[Gary Swing]

I like the idea. The Supreme Court has already recognized corporations as people, so I wouldn't be concerned about giving recognition to that notion. As I read the resolution, I also was concerned about the “death penalty” language, as the Green Party platform opposes the death penalty for real people.Cheers,Gary

[Gary Swing]

I am currently reading Bernie Sanders' autobiography “Outsider in the House.” I agree that the Greens should be talking with Bernie Sanders about his possible presidential candidacy. He would be a very credible presidential candidate for the Greens. At the risk of contradicting myself, I'll say that I think Green Party members should encourage Bernie Sanders to run as a Green, but I also think Sanders is well aware that he has a much better chance of being taken seriously as a presidential candidate if he runs as a Democrat. The system is totally stacked against minor party and independent candidates. A presidential campaign under the perverted Electoral College system is a much more difficult prospect than an independent campaign in the second least populated state.Cheers,Gary

[Gary Swing]

A few comments about the open primary/IRV ballot initiative proposals.The media coverage that I have read concerning Ryan Ross' proposed open primary-IRV ballot iniative was inaccurate and confused it with California's top two primary system. Ross' proposed initiative is better than the California system in my opinion, but still not what I believe we should be pushing for. However, I would like to see some more commentary from the ballot initiative proponents making the case for their proposal.I agree with Michael that an open primary system would probably increase the cost of elections. The US already has the most expensive elections in the world.I don't see that current state election law suppresses participation in party primaries. Unaffiliated voters can affiliate with a party on election day, vote in their primary, and switch back to unaffiliated the next day if they want to do so. I believe that more notice is required to switch from one party to another to vote in a primary, to deter people from trying to undermine the primaries of opposing parties. Advocates of particular parties argue that blanket open primaries violate their freedom of association to build political parties that stand for particular platforms.Also, under the current Colorado nomination system, candidates are allowed to bypass a party's nominating assembly and petition directly onto the party's primary ballot. The United States probably has the most candidate-centered election system in the world. Elections here focus on individual personalities, while elections elsewhere tend to focus more on party platforms and issues. Campaign literature, websites, television, and radio ads for major party candidates here usually don't even mention what party the candidate represents, yet most voters vote for a particular party. I think the role of political parties in elections should be strengthened, not weakened, but under a multi-party system -- not a system that represents just two corporate puppet parties. As Michael said, your "vote counts for so little" here. We should create a system under which nearly everyone has a meaningful vote that enables them to elect representatives of their choice."Splitting the vote" is not the central problem with American elections. The main problem is lack of fair representation for a diverse electorate. This should be addressed by implementing proportional representation for legislative offices.Many fundamental changes should be made to the American political system. The United States hasn't held a Constitutional Convention since the original one that threw together the existing US Constitution as a compact with slavery. Why should we be stuck with an 18th century Constitution created by a handful of unrepresentative white male delegates who agreed to preserve slavery in order to establish a union, rather than creating a good system of government? It's time to create a modern Constitution.Cheers,Gary Swing

[Gary Swing]

Thanks, Harry.A statewide ballot initiative is a major project. In 1998, I drafted a proposal to elect Colorado's state legislature by mixed member proportional representation. I didn't try to take it past the title setting stage because I didn't have organizational backing or funding for it. Even the Green Party *theoretically* supported proportional representation but wouldn't commit to backing an initiative. I wrote the initiative as MMP because that was the form of proportional representation that had consensus support among the Colorado Greens after discuusing alternative voting systems. My preference now would be to get rid of single member districts for legislative offices altogether and push for an open party list system for the state legislature. My first choice would be a ballot initiative to elect the legislature by George Hallett's STV-List system, giving voters the option of casting a single vote for the party of their choice, or a more detailed STV ranked ballot across party lines for the candidates of their choice. I have Hallett's original statutory language from the 1920s, but when I was working on this proposal 15 years ago, I wanted to include a universal quota in the proposal and didn't know how to write it up. I figured that I needed the help of a mathemetician with an interest in legislation for alternative voting systems. A simpler form of open party list would allow voters to cast a single vote for a single candidate, which would be used both to help that candidate and to allocate the percentage of seats assigned to each party. The "single subject rule" could be problematic, but my really big idea for a ballot initiative was to try to implement ranked choice voting methods for all state and federal elections in Colorado:1) Single winner offices: IRV.2) US Representative: State that Colorado's delegation of US Representatives would be elected at-large by STV unless federal law requires that members be elected from single member districts (which we know it does) and "instruct" Colorado's members of Congress to introduce a bill allowing states to elect their Congressional delegations by proportional representation. (Get the horse to push the cart.)3) Elect the Colorado State House of Representatives by George Hallett's proposed STV-List system (like Australia's Senate elections).4) Either a) Abolish the Colorado State Senate; or b)Phase out staggered terms and elect the entire state senate every fourth year by the Hallett List System of proportional representation.5) US President: STV for presidential electors.A statewide citizen initiative is a huge project. If I were to work on a project like this, I would want to do something that would have maximum impact, creating real proportional representation for the state legislature, and advocate a very good system. My interest is in creating an election system that will enable the widest possible range of the population to elect representatives of their choice, not just the majority or plurality. Cheers,Gary SwingFormer National Advisory Board member, Center for Voting and Democracy (since renamed FairVote)Former Vice-Chairman, Colorado Coalition for Fair and Open ElectionsFormer Green Party candidate for US Representative, CD1, Colorado 2010/2012Creator of "Coloradoans for Proportional Representation" Facebook page

[Gary Swing]

The Denver Green Party will have a table at the People's Fair and could use help to staff the booth.

[Gary Swing]

most county boards in our 64 counties have one or two commissioners up for re-election in november. that's over 100 potential seats. many municipalities have elections in the spring or fall. that's hundreds more. not sure why we need a state list. we haven't elected any green above county and town seats in our history. i think we'd do best to focus on local elections where we might have some chance of winning.

Three Green Party candidates in other states have previously been elected to the office of state representative. Art Goodtimes himself was first elected to the office of county commissioner as a Democrat. He ran for re-election as an incumbent after switching to the Green Party. This was in a small, rural, and heavily Democratic county. Running under the Green Party banner is, in reality, a liability rather than an asset if your goal is to get elected. Choosing the Green Party is a statement of principle, rejecting the corruption of the two corporate parties. It's good to run Green Party candidates at all levels: local, county, state and federal. Most of the Green Party candidates who have been elected to public office in the United States have been elected to small, local, non-partisan offices. That means that the label "Green Party" did not appear next to their name on the ballot. Running campaigns isn't just about running in elections that we can win. It is about getting the message out. If you only want to run campaigns that you can win, there is no point to having a Green Party in the United States, and no point in running as a Green. The election system in the United States is rigged against minor party and independent candidates from start to finish. The necessary first step to creating a viable Green Party in the United States would be to change the voting system so that legislators are elected by proportional representation. This could be done at the level of state legislatures through the ballot initiative process.Cheers,Gary Swing

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