Green Party of Texas

Texas affiliate of the Green Party

Green Party of Texas

Co-chair| Delilah Barrios
Co-chair| Hunter Crow
Senate Leader| None
House Leader| None
Founded| 1999; 24 years ago (1999)
Headquarters| Austin, Texas 78741
Ideology| Green politics
National affiliation| Green Party of the United States
Colors|  Green
Texas Senate|

0 / 31

Texas House of Representatives|

0 / 150

Laredo City Council|

1 / 8

Website
Official website

* Politics of Texas
* Elections

Part of a series on

Green politics

Core topics

* Green politics
* Green party
* List of topics

Four pillars

* Ecological wisdom
* Social justice
* Grassroots democracy
* Nonviolence

Perspectives

* Bright green environmentalism
* Deep ecology
* Ecoauthoritarianism
* Eco-capitalism
* Ecofascism
* Ecofeminism
* Eco-nationalism
* Eco-socialism
* Green anarchism
* Green conservatism
* Green left
* Green liberalism
* Green libertarianism
* Green Zionism
* Social ecology
* Queer ecology

Organizations

* Asia Pacific Greens Federation
* European Green Party
* Federation of Green Parties of Africa
* Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas
* Federation of Young European Greens
* Global Greens
* Global Young Greens
* World Ecological Parties

Related topics

* Carbon fee and dividend
* Carbon tax
* Circular economy
* Climate change mitigation
* Climate finance
* Climate justice
* Conservation movement
* Degrowth
* Ecocentrism
* Eco-investing
* Ecological economics
* Ecological modernization
* Ecomodernism
* Eco-tariff
* Ecotax
* Eco-terrorism
* Environmental issues
* Environmental finance
* Environmental justice
* Environmental movement
* Environmental planning
* Environmental pricing reform
* Environmental racism
* Environmental technology
* Environmentalism
* opposition
* Stewardship
* in music
* Fossil fuel phase-out
* Green development
* Green economy
* Greenwashing
* Green growth
* Green imperialism
* Green grabbing
* Green industrial policy
* Green infrastructure
* Green job
* Green New Deal
* Green recovery
* Green retrofit
* Green state
* Green theory
* Green transport hierarchy
* Green vehicle
* Greening
* Localism
* Low-carbon economy
* Progressivism
* Renewable energy
* Sustainable design
* Sustainable development
* Sustainable energy
* Sustainable engineering
* Sustainable refurbishment
* Sustainable transport

* v
* t
* e

The Green Party of Texas is the state party organization for Texas of the Green Party of the United States. The party was founded as the electoral arm of the political movements for grassroots democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom, and peace/nonviolence. The aim of the movement is to bring change to the Government such that it is brought in line with the Global Greens Charter.

The Texas Green Party has retroactively gained ballot access through 2026 via the passage and signing of HB-2504 in 2019, from having obtained 2% of the statewide vote for Railroad Commissioner in 2016.[1] Greens continue to elect local officeholders in Texas.

## History[edit]

The Green Party of Texas began to organize a serious, statewide, grassroots effort in the late 1990s. Small, active Green groups existed in large cities throughout the state (particularly Houston, Dallas and Austin) before this time, but Ralph Nader's 1996 campaign helped spur the growth of the Green Party of Texas.

### 2000[edit]

Ballot access was achieved in Texas by the Green Party, which allowed Ralph Nader and the names of statewide and local Green candidates to appear on the ballot alongside Democrats, Republicans, Libertarian and Independents.

The drive in 2000 was achieved using volunteers with a help from paid petitioners, most of them Greens from other states; the cost of the drive was around $80,000; over 30,000 of those signatures were collected in the last two weeks alone. The goal for signatures was about 64,000 (based on the gubernatorial election of 1998, including a sizable cushion for invalid signatures); over 76,000 qualified signatures were collected. Three Green Party candidates reached the required 5 percent threshold for one statewide candidate to achieve in order to retain ballot access for 2002 (the highest was Ben Levy for State Supreme Court, who received 9.7 percent with 451,338 votes).

### 2002[edit]

Having retained access to the ballot for this year, the Green Party of Texas fielded 28 candidates to appear on the ballot around the state, in addition to candidates for several local races. None of the statewide candidates achieved the required 5 percent of the vote, because of one-punch, straight-ticket voting, so the Green Party lost ballot access for 2004. Of the statewide Green candidates, Lesley Nicole Ramsey got 21.7% with 63,871 votes for State Board of Education, District 10; Ruben Reyes got 1.72% with 77,177 votes for Comptroller of Public Accounts; several candidates for statewide judge seats received votes within that range.

### 2004[edit]

Since ballot access was lost, the Green Party of Texas would have had to gather in well in excess of 45,540 signatures (1% of the votes cast for governor in 2002) in order to regain ballot access. They attempted to mount an all volunteer effort, but fell far short of the needed signature collection. At the time, the leadership was unaware of the costs of the 2000 petition drive as they were told it was a volunteer effort and only years later were the costs of 2000 ballot access discovered.

### 2006[edit]

The deadline for petition signature gathering ended after only 75 days for the Green Party of Texas on May 29, 2006. The party did not reach the goal of 75,000 signatures or the legal requirement of 45,540 signatures. The actual number collected, mostly by volunteers, was about 27,000 statewide. This election cycle included competition for signatures from two independent candidates (Kinky Friedman and Carole Strayhorn). Many registered voters had already voted in the primaries, meaning that they could not sign petitions for other candidates; remaining eligible people may have been confused by the fact that they were not allowed to sign a petition for more than one independent, nor for more than one non-primary party, but they could sign one of each. The official language on the petitions from the Election Code adds to voter intimidation and confusion.

While they did not gain ballot access, the Green Party was required by the Texas Secretary of State to have declared by January 2 what candidates it would have on its convention ballots, which decide who they would run in November if it had gained ballot access. The party announced candidates seeking nomination in about 22 statewide and local races. The highest offices its candidates would have sought were governor and a U.S. Senate seat. Charles Waterbury became a write-in candidate for Texas Supreme Court. A number of local offices were also sought, including a county commissioner's seat in Bexar County, Texas. Further information can be found at TXGreens.org.[2]

### 2010[edit]

The Green Party's efforts to get its candidates on the ballot for the 2010 elections was successful. Nearly 92,000 petition signatures were gathered in support of granting the Green Party ballot access. The petitions were immediately challenged by the Texas Democratic Party.

The challenge was based on Texas's corporate contribution bans, but corporations are allowed to donate for administrative costs, which ballot access is according to the author of the legislation enacting this restriction, in his testimony to the Texas Legislature.[citation needed] The petition drive had been funded by one Republican through a 501c(4), which was presented to the Green Party leadership as a non-incorporated entity.

The news media circus that resulted was based on a press release and blogs put out by a group started merely to disseminate propaganda around this lawsuit. That site no longer exists, likely due to a settlement the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) accepted from the Republican operatives named as defendants - a $760,000 deal reported only as $250,000 by the TDP.[3][4] The court challenge resulted in the Green Party candidates being allowed to remain on the ballot.[5][6]

In 2010, in the election for Comptroller of Public Accounts, Ed Lindsay received more than 6 percent of the vote, which allowed the Green Party to stay on the ballot for the presidential election in Texas in 2012.

## 2012 candidates[edit]

In 2012, with an "Occupy the ballot" campaign, the Green Party of Texas ran a record number of candidates, including for president (Jill Stein), U.S. Senate (David Collins), Supreme Court of Texas (Charles Waterbury for Place 4 and Jim Chisholm for Place 6), and railroad commissioner (Chris Kennedy for the post normally renewed this cycle and Josh Wendel for the unexpired term), as well as 13 U.S. House candidates, 13 Texas House candidates, two Texas Senate candidates, and nominees for more than a half dozen other positions.[7] Statewide judicial races secured the party access for 2014.

## Elected officials[edit]

The following are known elected Green Party officeholders in Texas.[8]

Current officials:

* George Altgelt, City Council District 7, Laredo (through Nov. 2020)

Past officials:

* Debbie Russell, School Board, Del Valle I.S.D. Austin
* La'Shadion Shemwell, City Council District 1, McKinney
* David Lanman, mayor, Marfa
* Bob Brewer, city council, Ward 5, Alpine
* Flynn Wright, city council, Sommerville
* George Rice, water board, Bexar County

## Presidential nominee results[edit]

Year  | Nominee  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

1996 | Ralph Nader (write-in)  | 4,810  |

0.09 / 100

2000 | Ralph Nader | 137,994  |

2.15 / 100

2004 | David Cobb (write-in)  | 1,014  |

0.01 / 100

2008 | Cynthia McKinney | 909  |

0.01 / 100

2012 | Jill Stein | 24,657  |

0.31 / 100

2016 | Jill Stein | 71,307  |

0.80 / 100

2020 | Howie Hawkins | 33,396  |

0.30 / 100

## References[edit]

1. ^ Byrne, Elizabeth (May 20, 2019). "Critics say bill moving through Texas Legislature designed to aid GOP reelection bids". The Texas Tribune.
2. ^ April 19, David Collins ·; reactions, 2020 5:32 PM · 3. "Green Party of Texas". Green Party of Texas.
3. ^ personal correspondence from Executive Director of the GPTX, Kat Swift"
4. ^ Slater, Wayne (25 June 2010). "Circle of Perry associates grows in the Green Party scandal". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
5. ^ Bustillo, Miguel (15 June 2010). "Texas Democrats Sue After Green Party Secures Ballot Spot". The Wall Street Journal.
6. ^ Hamilton, Reeve (2 July 2010). "Green Party Candidates Allowed on Texas Ballot For Now". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
7. ^ "The 2012 election and the future of the Texas Green Party". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
8. ^ "Greens holding elected office - US". US Green Party. Archived from the original on 2012-01-09. Retrieved 2010-09-04.

## External links[edit]

* Official website

* v
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Green Party of the United States

Presidential tickets|

* 1996: Nader/LaDuke
* 2000: Nader/LaDuke
* 2004: Cobb/LaMarche
* 2008: McKinney/Clemente
* 2012: Stein/Honkala
* 2016: Stein/Baraka
* 2020: Hawkins/Walker

Presidential primaries|

* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Convention|

* 2000 (Denver)
* 2004 (Milwaukee)
* 2008 (Chicago)
* 2012 (Baltimore)
* 2016 (Houston)
* 2020 (Detroit/Virtual)

Parties by state
and territory|

* Alabama
* Alaskaa
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* District of Columbia
* Florida
* Georgiab
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Islandc
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Related organizations|

* Global Greens
* Green Parties of the Americas
* Green National Committee
* Green Senatorial Campaign Committee
* Greens/Green Party USA

History|

* Association of State Green Parties
* Overview

Related articles|

* Green politics
* Office-holding politicians

aAs of January 2021, the original GPAK is no longer affiliated to the GPUS, following disagreements with the national party during the 2020 presidential election
bAs of July 2021, the original GGP is no longer affiliated to the GPUS, following disagreements over amendments passed in the GGP party platform
cAs of December 2020, the original GPRI is no longer affiliated to the GPUS, following disagreements with the national party during the 2020 presidential election

* v
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Political parties of Texas

Major parties|

* Democratic
* Republican

Ballot-qualified minor parties|

* Green
* Libertarian

Other minor parties|

* Communist
* Constitution
* Socialist

Political party strength in Texas
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