Mountain Party

Mountain Party
Secretary Susan Cleaver
Chair Denise Binion
Vice Chair Russell (Rusty) Williams
Ideology Green politics
Progressivism
Environmentalism
Social democracy
Ecologism
Political position Centre-left
National affiliation Green Party of the United States
Colors      Green, Brown
United States Senate delegation
0 / 2
United States House of Representatives delegation
0 / 3
Executive offices
0 / 6
West Virginia Senate
0 / 34
West Virginia House of Delegates
0 / 100
Local offices 5 (2018)
Website
www.mountainpartywv.com

The Mountain Party is a state-level political party in West Virginia.[1] It is the West Virginia affiliate of the United States Green Party.[2] The party is headed by Jesse Johnson, State Chairman.

It is a progressive and environmentalist party whose party platform primarily focuses on "Grassroots Democracy", "Social Justice & Equal Opportunity", "Ecological Wisdom" and "Non-Violence".[3]

Platform

The party, similar in its outlook to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, was created partially in response to the perceived conservative tilt of the West Virginia Democratic Party.

History

Under West Virginia ballot access laws, a party gains automatic ballot access for the subsequent election cycle by gaining one percent of the votes for Governor. Having obtained access by petition in 2000, the party achieved that one percent in that election and again in 2004 and won over 4% of votes in 2008.

The Mountain Party was born as a direct result of the Denise Giardina for Governor campaign in the year 2000 general election.[4]

Gubernatorial candidate Jesse Johnson unsuccessfully sued to be included in debates between the major candidates in 2004 and again in 2008.

While the Mountain Party has never elected anyone to any statewide office, in 2004 Richwood elected party member and local poet Bob Henry Baber as its mayor, although this was in a non-partisan election.

As of October 2012, 1,345 West Virginians had registered as Mountain Party voters and were eligible to vote in party primaries, this accounted for 0.1% of party voter registration in West Virginia.[5]

In 2016, the party ran former state senator Charlotte Pritt for Governor of West Virginia.[6] This led to growth for the party.[7] She received nearly 6% of the vote, the highest ever for a Mountain Party gubernatorial candidate.

Michael Sharley ran for West Virginia Attorney General in 2016, the first Mountain Party candidate for Attorney General.

References

  1. ↑ "Recognized Political Parties in WV". West Virginia Secretary of State. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Winger, Richard (July 10, 2007). "Mountain Party to Affiliate with Green Party". Ballot Access News. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  3. ↑ "The MOUNTAIN PARTY PLATFORM - Mountain Party WV". Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  4. ↑ Case, David (September 13, 2000). "West Virginia's Mountain (Party) Mama". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "West Virginia Voter Registration" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. October 1, 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  6. ↑ BOARD, GLYNIS (November 2, 2016). "Charlotte Pritt: The Mountain Party's Maverick". WV Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Wiederspiel, Alex (July 17, 2016). "Following Charlotte Pritt nomination for Governor, Mountain Party leaders see huge growth potential". Metro News. Retrieved 15 February 2017.


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