History of the Green Party of Ohio

History of the Green Party in Ohio:

The Green Party of Ohio had its beginnings in the Green Party of Northeast Ohio in the early 1990's. The Green Party of Northeast Ohio was a recognized local of the GPUSA, the only national Green organization at the time. Daryl Davis and David Ellison were participants in the founding effort of this group and continued to be involved actively in the Green Party of Ohio through 2000, though they have been less active since then.

The Greens became a statewide presence in the campaign to oppose then Governor Voinovich's plan to place a low-level radioactive waste dump in the State. The Greens formed a coalition with other citizen groups and succeeded in that effort. The Northeast Ohio Greens continued as an active local, and other locals formed in Central Ohio and Southwest Ohio (there may have been others, too). See the contacts page for your local chapter.

Ohio representatives attended several national GPUSA meetings during this time.

In the mid-1990's, and leading up to the 1996 election and Nader's minimalist candidacy, the Greens in Ohio were caught up in the strategic debate that found its expression at the National level in the competing GPUSA/ASGP tendencies. A significant portion of the Ohio Greens were decidedly non-electoral and they did not support the ASGP effort for a Nader candidacy. The Green Party of Ohio's effort to put Ralph Nader on the ballot in 1996 fell several hundred signatures short.

The Green Party of Ohio was a founding participant in the creation of the ASGP.

The Central Ohio Green Party continued as an active group through 1997, joining a coalition to defeat a plan in Columbus to provide public funding for some sports facilities (these were later built with private funds).

There was not much Green Party activity in Ohio in 1998 and 1999, and no State level meetings.

In January, 2000, Paul Dumouchelle convened a meeting of 11 prominent Greens and formed the committee that successfully got Nader on the ballot in Ohio that year. Ohio sent four delegates to the Denver Convention that nominated Nader. We had an active statewide Nader campaign and our electoral results were similar to the national level. Logan Martinez ran for a State Representative seat in Dayton that year, as well.

Ohio locals have run candidates in various regions every year since 2000. We held state conventions in 2002 and 2004.

The Green Party of Ohio has been active at the National level of the Party. Anita Rios of Toledo served as a Co-Chair of the GPUS. We've had several members serve on National Committees and we sent a delegation of about 20 people to the Milwaukee Convention. We had a state petitioning drive to put David Cobb on the ballot in 2004 and that drive fell several hundred signatures short.

While there are criticisms of the Party about this and about that, we all must shoulder some of the blame for any shortcomings we exhibit regarding our electoral results.

The greatest failure, however, is a failure to act. Though we may not be the strongest or most active or even acceptably organized group (in some people's eyes), we who are the Green Party of Ohio have, at some level, acted on our beliefs. We're proud that the Green Party of Ohio exists and provides some small avenue or voice for the disenfranchised in this land.

For all our shortcomings it was we who gave David Cobb a legal leg to stand on in demanding the Ohio Recount of 2004 (and that was only because Gwen Marshall took the initiative to file a write-in candidacy form). That recount was at least a small part of what led to the challenge of the 2004 Presidential Election in Congress in January. That challenge was significant - the first such challenge since the 1870's. If we had never done anything else or ever do anything else in the future, for that, we can be proud.