Introduction

I don’t believe government or electoral politics can offer the solution to all of our problems. But I believe a better government and political system can make the work of democracy, peace, and justice better.

That's why in late 2022 I decided to begin the hard work of building a campaign for Maryland Governor - and, accompanying that campaign, an effort to reenergize the movement for a new kind of politics.. 

The challenge is that at the very moment that our world is in multiple crises and facing more challenges and threats than ever, more and more people think the government only works for billionaires and their politicians. And because those billionaires continue to define what is politically possible, the anger and alienation many people feel is feeding fascism, hate, and reactionary policy on one hand and despair and political  hopelessness on the other. Real solutions, that put people before personal wealth and communities before corporate profit, offer an alternative seldom available under the current two party system.

It doesn't have to be this way, and with help from our supporters, this campaign is going to amplify, organize, and build resources not only for a high-profile run for Governor, but for a new wave of candidates who stand for democracy, peace and justice. 

We're going to build multiparty democracy and a Green Party that moves to meet the moment.

2024 will be crucial to determine whether this campaign will succeed. We have ambitious plans but will need the resources – time, money, and people – to enact them. We have the time,  that's why we started a 2026 campaign in 2022. Now we need to raise the money, and get more people involved.

The next few pages make the case for why I hope you will support the campaign.

• Part 1- A multiyear vision for the campaign

• Part 2- What we accomplished in 2023

• Part 3- Plans for 2024

• Conclusion

You can navigate at the bottom of the page.

We can build a great campaign together. I hope you appreciate what we have to share in the next few pages!

If you want to skip to the “ask:” we need your financial support and we need your input.

We MUST build a base of recurring donors contributing between $5 and $26 per month.

Then once you start a recurring donation, we want you to keep an eye on the campaign, give us feedback, ask questions, and share your ideas. If you like what you see, you can continue your recurring donation, or you can even bump it up a dollar or two a month. And naturally, you can cancel at any time.

Part 1- A 4+ Year Plan

We announced that we were exploring a 2026 Green Party campaign for Governor of Maryland the day after election day in 2022. We knew we would need time to build the kind of Green Party campaign we wanted to run.

That campaign will:

• Pass the 1% vote test in 2026 to secure Green Party Ballot Access in 2028

• Provide hope and a vision of how politics might be different 

• Build Green political power across the state

• Elevate issues and solutions ignored by the current political system

• Change outcomes in line with our values

• Move the Green Party forward in Maryland

Building a campaign that can achieve these goals by 2026 will not be easy. Starting early and laying out a four-year plan  allows us the time we need to build a strong grassroots campaign organization statewide. This year, the ideas we had in 2022 became a plan for how we will move toward 2026 and beyond.

We MUST build a base of recurring donors contributing between $5 and $26 per month.

Then once you start a recurring donation, we want you to keep an eye on the campaign, give us feedback, ask questions, and share your ideas. If you like what you see, you can continue your recurring donation, or you can even bump it up a dollar or two a month. And naturally, you can cancel at any time

Part 2- 2023, A Great Start

2023 was the first year of the 4 year plan, and we got a lot done! The campaign infrastructure started to come together.  We did a lot of listening, thinking, and learning. We researched and talked about issues, started to develop a theory of action, began to assemble a team, and established an online presence.

A campaign should have good digital resources that allow voters to understand who the candidate is, what the campaign is about, and how people can get involved or learn more. In the beginning of 2023 we set up a basic digital footprint. Through the year we expanded our website and email program, developed our social media, created a YouTube channel to talk to people who inform and inspire us, and appeared on a lot of other people's podcasts and live streams. 

In Maryland and American Politics in the 2020s campaigns need to raise funds. This summer we planned and completed our first fundraising campaign and were able to raise enough to hire an interim campaign coordinator, Matt Stannard. Since Matt has come on board the campaign has become more focused, gained significant media traction, and begun developing a campaign strategy grounded in  grassroots deliberative democracy.

Throughout the year we have wrestled with a theory of action for third parties in a two-party system, while also imagining what a multiparty democracy might look like. Campaign Treasurer Brian Bittner and I hosted a session about electoral reform at the Maryland Green Party Assembly. I collaborated with Nnamdi Lumumba of the Ujima Peoples’ Progress Party and Baltimore Racial Justice Action on discussions around the impossibility of Racial Justice in a two party system, then discussed that theory on Black Power Media. We ended the year with an interview of Dr. Bernard Tamas, a leading scholar on third parties in American Politics,

Perhaps our biggest success this year was around the issue of public ownership of professional baseball teams. Shortly after Matt joined the campaign team we saw an opportunity to write an op-ed calling for public ownership of the Baltimore Orioles. That article opened the opportunity for collaboration with long-time activist Bill Marker. We flyered in front of Camden Yards, contacted elected officials, and set up some basic information on a website. We were able to get media coverage, connect with podcasters with a similar idea, and publish op-eds in the Baltimore Banner and Maryland Matters. Going into 2024, city and state lawmakers are considering hearings on public ownership of pro sports teams. This is an example of the way we plan to build alliances, advocate solutions, and push ideas into action throughout the campaign. 

When the attention of the world turned to Israel and Palestine in October, we made our first day-one campaign promise. In our Statement on Israel and Palestine we said: “Maryland needs a Governor whose work is rooted in peace, justice, and democracy, not one who vigorously supports apartheid, war, occupation, and injustice. I agree with Governor Moore that our laws should reflect our values. Thus, I will repeal the Anti-BDS executive order on day one of my gubernatorial administration.” In 2024 I will be organizing around this issue, spreading the word, and recruiting candidates to run on the Green Party Platform which calls for peace, justice, and democracy, and equal rights for all Israelis and Palestinians.

In November, I was appointed to the Baltimore City Charter Review Commission. I am tasked with working among 23 fellow commissioners to review the Baltimore City Charter and make recommendations to the City Council and the Mayor. I was also given the opportunity to  lead the newly formed Green Party of the United States Ballot Access Legal, Policy, and Legislative Working Group. These two leadership and service roles, while not strictly campaign-related, will shape important aspects of the campaign. 

Finally, at the end of the year, we piloted the voter outreach tools that we are going to develop in 2024. We sent out a mailing with a ballot access petitions, information about the campaign, and invitations to attend voter sessions. We then hosted two online voter sessions that allowed registered Greens to learn about the campaign and share the issues that are the most important to them. The feedback and the reflections we have taken from these workshops will inform the program we develop in 2024. 

2023 was a good year – we did a lot of work to prepare the soil for the seeds we will plant in 2024.

We MUST build a base of recurring donors contributing between $5 and $26 per month.

Then once you start a recurring donation, we want you to keep an eye on the campaign, give us feedback, ask questions, and share your ideas. If you like what you see, you can continue your recurring donation, or you can even bump it up a dollar or two a month. And naturally, you can cancel at any time

Part 3- 2024, Planting the Seeds

2024 will be a crucial year in this campaign. We want to be ready to officially launch in early 2025, but before we launch we need to  ask and answer a few questions:

• Will the campaign be good for Marylanders?

• Will it be good for the Green Party?

• Am I the right candidate?

• Will there be enough support to meet the goals?

I would not be putting this much work in if I did not think we could do this and answer yes to each question, but 2024 will be the year that we put each of these questions to the test!

I believe we have the opportunity to build a campaign that can speak clearly, lead with truth, and talk to everyone. When we launch in 2025 we want to invite you to be part of a positive, healthy, inclusive, and fun campaign. If we succeed this year, 2025 and 2026 will be great! 

We MUST build a base of recurring donors contributing between $5 and $26 per month.

Then once you start a recurring donation, we want you to keep an eye on the campaign, give us feedback, ask questions, and share your ideas. If you like what you see, you can continue your recurring donation, or you can even bump it up a dollar or two a month. And naturally, you can cancel at any time.

Conclusion

This campaign is part of a movement to build a new multiparty democracy in Maryland. 

I believe more political parties will make Maryland more politically healthy. More Marylanders will feel represented, elections will be more robust, and elected officials would be more responsive to voters. Different solutions--based on real representation and genuine consensus-building--would emerge to local, statewide, national, and global problems. Debate would be more constructive and compromise would be more likely.

I also believe that the Green Party should be one of many healthy parties in this new democracy. 

2023 was a good start for our campaign. Media and lawmakers in Baltimore City and the General Assembly are considering legislation and hearings exploring public ownership of the Orioles. We've joined with leading activist organizations to discuss multiparty democracy. We have good energy and momentum going into 2024. 

In the next few weeks, we will share the framework for our economic platform, launch our advocacy for bills during the 90-day General Assembly session, and debut a political education podcast featuring  the people and ideas that inspire this campaign. By the end of the year we expect to have visited each of the 24 counties in Maryland, reached out to over 10,000 voters, and chosen a Lieutenant Governor Candidate so that we can hit the ground running in 2025.

In 2025 we want to officially launch our campaign. When we do so we will unveil a Green political program for Maryland, start the work to become the first small party campaign for governor to qualify for public financing, and build a statewide volunteer organization.

In 2026 we will run to Election Day, but with a vision that does not stop in November. Campaigns are the primary ways that people learn about politics and parties. An exciting, inviting, and focused Green Party campaign can help build the party beyond 2026. A program that offers solutions distinct from those offered by the two dominant parties can mobilize voters that feel unheard, and together we can change outcomes in line with our values. That in turn helps us build a healthier democracy in which multiple parties and more perspectives are represented.

I am excited about the plan and the vision that our campaign has put together. Whether we can make it happen or not will depend on resources – time, money, and people. Running a 4-year campaign gives us the time, but to make good use of our time we need money and people.

Money we raise this year will be crucial to implement the plan: 

• We need to transition from interim to permanent campaign director, and build the rest of the campaign team.  

• We have a list of over 10,000 voters we want to reach out to this year. We will need to cover printing and postage for mailings and postcards, because emails and social media are not enough.

• Getting the Green Party on the ballot in 2024 and 2026 is going to be expensive – it's going to take people and resources, and we're going to need to pay for them. 

• We will be standardizing our campaign platforms, including our website, volunteer base, digital media, and outreach tools. 

Building a base of recurring donors is the key to implementing this plan. So I'm asking you to set up, if you can, a recurring donation of between $5 and $26 per month. Once you've set that up, please follow the campaign, give us feedback, and ask questions. Bump up the donation level if you like what we're doing and are able to give more. Of course, you can cancel any time.