A Short History of the Greens

by Philip Hufford with updates by Dean Myerson

The origins of the Green movement are clouded. Some claim the Greens got started in England; others claim New Zealand. There are grounds for both claims. No one disputes the emergence of the Greens as a significant political force in what was West Germany in the late 1970's.

A coalition of groups opposed to nuclear power and missiles, pollution of rivers, destruction of forests, as well as groups supporting women's rights, human rights in general, more just distribution of wealth, etc., formed The Greens in West Germany. They surprised even themselves with early electoral success, winning seats in the West German parliament.

Similar coalitions formed throughout Western Europe, achieving electoral success at all levels of government in Italy, France, Sweden, The Netherlands, Spain, etc.

THE FOUR PILLARS

All of the Green parties adopted "The Four Pillars", the fundamental principles of the Green Movement:

Today there are active Green parties in over 70 countries on six continents.

The Green movement got its start in the USA in 1984, when various Green local chapters formed in several states, and a national organization, a loose confederation of the locals, also formed, calling itself the Committees of Correspondence, later the Green Committees of Correspondence.

At the founding meeting in Minnesota in 1984, the American Greens added six more basic principles to the Four Pillars:

These principles are now all grouped together and are called the Ten Key Values.

In 1991, the Green Committees of Correspondence decided to form a new group called The Greens/Green Party USA, in an attempt to mix educational, direction action and electoral activities in one organization. The G/GPUSA continued to be based on membership by individual or local chapter. Some state Green parties did not like this choice and did not work with the G/GPUSA.

In Colorado, the Boulder Green Alliance (originally the Rocky Mountain Greens) was formed in 1988, the Denver Region Greens in early 1989 and the Sopris Green (drawing members from Carbondale, Aspen, Glenwood Springs, etc.) in 1991. Other locals started started, then faded.

In 1993, Green locals in Colorado formed the Green Party of Colorado (GPOC). In 1994 the GPOC offered candidates for public office - Philip Hufford of Denver for Governor, and Krista Paradise of Carbondale for Lt. Governor. By qualifying them on the ballot by petition and meeting some other administrative requirements, the GPOC became a Qualified Political Organization (QPO) under the laws of Colorado. This allows voters to register with the GPOC. The Hufford-Paradise ticket received nearly 17,000 votes, or 1.6% of the votes cast.

In 1995 the GPOC participated in a coalition with other "third" parties in Colorado, forming the Colorado Coalition for Fair and Open Elections (CoCoFOE). CoCoFOE succeeded in changing laws regarding candidate petition requirements, generally lowering the number of signatures needed to get on the ballot.

In 1996, the GPOC fielded two candidates for the Colorado House, both from Denver: Tico Embury in the First District and Gary Swing in the Eight. Embury got 19%, Swing 8%. Krista Paradise ran for town council in Carbondale where she lost but was later appointed to the council to fill a vacancy.

The Boulder local initiated an amendment to the Boulder City Charter providing for a special election to fill council vacancies. The amendment passed handily. Previously, the current council appointed replacements and the majority of sitting council members had originally been appointed.

In 1996, the GPOC decided to nominate Ralph Nader for President and Winona LaDuke for Vice President. With a coalition of other groups, the Nader/LaDuke ticket received 25,000 votes in Colorado (580,000 nationally), or 1.7%. Nader and LaDuke were on the ballot in 21 states.

After the election, some state Green parties formed the Association of State Green Parties, an organization that had representatives from states, not from locals. The GPOC is affiliated with both the G/GPUSA and the ASGP.

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