SPONSORS:
Nevada Green Party
Green Party of New Jersey
CONTACT:
Margery Hanson
775 910 9159
Green Party of Nevada cochair and National Committee delegate; nvgreenparty@gmail.com
SUBJECT / TITLE:
Amend GPUS Bylaws, Rules, Procedures; revoke association of principal transphobic organizers
TYPE OF PROPOSAL, EXPECTED APPROVAL THRESHOLD
As a proposal with multiple operative clauses or sections, this proposal requires a 2/3 majority approval threshold.
REQUESTED PROPOSAL DECISION-MAKING TIMELINE
2-week discussion; followed by a 1-week voting period.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
It is the right and in the interest of the Green Party of the United States to determine who can and cannot be associated with its committees, other groups, and events. The National Committee, as the highest decision-making body of GPUS, has the authority to make such determinations, and it is in the interest of the National Committee to explicitly state this in its bylaws and rules.
This proposal consists of amendments to GPUS bylaws and rules, as well as a resolution to hold accountable the principals and officers, as well as key organizers and writers, of the Georgia Green Party (GAGP), the Dialogue Not Expulsion (DNE) group, the Gender Critical Greens PAC (GCG-PAC), and the Emergency Committee to Save the Green Party (ECSGP) under said amendments. The principals, officers, key organizers and writers for these groups in 2019–2021 created or gave integral support to these groups that organized against the GPUS, its values, and its committees, caucuses, officers, and members; they disrupted GPUS business; damaged GPUS’s reputation; and in some instances spread false, defamatory, and transphobic propaganda for the purpose of influencing National Committee delegates and other Greens regarding proposal 1062, the vote to disaffiliate the Georgia Green Party from GPUS for GAGP’s violations of GPUS accreditation requirements.
This proposal does not seek to punish mere signatories of the DNE declaration but rather to hold accountable the founders and main influencers of GAGP, DNE, GCG-PAC, and ECSGP.
Aside from the GAGP, DNE, GCG-PAC, and ECSGP’s causing division and trauma by publishing offensive and defamatory content in contravention to GPUS’s core values, these groups’ unethical and damaging actions also include but are not limited to 1) harvesting National Committee delegates’ email addresses and other Greens’ email addresses; 2) contacting these Greens off-listserv in and subscribing them to unsolicited email blasts; 3) using Greens’ contact information in collaboration with and to make financial solicitations for a federal PAC organizing against GPUS (namely, GCG-PAC); and 4) sharing National Committee communications, including delegates’ names and contact information, with other transphobic individuals and transphobic organizations via email and by publishing on websites and social media.
The principles and actions of the GAGP, DNE, GCG-PAC, and ECSGP are contrary to the values and platform of the GPUS. In keeping with Green Party principles of diversity, social justice, and feminism, we support full legal and political equality for all persons regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity, characteristics, and expression.
The resolution in this proposal addresses the following principals, officers, and key organizers and writers for the Georgia Green Party, Dialogue Not Expulsion, Gender Critical Greens PAC, and Emergency Committee to Save the Green Party:
- Hugh Esco, GA (GAGP State Committee member and secretary, author of GAGP transphobic platform positions, principal of DNE, officer of GCG-PAC)
- Thistle Pettersen, WI (founder and officer of GCC-PAC, Administrative Committee for DNE)
- Ann Menashce, CA (legal counsel for GAGP, email blast writer for ECSGP, Administrative Committee for DNE)
- David Keil, MA (cofounder of DNE, email blast writer for ECSGP)
- Jeffrey Sutter, IN (email blast writer for ECSGP, publisher of false claims about Accreditation Committee)
PROPOSAL
- Bylaws amendment: Amend GPUS Bylaws section 3-2 (“Membership”) by adding a new subsection 3-2.11 that reads, “Notwithstanding any of the above, a proposal to limit or revoke an individual’s association with GPUS committees, conventions, networks, and other GPUS groups and events may be brought forward to the National Committee, subject to a 2/3 approval.”
- Rules and Procedures amendment: Amend GPUS Rules and Procedures section 6-2.1, which lists proposals that require 2/3 majority to adopt, by adding a new subsection 6-2.1(j) that reads, “Resolutions to revoke or limit an individual’s association with the National Committee or other GPUS committees, conventions, groups, or events, as well as proposals to reinstate an individual’s association; such proposals of reinstatement must also carry at least 3 GPUS affiliate sponsors.”
- Resolution: Be it resolved that the National Committee shall revoke the privileges of association in GPUS of the following individuals named in the Background section of this proposal for a period of 4 years: Hugh Esco, Thistle Pettersen, Ann Menashce, David Keil, and Jeffrey Sutter. These individuals’ actions are deemed to be very damaging to GPUS in this matter.
IMPLEMENTATION / TIMELINE / RESOURCES
Implementation: Upon passage of this proposal, the privileges of association in GPUS of the individuals named above shall be revoked immediately. Specifically, these individuals shall be prohibited from joining, retaining their membership or association with, or attending, in any form, the National Committee and all other GPUS committees, networks, and working groups; the Presidential Nominating Convention; Annual National Meetings; and other GPUS or GPUS-sponsored meetings, panels, social media, and events, including teleconferences and video conferences.
Timeline:
The named individuals shall be immediately removed either by staff or the secretary (the Steering Committee shall decide which) from all GPUS committees, networks, groups, social media platforms, and events, and no individual named shall be added to any GPUS committee, network, group, social media platform, or event in any form whatsoever for the duration specified in this proposal. This proposal marks the end of any such existing association of said individuals with GPUS; the individuals shall not be automatically re-added to any committees, networks, groups, or social media platforms they might currently be in if and when the disciplinary period expires.
Notice shall be sent by the GPUS secretary to all committees, networks, groups, and social media platforms of the passage of this proposal and that the named individuals shall be removed from them and not added to them during the specified periods.
.
The secretary shall notify the GPUS-affiliated state parties of this decision in the states in which the named individuals reside. If any individual named in this proposal is elected, appointed, or named to a GPUS committee, convention, network, group, social media platform, or GPUS event by a state party or caucus during the period specified, the GPUS secretary or staff shall reject the association of the individual and notify the state party or caucus of this proposal. The National Committee also encourages state parties and caucuses to bar the named individuals from their membership for 4 years.
Reinstatement of Privileges of Association with the Green Party of the United States:
Each individual named in this proposal shall have the opportunity to apply for reinstatement of privileges of association with the GPUS and GPUS activities after a period of 4 years. After 4 years, a proposal for an individual’s reinstatement can be proposed only by a GPUS-accredited state party or identity caucus and must be sponsored by no fewer than 3 state parties and/or identity caucuses.
To be adopted by the National Committee, the proposal for reinstatement shall require a 2/3 majority approval.
REFERENCES:
- Steering Committee statement condemning the Dialogue Not Expulsion group: https://www.gp.org/steering_committee_of_the_green_party_of_the_united_states_statement_on_the_dialogue_not_expulsion_group
- Proposal 1062, Disaccreditation of the Georgia Green Party: https://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=1062.
- Emergency Committee to Save the Green Party website: https://web.archive.org/web/20210728061453/https://savethegreenparty.org/
- Gender Critical Greens PAC profile from the FEC: https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00771618/?tab=about-committee
- Dialogue Not Expulsion website:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210728062504/https://www.dialoguenotexpulsion.org/
- Several unsolicited email blasts sent to Green delegates, rank-and-file Greens, and/or GPUS Diversity Committee members from Dialogue Not Expulsion or Emergency Committee to Save the Green Party, as well as transphobic and defamatory emails and postings from other individuals associated with these groups, available at https://web.archive.org/web/20210903192109/https://nvgreenparty.org/2021/09/03/unsolicited-email-blasts-sent-to-green-party-of-the-united-states-delegates-rank-and-file-greens-and-or-gpus-diversity-committee-members-2/
