Scenes from Hands Off
April 5, 2025
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
CONTACT: [email protected]
GREEN PARTY CALLS ON LEGISLATORS TO VOLUNTEER FOR FIRING SQUAD
The South Carolina Green Party is calling on legislators in the House and Senate to volunteer to serve on the firing squad for the upcoming execution of Brad Sigmon. Volunteers would save the expense and trauma of delegating this deadly task to state employees. Surely three of the 98 state legislators who voted in 2021 to approve legislation creating the firing squad option can find the time and armament to assist with its execution.
*****************
The South Carolina Green Party is a ballot-qualified party guided by the values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy, and non-violence. We seek to broaden political dialogue and participation in South Carolina and advocate for more choices for citizens wherever possible.
More information on the South Carolina Green Party is available at www.SCGreenParty.org.
SOUTH CAROLINA GREEN PARTY
Delegates will attend from across the state.
At the SCGP state convention on May 11th eight delegates to the national presidential nominating convention. The convention runs from August 15h to August 18th, and will include a series of press conferences, training seminars and of course, the nomination itself.
SCGP rules require the first ballot be cast to represent the will of the state convention, so five of our delegates will vote uncommitted and Jill Stein three. After the nomination is secured it is typical to nominate the candidate by acclimation, so everyone is on board.
SC Greens say Supreme Court is not a private club and it's time to stop treating it that way.
SOUTH CAROLINA GREENS SEE RED
GREEN PARTY CONDEMNS LEGISLATORS APPOINTING ALL WHITE STATE SUPREME COURT
FOUR OF FIVE JUSTICES ARE MEN
COLUMBIA, SC (JUNE 20, 2024) - Enraged at recent findings by the Brennan Center for Justice, Green Party leaders across the state are calling foul. The study, “State Supreme Court Diversity — May 2024 Update” details how many state top courts include no women and/or ethnic minorities. In South Carolina one justice is a woman and all are white.
The Brennan Center report says people don't trust a system which does not look like them. To make the court’s deliberations fair the courts should reflect the rest of society the review pointed out.
South Carolina is one of only two states where state court justices, including the Supreme Court, are elected by the legislature. First the list of possible contenders is passed through a ten member Judicial Merit Selection Commission. This commission includes attorneys and legislators. This system locked up the legislature as recently as January of 2023 when the legislature replaced Justice Kaye Hearn after she reached state mandated retirement.
“The South Carolina legislature thinks they are playing a shell game.” said David Edmond, a recent Green Party candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture. “Slide the black man out of the door and replace him with the single white woman. That’s what they’ve done. Do they think we don’t know what they are up to?”
“The State Law Research Initiative database shows there are only 36 Black high court justices in 23 states nation wide.” said David Whiteman, state party treasurer. “That kind of blatant under representation helps explain why so many people are fed up with the political system. Then you see young people getting fired up to make change and it does give me hope.”
"Thirteen percent of judges in South Carolina's lower courts are Black. Only one of the nine justices on the State Court of Appeals is Black. Our state is twenty seven percent Black. Black people in South Carolina have less than half the judicial influence they should have." explained Ed Ballew of Easley. "In a state that's known for freedom, how can such a thing be fair?"
There are a few bright spots in recent state high court diversity. The first public defender was elected to New Jersey's high court. The youngest female supreme court justice in North Carolina's history took office. Two states, MO and TN, now have a female majority on their top courts.
"When two states are able to find enough top quality women to get a balanced Supreme Court it's pretty hard to believe there are not enough top quality women candidates here in South Carolina. Columbia just doesn't care." said Katie Heape of Campobello. "We should look everywhere to find the best possible justices. Obviously they didn't do that here recently, and haven't for years on end."
When asked if the South Carolina Green Party could go to court to try to get a more representative court system, Scott West of Columbia and a former state senate candidate for the Greens, said "We don't have deep pocket donors. We don't take money from businesses or political action committees. We only take money from individual people, and most of that money is in small donations. So no, we can't do that." he said.
Results of the May 11th State Convention
Greens tell it like it really is, but that doesn't mean there's not great news out of the state convention.
Thirteen people, including eight official delegates, attended the state convention. Delegates came from greater Charleston, Columbia and Greenville as well as more far flung spots like York, Campobello and Simpsonville. With a two hour convention planned we got right down to the vital business.
First, members of the steering committee were elected to two year terms. They were David Edmond, Scott West and Gregg Jocoy. The convention and party as a whole understand that our all male and almost all white steering committee is unbalanced and we hope others might approach the steering committee for consideration. There is currently one open seat on the steering committee.
We turned our attention to discussions of ways to grow the party in the various local chapters. Can a chapter of three of fewer actually plan and pull off a safe demonstration which gets positive coverage? What issues are we targeting?
Next we heard from Jill Stein, candidate for the Green Party nomination, via a video link. Unfortunately the video link had not been tested in advance so she went in and out of view and her sound also cut out a bit. All of this was on our end. We are grateful to Dr. Stein for her participation.
After Dr. Stein spoke we discussed, as best we could, the other candidates. It was clear that no one at the convention felt an affinity with any of the other candidates. As we always do, our ballot provided for a secret vote including a None of the Above option. NOTA got five votes and Jill Stein got three.
A report on the party's finances was given and for the first time ever the South Carolina Green Party has more than $4000 in the bank. There are many more monthly donors and much more coming in each month.
A decision was made to better organize the party by appointing individual members of the steering committee to particular responsibilities. This gives you a way to plug in at once because you know who is doing what so you can decide what tasks, if any, you want to do.
We also agreed that where possible and wanted in-person meetings are better for longer conversations. Otherwise, the party continues to use Zoom and will make it available to others wanting to use it for party business.
One of the next few updates will cover who has which responsibilities and how to help out.
Join us for our 2024 State Convention!
Please join us for our State Convention on Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 1:00-3:30 p.m. at the Richland Library, 1431 Assembly Street in Columbia. We'll be discussing candidates for the 2024 elections and planning activities for 2024-2025.
To receive updates, please make sure your membership is current, using the membership link below. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
Also, nominations are now open for election to the State Steering Committee. Nominations and confirmations (see below) must be received no later than April 27th (two weeks before the State Convention). The terms of three Steering Committee members are expiring and one additional position is open.
Nominations may be emailed (to [email protected]) or mailed (to SCGP, P.O. Box 5341, Columbia, SC 29250). In order to be eligible to be on the ballot, anyone nominated must certify by April 27th that they (a) are interested in being on the ballot, (b) are a member of the Party, and (c) do not occupy a leadership position in any other political party. All nominees should also submit a brief personal statement for inclusion in the State Convention agenda packet. After nominations are closed, the Steering Committee will provide a final list of nomine
Interested in Becoming a Green Party Candidate?
If you would like to run for office as a Green Party candidate, please contact us as soon as possible at [email protected]. Now is the time to begin planning, even if you don't feel sure about the ins and outs. We will help you through the process. You'll need to recruit workers, raise money, and plan how you intend to run your campaign, but we will be sure your name is there in November.
All candidates must file with the Election Commission between March 16th and April 2nd. Candidates must also fill out a SCGP candidate questionnaire and be nominated at our State Convention on May 11th.
2024 - A New Dawn in South Carolina
The political system may seem out of our control, but we believe in democracy. We believe in South Carolina and our future. Our state is filled with good, honest people of all sorts and in every place. It shows up whenever disaster strikes. It shows up when a neighbor takes someone to see a doctor. It's in our food banks, our volunteer organizations. It's there in you.
So, what is this "new dawn" about?
For almost twenty years the SCGP has run dozens of candidates across the state. We have elected two officials in our state. We have done flea markets, public meetings, social media, visits to welcoming houses of worship and more. All because we believe in a future of grassroots democracy, non-violence, ecological wisdom and social justice. These are the first four of our Ten Key Values.
Now we turn a page from reacting to what comes our way to planning well ahead and building teams able to accomplish shared goals. By preparing years ahead of coming elections we make success much more likely.
This does not mean we don't want you to run right now. We expect dozens of new volunteers and many will be ready to get out and campaign for you. Let us know now so we can start now to get you in office.
So, if you believe South Carolina has a bright future if the right policies and people are in place, join us. If you think our state has solid people, good natural resources and a sense of community, then join us. If you want to make South Carolina a state at the top of lists of accomplishments, join us. You can join us by just clicking here. The cost is $25 a year.
So, who runs this party?
We are small. That's just true. But we are a democratically run party where each member has an equal voice in decisions and any member can run for the steering committee.
The party members vote at our state convention on who will be on the steering committee. To run you need to let the steering committee know about a month before the convention so we can get out info to all the members.
The bottom line is that you can run this party just like anyone currently doing the job. If you want to serve on the steering committee, now is a great time to let us know.
ELECTION 2022 Shows Positive Gains for Greens in South Carolina
The South Carolina Green Party had five candidates on ballots across the state, including two state-wide races. We did darn well.
In a local race, Michael Stewart won re-election to his non-partisan seat on the Greenville County Soil & Water Conservation District. This is a non-partisan seat and Mike has consistently been winning.
We are proud of the effort our candidates put in to their campaigns and the Green Party will continue to find ways to support the people of South Carolina.
Join the South Carolina Green Party!
If you live in South Carolina, you can join the Green Party. We'll connect you to local groups, or help you set one up. It does take some effort, but nothing good just drops in our laps.
We are regular people who want a better environment here in South Carolina. We want better relations between people so we can live in peace with our neighbors. We want peace across the world and do what we can. We just want South Carolina to be it's best, and we know we can help. Government must do their jobs, but the politicians and big money keep getting in the way. The longer we wait for change, the harder it gets. Don’t vote for the lesser of two evils on election day. So, join us, and even if you don't, you can still Vote Green!
Your annual $25 membership supports independent green initiatives in South Carolina. Memberships are renewable annually. Once your membership is processed, we will be in touch.
CLICK HERE TO START OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP
If you prefer to pay by check, sent $25 to the South Carolina Green Party mailbox:
- South Carolina Green Party, Attn: David Whiteman, Treasurer, P.O. Box 5341, Columbia SC 29250