Green Party 2012 Presidential Candidates Forum: Dec. 3, 7:30 -10 pm, at Vermont Square United Methodist Church, 4410 South Budlong Avenue (corner of Vernon, east of Normandie), Los Angeles, Calif. 90037. To be livestreamed (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus). Media invited. More information: http://www.cagreens.org/ga/2011-12/prez-candidate-forum / https://www.facebook.com/events/302578003094973/


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States will hold its 2012 Presidential Nominating Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. The convention will take place July 12 to 15, 2012.

Delegates from state Green Parties and caucuses in the party's National Committee voted in November to approve Baltimore as the convention site (http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/irvdetail?pid=627).

The National Committee chose the site using ranked choice voting (also called instant run-off voting; see http://www.fairvote.org), a voting reform the party also recommends for single seat offices like governor and mayor.

"The Maryland Green Party and Baltimore City Green Party are thrilled to be hosting the 2012 Green Party national convention," said Brian Bittner, co-chair of the Maryland Green Party (http://mdgreens.org) and Baltimore resident. "We want Charm City to be the place where the next Green Party presidential nominee begins charming American voters with their vision, principles, and potential to lead non-corporate America."

So far, three candidates have formally declared their intention to compete for the Green nomination, Kent Mesplay (http://www.mesplay.org), Jill Stein (http://www.jillstein.org), and Harley Mikkelson (http://harleymikkelson.com). More candidates are expected to announce soon.

"We intend to run an aggressive presidential campaign with our nominee's name on every ballot line. Given the frustration and anger across the US over the bipartisan bailouts for Wall Street firms, minimal assistance for Americans dealing with threatened and lost homes, jobs, and economic security, and military aggression around the world, we expect the Green presidential candidate to play a serious role in 2012. The Green Party offers a vision for America's future that's much different from the agenda of the parties of war and Wall Street," said Hillary Kane, co-chair of the Green Party's Annual Meeting Committee and Pennsylvania delegate to the party's National Committee.

The Green Party will announce more details about the convention in the coming months. The party will set up a credentialing page for members of the media who plan to attend.

Past Green Party convention sites and nominees:

2000: Denver, Colorado; Ralph Nader

2004: Milwaukee, Wisconsin; David Cobb

2008: Chicago, Illinois; Cynthia McKinney

The Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting was held in Alfred, New York.


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog