Greetings Greens!

Want to participate in nominating Green Party candidates for the 2014 elections?

Tuesday 3/11/14 is the day the Four Stage Nominating Convention Process* begins.

While these conventions are open to the public, one may only participate as a voting attendee if one is:

1) registered to vote

2) did not vote in a 2014 primary (either D or R)

3) did not vote in another party's convention

Please bring your voter registration card with you.

Stage 1

On Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Precinct Conventions will be held - this is where County delegates are elected and ballots are cast for use by the delegates to the County, District, and State Conventions in guiding their decisions.

Consolidated Precinct Convention Locations – Time is 7p-9p unless otherwise noted below:

Bexar - Esperanza Center, 922 San Pedro Ave, SA, TX 782

Collin - 7p-8p, 8713 Kimberly Lane, Frisco, TX 75033

Comal - 7p-730p, 642 Crosspoint Dr, New Braunfels, TX 78130

Dallas- 1439 North Zang Blvd, Dallas, TX 75203

Denton - 7p-8p, UT Library, 2nd Floor, 1506 Highland Avenue, Denton, TX 76203

El Paso - 8p-9p, Tio Juan's Restaurant, 10059 Dyer St, El Paso, TX 79924

Harris - 2805 Wichita, Houston, TX 77004-7715

Nueces - B&J's Pizza, 6335 S Padre Island Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412

Orange - 7p-8p, 306 Mesquite, Bridge City, Tx 77611

Tarrant - Roots Coffeehouse, 9101 Blvd 26, North Richland Hills, Tx 76180

Travis - Brick Oven Pizza, 1209 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701

(An open letter from the Green Party of Texas.)

The State needs a kick in the *ss...will you deliver it?

Shine up those boots, cowboys and cowgirls. The Green Party of Texas is on the ballot for 2014, and we need YOU (or someone you know) to be a candidate and run for office.

It's become apparent, with less than 12% approval, that Americans disapprove of the Democrats' & Republicans' bungling of the economy, health care, Wall Street, multiple wars and much more. It's past time for a "third party"--or as the state would refer to us, a "minor party." As turnout for voting goes down and voter anger goes up, it only stands to reason that Greens have a better shot at public office.

Now if you're sitting there, busy and tired, maybe you're thinking, "Yeah, right. Me? Not a chance. I don't have time or resources to campaign, and don't stand a chance come election time."

Our experience is that having a candidate who speaks to issues ignored by the corporate parties broadens the conversation, which impacts the populous; and even someone without time or money can put their name on the ballot without running an active campaign. (Chuck Robinson got 14% running this way.) If it's just you and an incumbent in the race, you're guaranteed to get some votes--and it may surprise you how many.

Voters are pissed, so let's stir up the mix some more! 2014 is the year to lambaste fracking, water theft, the Keystone XL pipeline, health care, food security, drones on the border, and every issue that amplifies our Green ideals and shows that a new way is possible.

A place on the Texas Ballot in 2014 has been guaranteed for the Green Party by the votes for two candidates, Josh Wendel, who ran for Railroad Commissioner, and Charles Waterbury, for Supreme Court justice. Josh won 484,826 votes, or 7.90%, and Charles won 491,571 votes, or 8.04%.

(According to Texas law, a political party is allowed to list its candidates on the ballot in the next general election if any candidate for state-wide office receives more than 5% of the vote.)

In other races, Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, the Green Party's candidates for president and vice-president, won 24,450 votes statewide.

The candidate with the highest number of votes was Charles Waterbury, mentioned above, with 491,571. Charles' impressive vote total is all the more significant for being the largest number of votes won by any Green Party candidate in Texas, beating the former record set by the late Ben Levy in 2000 who received 451,333 votes.

The candidate with the highest percentage of the vote, at 19.03%, was Angela K. Sarlay, who ran against an incumbent Republican for State Representative, District 113.

For nation-wide Green Party election results, check out this site.

Complete results for all races and candidates in Texas can be found at the Secretary of State's website.