2017 ASM SEC Report

SEC Report 2016 Election Results: RR Com - 3.26% in a 4 way race is an all time high finish, but we lost ballot access What is the state of the party? What are the prospects for Greens in Texas going forward? The party is weak, but it has a pulse. *IF* people engage; there is fertile ground for growth. We have had very strong results in the Rio Grande Valley & around the state in some local races, with numerous results in the teens & up to 42%. Also Green candidates have had a few successes in non-partisan races. The political & public climate actually are receptive now more than ever; even though Greens still face major obstacles.

SEC Report How many Greens are there in TX? RR Com ~ 285k Stein/Baraka ~ 71k 2016 precinct convention ballots - 65 To regain ballot access, GPTX must demonstrate the support of 47,182 registered voters, in the form of their verified, physical signatures, collected during the convention & petitioning period between March 13, 2018 & Memorial Day. In theory, Greens have plenty of supporters to regain ballot access, but in practice the party does not currently have the capacity to mobilize that many individuals. (You truly are one in a million! Special & rare individuals, every one :)

Ballot Access What will it take to regain ballot access? 47,182 verified voter signatures A slate of candidates prepared to deliver the Green message & serve the public if elected We must accomplish both of these goals simultaneously. We must improve our candidate development, screening & support; as it does not make sense to expend the effort for ballot access if we are only running placeholder candidates. Even if we do successfully petition for ballot access in 2018, we will still have to earn 5% in a statewide race to retain access for 2020, and it is very likely that Democrats will again fill all statewide races to avoid leaving us any openings to make our threshold; so this fact bears consideration.

Ballot Access The cost of ballot access with paid petitioners is estimated at $4/signature. At that rate, $300k would provide about 75,000 signatures. We have about $2k. And an office we can’t afford.

Ballot Access At $15/hr, $300k would buy 20,000 person hours of petitioner labor. At 4 signatures/hr, perhaps 80k collected. So really, we need to organize 20,000 person hours. Theoretically possible.

Ballot Access Important Date: * March 13th, 2018 * 2018 Precinct Convention Date – You must save your vote to participate in the convention or sign the petition; you can not vote in another party’s primary. The more voters that participate in our conventions, the fewer petition signatures we have to collect & the more potential volunteers we have to help with the effort! We have to operate our own conventions at our own expense in each participating county. (up to 254) Theoretically possible.

Ballot Access So we need an effort on the order of: 10 teams; each organizing 2000 person hours; or approximately 20 people working 10 hours/week for 10 weeks Not impossible, but a significant effort. Now, if 1,000 of the people who signed the pledge to put GPTX back on the ballot each work 20 hours… we’re there! (Overlooking the administrative back end…)

2018 Ballot Races State Executive: Governor, Lt. Gov, SOS, AG, Treasurer, Auditor, Superintendent of Schools, Insurance Commissioner, Controller, Agriculture Commissioner, Natural Resources Commissioner, Labor Commissioner, Public Service Commissioner

2018 Ballot Races Also: Senate All House seats 15 State Senate seats All 150 State House seats Plus various County & local races

Candidate Development We need numerous volunteers across the state to work on candidate development & screening. Please attend the workshop at 11am to connect to this committee effort. At its February working retreat, the SEC put together an outline for a Candidate Development Plan, and kat will be reviewing that as part of the workshop she will lead.

Committee Directory for #slack Candidate Development​ - #candidate_development, #candidates, #candidatesupportahead Membership Development​ - #congress, #regional-coordinators, #membershipdevelopment Outreach/Media​ - #graphix, #marketing, #media Legislature​ - #legislature IT​ - #trello, #nationbuilder, #technology, #website SEC/Party Administration​ #sec, #general, #affiliation_audit, #strategy Finance & Fundraising​ - #fundraising, #dues_model, #treasurers National Delegation​ - #gpus Though not all of these committees are fully functioning, the SEC is attempting to facilitate the function of several committees. We invite the membership to animate the committee structure & assets we have created on #slack and trello. Please be sure to have a member of your delegation attend the tech tools workshop for orientation on how to connect with the party’s organizational resources. Please sign up with Wes or the incoming Secretary to request to be added to the GPTX slack.

SEC Report Improved records & infrastructure: Better documentation Completion of Nationbuilder implementation Since 2014, the SEC has been working to document party operations & complete the stalled systems transition to the Nationbuilder platform, of which we are now in the final implementation & adoption phase.

SEC Operation Records archived on txgreens.org Regular SEC agenda format calls for report on each committee area We have a central repository for records in Nationbuilder; and we have adopted a regular agenda format that encourages to touch on all areas relevant to party operations.

SEC Report Legislature Update – katija gruene IT Update – Wesson Gaige Treasurer’s Report – David Wager Workshops are scheduled to focus in depth on several committee topics, but we also have several items to report here in brief. First up is kat with an update on activity in the legislature this session. Next is Wes with an update on the status of our IT & the effort to improve our technical operation. Be sure to emphasize the consequences of our email situation on our ability to operate & fundraise. Finally, David will give the Treasurer’s report.

SEC Operation Merchandise & Literature available Resource repository: txgreens.org/resources One effort the SEC has undertaken is to attempt to improve resources for members. Unfortunately, GPTX does not have funds to invest in merchandise inventory or the capacity to operate a shop which requires order fulfillment. Therefore, we have set up a CafePress shop for on demand printing of small merchandise orders so that members can obtain logo swag, merchandise, and marketing assets including t-shirts, banners, hats, cups, stickers & more. Brochures & flyers are available for printing on the txgreens.org resources page, among other things, so we suggest you make note of it & check it first for anything you might need. For this meeting only, you can see samples & place orders for your local at the registration table.

SEC Report Party Operations Manual Draft – intended as a flexible guide document for orientation & continuity of SEC Intended as an orientation & guide for incoming SEC – review pdf

2017-2018 Planning Draft Plan A: Build a credible slate of candidates 20,000 person hours of petitioning (or equivalent fundraising) (Fall 2017 candidate development & petition training event needed) Plan B: What if we can’t achieve ballot access? An outline of what we must accomplish to place candidates on the 2018 ballot. We need volunteers to operate the candidate recruitment & screening process. We need volunteers to operate the petition effort.

Contemplating Plan B Party activities that don’t require ballot access: Supporting candidates in non-partisan local races & endorsing candidates Working on issues advocacy & education Building the party to fight another day If we are going to expend exhaustive effort to achieve ballot access in 2018; it can’t be just to lose it. We need the party membership to fully engage in order to be equal to this task, and if this does not materialize, we might be better off not seeking ballot access until 2020. Though the SEC is concerned about dissipating the emotional energy behind the party in the event we can’t achieve ballot access, we feel it is important to be honest with delegates in evaluating the situation realistically.

What is a political party? Without ballot access, are we still a political party? Yes. A political party is an idea defined by its platform positions & ideology. Though ballot access & the state-granted privilege to directly challenge the establishment in elections is very important; it is not what defines & creates the party. We do that ourselves. And it is important that we continue to maintain & grow the party & call others to our support so that we can fight again another day. Even without ballot access, GPTX has an operational foundation & experience that are worth preserving to build on in the future.