"During the 2022 State Convention of the Green Party of Texas on April 9th, the voting results from our precinct conventions in participating countries held in Baxar, Collin, Denton ,Harris ,Tarrant ,Travis were certified, officially making Alfred Molison our nominee for Texas Land Commissioner, Hunter Crow our nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, and Delilah Barrios our gubernatorial nominee! We thank all our candidates for standing as Greens in 2022, and encourage all supporters of peace, justice, democracy, & sustainable living to connect with and support their campaigns."

GPTX is calling for candidates for the 2022 election cycle. Thus far, we have received profile information from two candidates who have declared their intent to run by filing campaign treasurer appointments with the appropriate election authorities. They are Delilah Barrios for Governor and Hunter Crow for Railroad Commissioner.

Recently, GPTX held a Prospective Candidate Information Event, which is now available to view as well.

GPTX will need local volunteers in each county to administer the party's nominating conventions during the Spring primary season. If you are interested in helping with that effort, please stay tuned in for training to be held in January. Convention locations in each county must be posted by February, and GPTX wants to be as proactive as possible in walking volunteer-voters through the process of holding Green conventions in their counties.

Additionally, GPTX will be holding a semi-annual state meeting via Zoom on November 20th, and the deadline for Texas Greens to register to participate is coming up on October 26th. We will be electing 3 at-large officer seats and resolving some administrative issues in addition to hearing from potential candidates and gearing up for the 2022 election season. Attending the November meeting would be an excellent way to build Greens from your county!

For Immediate Release: August 19th, 2020

Contact: Laura Palmer, GPTX co-chair, 832-746-9067, [email protected]

DEMOCRAT PARTY LEGAL ACTIONS FORCE THREE GREEN CANDIDATES OFF THE BALLOT, SUPPRESS VOTERS

On Monday August 17 around 10pm, the Green Party of Texas (GPTX) was named in two legal actions challenging the eligibility of three of our candidates nominated for the General Election. At 5pm today, August 19, the 3rd Court of Appeals issued an opinion directing GPTX to declare Tom Wakely, katija gruene, and David Collins ineligible to appear as Green Party nominees on the General Election ballot.

The Democratic Party’s numerous attorneys demanded that we declare these three candidates ineligible because they did not pay the primary filing fee. This fee is a newly required obstacle created by the 2019 Texas Legislature under HB2504. Based on the unclear wording of this statute, lack of direction from the Secretary of State on who was eligible to sign a convention party candidate’s petition in lieu of filing fee, the petition form itself being incorrect, as well as pending Federal and State litigation, the GPTX had looked to the Texas Secretary of State’s office to make final determination.

This situation also applies to Libertarian candidates, who are not being challenged, or removed, for not paying the same filing fees. Instead our candidates are being targeted by Democrats threatened by progressive competition, especially Tom Wakely in CD 21, who is named in both of the legal actions.

These legal filings came five hours after the deadline for individuals to file as write-in candidates, which was Monday, August 17, 2020 at 5:00 p.m., and 4 days prior to the last day to correct the General Election Ballot. The timing of these actions is an obvious attempt to remove voter choices from the ballot and lessen the work Democrats have to do to earn votes. It is disappointing to have the legal system weaponized to suppress voters in this way.

The good news is that GPTX will still have our President/VP ticket, Howie Hawkins & Angela Walker, on the ballot. In addition, GPTX candidates Brody-Andrew Mulligan for TX HD 92 and Hal Ridley Jr. for US Rep 36, will certainly remain on the ballot. GPTX also retains ballot access through 2026, so we live to fight another day for the life & death issues we cannot abandon.

Whereas, urban and rural Texans alike now face an unfolding economic crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is expected to have disproportionate effects on poverty level and lower middle class residents;

Whereas, 60 percent of the state’s freshwater supply is groundwater, and its value to the state economy and the security of the nation’s food supply cannot be overstated, especially in times of economic crisis;

Whereas, we need sufficient, affordable and cost-effective water supplies that also are sustainable, for Texas to remain economically competitive; 

Whereas, groundwater in the Simsboro formation of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Bastrop, Lee, Burleson, and Milam counties has been targeted for more than two decades by irresponsible private and public water marketers, including the municipally owned San Antonio Water System (SAWS) - a public utility;

Whereas, mega-permits have been obtained or are being sought from local groundwater conservation districts to pump and export hundreds of thousands of acre feet of Simsboro groundwater annually for real estate development along the I-35 corridor;

Whereas, SAWS has admitted that the Vista Ridge contract is for 30% more water than San Antonio can use and there is no plan to market the excess 15,000 annual acre-feet;

Whereas, California has experienced serious consequences to its aquifers from decades of subsidizing mass conveyance of groundwater for real estate development in areas without adequate local supply; 

Whereas, the most recent failure of our state’s water policy is the $3.4 billion SAWS/Vista Ridge project to pump huge quantities of Burleson County groundwater 142 miles to San Antonio, starting in April 2020; 

Whereas, Vista Ridge will endanger the Edwards Aquifer and the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, the two major aquifers serving millions of central Texans, and the rivers, streams, springs and ecosystems that depend on groundwater; 

Whereas, the huge cost of Vista Ridge will impact rural economies who lose access to their water, as well as cause rates to skyrocket for SAWS’ ratepayers, who are among the poorest in the nation;

Whereas, the devastating environmental and economic costs of Vista Ridge pumping on both ends of the pipeline, undoubtedly will be exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis;

Whereas, the unaccountability of SAWS is so problematic, a volunteer citizens municipal petition drive for the “SAWS Accountability Act” was launched on February 17, was endorsed by the Bexar County Green Party at its 2020 precinct conventions, and is now on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic in Texas;

THEREFORE, the Texas Green Party resolves to demand local and state official intervention to put the commencement of Vista Ridge pumping on hold until an independent performance audit of the Vista Ridge project is accomplished as follows:

The performance audit shall conform to Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) for performance audits and shall include: (1) a management audit; and (2) an economic impact audit. The management audit shall determine the extent to which the project’s governance and management structure creates risks to the City, SAWS, or SAWS ratepayers, and the extent to which these risks have been mitigated by insurance, bonds or other means. The economic impact audit shall include findings regarding the costs and benefits associated with the project, including without limitation long-term environmental impacts, reliability of the particular source of supply, and impacts on communities that depend upon that supply.

Independent auditors shall not have direct or indirect ties, financial or otherwise, to any entity controlled directly or indirectly by the City of San Antonio or the County of Bexar.

Green Party of Texas Advocates the Termination of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) Program

• The 287g agreement promotes factors of institutional and systematic racism by the means of encouraging racial profiling by deputized officials to any person that they suspect is undocumented  
• ICE has stated that the goal of the 287(g) program is to remove undocumented persons “who are involved in violent and serious crimes.” However, studies show that over 50% of all noncitizens identified via the 287(g) program were arrested for simple traffic violations or low-level misdemeanors.

^[1]https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2018/10/09/459098/rapidly-expanding-287g-program-suffers-lack-transparency/^[1] https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2018-09/OIG-18-77-Sep18.pdf^[1] https://leitf.org/2017/09/local-law-enforcement-role-in-immigration-enforcement-%C2%A7-287g-agreements/^[1] https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/delegation-and-divergence-287g-state-and-local-immigration-enforcement

• 287(g) leads to the breakdown of trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. It hinders cooperation between local police and immigrant residents, and it risks the safety of undocumented residents of Texas, making the more vulnerable to becoming targets and victims of a crime.
• 287(g) is costly for counties and taxpayers, and is a misallocation of resources. Under 287(g), ICE only covers the cost of training deputized officers, leaving local governments to front most of the costs, including travel, salaries, overtime, and costs of detention. Among the several counties that have terminated their 287(g) agreements: Orange County, El Paso County, and Harris County cited costs and the need to prioritize law enforcement in other areas as their primary motivations. Other 287(g) participants have spent millions on the program; countless other law enforcement entities have opted to avoid this by never adopting 287(g) to begin with.

^[1]  https://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-undocumented-immigrants-crime-pew.html

^[1] https://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/INSECURE_COMMUNITIES_REPORT_FINAL.PDF

^[1] https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2018/05/08/450439/287g-agreements-harm-public-safety/

^[1] U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; See also https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/county/48439

^[1] https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/en/news/north-carolina-sheriff-known-racial-profiling-partners-ice        ^[1] http://www.law.unc.edu/documents/clinicalprograms/thecostoficespoliciesandpractices.pdf    ^[1]https://www.opportunityagenda.org/explore/resources-publications/immigration-policy-solutions-due-process-and-fair-treatment-under

^[1] https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/05/13/is-there-a-connection-between-undocumented-immigrants-and-crime                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ^[1] http://www.ncsl.org/research/immigration/state-criminal-alien-assistance-program.aspx

• 287(g) leads to an increase in family separation and irreversible damage to immigrant individuals, families and communities. The constant fear of deportation can cause stress and inflict an enormous emotional toll on the undocumented, and separation can drastically destabilize immigrant families. The detention of a family member can result in a family losing most, if not all of their income, as well as negatively impact the social, emotional, educational, and overall well-being of the family.
• Persons detained in jails and detention centers who have been processed through the 287(g) are exposed to the coronavirus due to preventive conditions not practiced in adherence to the national Communicable Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. Incarcerated persons are unable to adhere to “social distancing”, and are potentially exposed daily to persons who may have the disease but are not exhibiting symptoms.  These exposures affect not only those who are incarcerated and the employees of the facilities, but all persons who live in the community,  which results in unnecessary deaths to all persons in the community.  The virus does not discriminate.
• 287(g) exposes counties to legal liability for the prolonged detention of individuals

Given these multiple hazards to all persons in our communities, the Green Party of Texas advocates the immediate termination of the ICE 287(g) program and the release of all persons who have not committed violent offenses.

El Paso, Texas — El Paso and other border towns have been helping refugees find safe temporary residence and assisting with basic living needs for years. Recent actions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have dramatically increased the stress on organizations providing refugee assistance. The Green Party of El Paso County assesses this to be a critical situation for the community and immediate action by the US government is needed to avoid further deterioration. 

Green Party of El Paso County
www.facebook.com/ElPasoCountyGreens/

For Immediate Release
January 1, 2019

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Contact: Laura Palmer, GPTX co-chair, 832-746-9067 ([email protected])
Wesson Gaige, GPTX co-chair, 214-906-2909 ([email protected])

GREEN PARTY OF TEXAS FILES FOR 2018 BALLOT ACCESS

The Green Party of Texas has filed party registration with the Texas Secretary of State’s office, declaring GPTX intent to nominate candidates to the November 2018 general election ballot.

GPTX lost ballot access in 2016 when it’s leading statewide candidate, Martina Salinas for Railroad Commissioner, finished with 3.26%, receiving 285,558 votes. Despite this and other strong finishes across the state, GPTX failed to meet the 5% threshold in a statewide race necessary to retain ballot access. In order to again qualify, GPTX will have to collect 47,183 verified voter signatures, in person, from voters who have not participated in any other party’s primary or convention, within a 75-day period beginning March 14th.

Texas has some of the toughest ballot access requirements in the nation, and because of the uncertainty that this administrative burden creates for an all-volunteer party with almost no funding, GPTX has encouraged individuals seeking district and local offices to file as independents so that they may be subject to much lower petition signature requirements.

Nonetheless, GPTX remains committed to developing the party and promoting a Green vision for the future within the electoral arena. Candidate applicants for the 2018 GPTX nominating conventions are: Jan Richards for Governor, Jamar Osborne for Attorney General, George Reiter for Railroad Commissioner, and James Partsch-Galvan for US Congressional District 29. GPTX nomination of these applicants will be determined by the party nominating conventions, beginning with the precinct conventions on March 13th. GPTX may endorse independent candidates after the ballot access period is closed.

Voters who wish to support GPTX return to the ballot should refrain from voting in a major party primary so that they may be eligible to participate in the GPTX conventions and/or sign the GPTX ballot access petition. Individuals wishing to assist in this effort should visit txgreens.org for more information.

North Texas Green Parties

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Contact: Shannon Carter, Collin County Co-Chair, 903-366-1767 ([email protected])

  Gary Stuard, Dallas County Co-Chair, (214) 641-8541 ([email protected])

  Wesson Gaige, Denton County Co-Chair, 214-906-2909 ([email protected])

GREEN PARTY CALLS  FOR REMOVAL OF CONFEDERATE MEMORIALS IN NORTH TEXAS

The Green Parties across North Texas including the Collin County, Dallas County, and Denton County call upon county and city officials and school board members throughout North Texas to remove Confederate statues and rename public schools currently memorializing and, by extension, glamorizing individuals who took up arms against the nation to ensure the continued enslavement of human beings.  

With hate crimes and white nationalist movements on the rise, we can no longer tolerate publically-funded and maintained symbols that reframe the Civil War as an honorable struggle for the southern way of life--or “states rights”.  Instead, it truly was: a fight to save the institution of slavery.  In the wake of Charlottesville’s domestic terrorism, we can no longer ignore the reality of racism nor the role Confederate monuments play in perpetuating white supremacy. Public symbols of the Confederacy do not represent “our heritage.”  They represent racism’s long, enduring history.