Maine Green Independent Party

The Maine Green Independent Party is the oldest state Green party in the United States.Rensenbrink, John. The Greens and the Politics of Transformation, 1992, R & E Miles It was founded following an informal meeting of 18 environmental advocates and others in Augusta, Mainein January 1984 .

Ten Key Values

The party is based on the 10 Key Values of:

1. Grassroots Democracy,

2. Social Justice and Equal Opportunity,

3. Ecological Wisdom,

4. Non-Violence,

5. Decentralization,

6. Community-Based Economics and Economic Justice

7. Feminism and Gender Equity,

8. Respect for Diversity,

9. Personal and Global Responsibility; and

10. Future Focus and Sustainability

Party qualification

The party achieved its current ballot status in 1998. Previously the Maine Green Party achieved ballot status in 1994 with the Jonathan Carter gubernatorial campaign, but lost it in 1997 after Ralph Nader failed to get 5% of the vote for President in 1996, a requirement of state law that has since changed.

In 1998, Pat LaMarche requalified the political party with her campaign for governor, but under the a new name, the Maine Green Independent Party. LaMarche ran again in 2006 capturing almost 10% of the vote in a five-way race. The campaign's website was indexed by the Library of Congress and won a Golden Dot Award, because of the site's use of new ways to interact with voters.

The party (in terms of registered votes) is currently in a period of continuous growth...
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