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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The
Federal Election Commission (FEC) today issued a unanimous opinion
recognizing the Green Party of the United States as the National
Committee of the Green Party. The decision, in response to a request to
the FEC from the Green Party in August, follows the Green Party's
ground-breaking 2000 campaigns, including the national campaigns of
Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke for President and Vice President.
"The decision of the FEC adds to the enormous momentum the Green
Party now enjoys," said Dean Myerson, Green Party Political
Coordinator. "We are running more candidates, electing more
candidates, gaining more members and support."
During the party's annual meeting in Santa Barbara, California last
July, Green delegates voted to establish a national party and to apply
to the FEC for national committee status. Delegates also approved growth
plans that include opening an office in Washington, D.C. and hiring a
team of field organizers for the mid-term election season.
"National Committee status is a tremendous accomplishment for the
young party, one that acknowledges its place as the leading and fastest
growing political alternative in the United States," added David
Cobb, General Counsel for the Green Party of the United States. "It
will help increase the numbers of voters who recognize us as the party
of change, a serious contender on the political landscape."
National Committee status will permit the Green Party to accept
contributions up to $20,000 per year from individuals, but internal
Green Party rules cap such donations at $10,000 per year. The
party and its candidates also refuse contributions from
corporations.
"The Green Party is the only political party to oppose the big
money that is corrupting politics in America," said Steve Schmidt,
chair of the party's Platform Committee. "We're the only party that
chooses to regulate itself more strictly than the federal
government."
Green Party 2
The Green Party has called for a measured and just response to the
September 11 attacks, demanding that the U.S. avoid further civilian
deaths and continue to protect civil liberties and our constitutional
rights of dissent, free assembly, privacy, due process, and mobility.
The Republican and Democratic Parties continue to retreat from
supporting such protections.
"The attacks were a crime against humanity, and Greens call for the
culprits to be brought to justice in an appropriate international court
of law," said Annie Goeke, a Pennsylvania Green and chair of the
International Committee of the Green Party of the United States.
"The current war mentality threatens to undermine our rights and
cause needless deaths, abroad and possibly even here in the U.S. It will
prove ineffective in stopping terrorism."
The Green Party of the United States is the national political
organization of the Greens, in which 33 states are represented, with
other states' memberships pending. It organized the Green National
Convention in Denver in June, 2000, at which Ralph Nader was nominated
to run for President, and is recognized among Green Parties around the
world.
Media inquiries about national policies and activities of the Green
Party should be directed to the Green Party of the United States,
through its media representatives as listed in the heading above. To
contact state Green Parties, visit the Green Party of the United States
web site <http://gpus.org> and
follow the links to the state parties and their contacts and web sites.
More Information:
The Green Party of the United States http://gpus.org
Federal Election Commission http://www.fec.gov
Green Party statement on the September 11 attacks http://gpus.org/articles/9_11_01.html
FEC Filing Information http://www.gpus.org/fec/fec.html
The Green Party of the United
States Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com
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