The D.C. Statehood Green Party, known as the DC Statehood Party prior to 1999, is a

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

progressive political party in the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. The party is the D.C. affiliate of the national Green Party but has traditionally elevated issues of

District of Columbia statehood movement The District of Columbia statehood movement is a political movement that advocates making the District of Columbia a U.S. state, to provide the residents of the District of Columbia with voting representation in the Congress and complete ...

as its primary focus. Party members refer to the Statehood Green Party as the second most popular party in the District because, historically, STG (on the D.C. electoral ballot) candidates win the second highest vote totals in the city, ahead of the Republican Party but behind the Democratic Party. As of February 2023, there are approximately 4,140 voters registered in the Statehood Green Party, or 0.79% of registered voters in the city.Monthly Report of Voter Registration Statistics as of February, 2023
" ''District of Columbia Board of Elections''. February 2023.

History

The party was founded to convince Julius Hobson to run for the District's non-voting Congressional Delegate position as a member of the D.C. Statehood Party. Although Hobson lost that race to Walter E. Fauntroy, Hobson received enough votes to make the party an official major party in the District. Following the election, Hobson helped set up the party in the District. Other notable founders include

Josephine Butler Josephine Elizabeth Butler (; 13 April 1828 – 30 December 1906) was an English feminist and social reformer in the Victorian era. She campaigned for women's suffrage, the right of women to better education, the end of coverture in B ...

and Calvert I. Cassell. The party was organized on the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

level, and ward chairs could decide how to organize their activities in their wards. Hobson later served on the D.C. Council. In 1973, the party was a strong proponent of the

District of Columbia Home Rule Act The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is a United States federal law passed on December 24, 1973, which devolved certain congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government, furthering District of Columbia home rule. In par ...

, which gave limited self-government to the District. From the creation of the District Council in 1975 until 1999, the party always had one of the at-large seats, first occupied by Hobson and then by Hilda Mason. In 1998, a Green Party was founded in D.C. Their candidate for Shadow Representative, Mike Livingston, ran that year. He received 2,000 more votes than necessary for the party to qualify for continued ballot access. In October 1999, the new Green Party merged with the longstanding and larger Statehood Party to form the Statehood Green Party. In a 2016 district-wide plebiscite, D.C. residents voted in favor of statehood. The party criticized the lack of involvement of regular citizens in the process.

References

External links

* {{Green parties in the United States Green Party of the United States Political parties established in 1971 D.C. Statehood Green Party Political parties in the District of Columbia 1971 establishments in Washington, D.C.

History

See also

References

External links