates had declared their run by the middle of May. In 2007, that number was 74. So far in 2009, 119 candidates have declared their runs.

Baltimore Greens will have an opportunity to run for State Senate and House of Delegates in 2010 and Baltimore City Council in 2011. It is not too early to start making plans for those elections! If you want to learn more about the Green Party and if you would make a good Green candidate,

join us at an upcoming event.

Rosa Clemente to Speak at Assembly May 9th

2009-05-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

The Maryland Green Party will hold its 2009 Annual Assembly in Annapolis on May 9th, 2009. The event will be held at the Maryland Inn beginning at 9am.

Rosa Clemente, 2008 Green Party candidate for Vice-President, will deliver the keynote address. Brent McMillan, Executive Director of the Green Party of the United States, will participate in a discussion with Maryland's Green officeholders. There will also be panels on Maryland pollution issues, the politics of watersheds, and the Green Party's election strategy for 2010.

For more information, click here.

May Edition of Be More Green! is Available

2009-05-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

Be More Green!, the newsletter of the Baltimore City Green Party is available here.

Articles will be posted throughout the month for comment.

Our April Newsletter Now Available

2009-04-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

Download and read our April 2009 newsletter at www.baltimoregreens.org/newsletter.pdf. Make a few copies and pass them around at work, school, or in the neighborhood.

Articles will be published periodically throughout April on this blog so you can comment about your Baltimore City Green Party.

Baltimore Green Party Affiliates with BECRN

2009-02-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Baltimore Green Party is now affiliated with the Baltimore Economic Crisis Response Network, a coalition of progressive groups working to advocate for the interests of poor and working people in the midst of the economic crisis.

BECRN advocates allowing bankruptcy courts to act to stop foreclosures, establishing a living wage for all workers, making significant investments in renewable energy infrastructure, and placing strict conditions on any future Congressional bailouts of American industries.

The BECRN includes a diverse coalition of groups including the Maryland Green Party, Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics, ACORN, the Maryland Coalition to Stop the BGE Rate Hikes, and the International Socialist Organization.

Green Party's Advice in the City Paper

2009-02-11T07:12:00.000-08:00

Legal Solution (Baltimore City Paper, February 11, 2009)

A solution to the destructive results of Baltimore's "informal economy" has been on the city's radar for decades, but is ignored by city leaders for their political gain ("Shadow Players," Feature, Jan. 28). Legalizing or decriminalizing some or all drugs would help address the city's drug-addict population and the city's addiction to drug money. Legalizing the trade of some drugs and decriminalizing the use of others - treating their use as a public health issue, not a law enforcement issue - would boost the city's tax base, reduce the number of addicts not receiving treatment in our overcrowded prisons, and free police resources to fight serious crimes and unsolved murders. But very few of our city leaders take the proposition seriously because they prefer to score political points by cracking down on addicts so they can say they are "tough on crime." It's time to push our leaders to make radical changes that will help the city and its addicted population, and be ready to make radical changes to our City Council if it fails to do so.

Brian Bittner

The writer is the Co-Chair of the Baltimore Green Party.

Green Nobel Laureate Speaks in Baltimore

2009-02-07T14:18:00.001-08:00

Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of the Green Party of Kenya and winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize for Peace, will deliver a lecture at Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium on February 9th. Her speech is entitled “Environment, Democracy and Peace: A Critical Link”.

The 8 pm lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets can be reserved by calling 410-337-6333.

Our February Newsletter is Available

2009-02-07T13:52:00.001-08:00

Be More Green, the monthly newsletter of the Baltimore Green Party, is available. You can download a copy at http://tinyurl.com/beyylk. Please distribute as many copies as you can to friends, at school or work, at your community association, or around your neighborhood.

You can subscribe to Be More Green or submit news, pictures, or stories to baltimoregreenpartynewsletter@gmail.com.

Articles from Be More Green will be posted on our blog for discussion or to send as links when you are spreading the word about the Baltimore Green Party on the web. Thanks for reading!