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