Summit Greens
P.O. Box 8386, Breckenridge, CO 80424
email: Summit Greens
Thank you for your interest in the Summit Greens.. We are the local Green Party chapter for Summit County, Colorado. Summit County is located 60 miles west of Denver, at elevations ranging from 9,000 to 14,000 feet above sea level. Seventy-one percent of Summit County is public National Forest land. We are home to four ski resorts and many square miles of backcountry. We have been under constant real estate development pressure threatening the environment and we have been working on issues of growth and development, public transportation and affordable housing, among others.
WHAT IS THE GREEN PARTY:
The Green Party is a global movement committed to the principles of ecology and social justice. Greens work to create sustainable, healthy communities and ecosystems based on the understanding that all life is interconnected and interdependent.
There are active Green Parties in at least 76 countries worldwide. The Green Party in the USA was just founded in 1984, and organized in Colorado in 1993. Summit Greens was founded on Sept. 21, 1999 at a meeting at Mountain Java in Breckenridge and formally accepted as a chapter of the Green Party of Colorado on April 29, 2000.
SUMMIT GREENS MEETINGS AND CONTACT LIST:
Summit Greens holds meetings and events that are announced on our email list. To receive announcements for Summit Greens send an email to : Summit Greens.
WHAT ARE THE GREEN PARTY VALUES:
Members of the Green Party work toward a “Green” society as articulated by our 10 Key Values of: grassroots democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom, non-violence, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, gender equality, respect for diversity, personal and global responsibility, and future focus and sustainability. The Green Party values and platforms are all detailed on our web site: Green Platform.
This past November 7, 2000 the most respected citizen activist in the country, Ralph Nader, was on the ballot in 45 states, including Colorado, as the Green Party Presidential candidate. Nader, unlike candidates from the two major parties had to petition to get on the ballot in most of those states, and in a number of cases had to actually sue various state governments to be allowed on the ballot subsequent to petitioning. In Colorado, we were able to place Nader on the Ballot using our minor party status which allows us ballot access for our candidates. In Summit County, Nader got 10.2 percent of the vote, compared to 2.7 percent nationally.
ELECTED OFFICIAL IN SUMMIT COUNTY:
A Green Party candidate, Jim Lamb, was elected April 4, 2000 to a four year term on the Breckenridge Town Council. Since he has been in office, Jim has shown that he can be reasonable and intelligent toward issues. He has helped hold the line on developers, and has worked toward improving public transportation and has introduced the idea of changing town buses to cleaner fuels over to natural gas.
GREEN PARTY OF COLORADO BALLOT STATUS AND REGISTRATION:
In Colorado we are extremely lucky. In 1998 we went from being one of the worst states in the country for third parties to get on the ballot to being one of the best. Colorado, thanks to new legislation passed in 1998. We now have what are called minor parties. The Green Party, as one of only four parties in the state to qualify, now has the ability to place candidates on the ballot like the two major parties have always had, i.e., without petitioning. We are now able to hold primaries and choose our candidates just like the two major parties and have them placed on the ballot. If you have noticed a slight increase in third party candidates on the Colorado ballots lately, this is why.
But, maintaining minor party status is dependent on us having a certain number of registered voters in the state. Since this state is so transient, we have to constantly register people to make sure we retain our minor party status with 1,000 registered voters.
In Colorado, there are over 2 million registered voters, but only 4,200 are registered Green, so it is important that all Greens register as Green Party, not just independent.
When registered with the “Green Party of Colorado” you are – of course -- still free to vote however you choose in an election. Also, you can participate in the Green Party’s version of primaries, in which we vote for candidates at a local meeting.
Your registration will have a lot of weight and be important with the Green Party and Summit Greens!
HOW TO REGISTER WITH THE GREEN PARTY:
To register as a Green in Summit County go to the County Courthouse, 208 E. Lincoln St, Breckenridge; the Motor Vehicle department at the County Commons, Frisco; or any town hall. Fill out a blue voter registration form checking “Other” for Party Affiliation (line 12). For your party affiliation write in “Green Party of Colorado” on the line. Or easier yet, call 453-2561 ext. 3479 and ask for a voter registration form by mail. It's that easy.
Registering Green helps insure that we have more than two parties on the Colorado ballot, giving everyone more choice.
To become involved with the Green Party you can 1. vote Green!, 2. register Green, 3. receive Green email, 4. attend a Green Party meeting or event in Summit County or elsewhere.
Go Green!
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
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