Green Party Accepting Mayoral Candidates

Rochester, NY – The local Green Party is looking for a mayoral candidate - and it's opening the application process to all city residents.

The Green Party of Monroe County will be interviewing interested residents who are willing to run for the party's values, which include grassroots democracy, ecological wisdom, and social justice. This came after the City Council's denied residents a primary election. Co-Chair of the local Green Party, Vinessa Buckland, claims that this decision silences voters. She adds that Rochester would benefit from a mayor who values public participation.

Buckland says if residents become more involved in the political process, policies will reflect people's best interests in a greater capacity. "Behind closed door deals is not how the Green party operates and I think a very transparent and open government with public input, a lot of public input is very important. It's going benefit everyone. I mean the values of the Green Party are based on citizen participation. We understand that people, we all understand that we're affected by policy and I think that people don't realize that that power is supposed to rest with them."

The local Green party will start the process of looking for a mayoral candidate on December 31st with a "candidate questionnaire" that will be posted on the party's website. Prospective candidates will answer a series of questions about themselves and Green party initiatives. The party committee will then interview interested residents. On January 31st the steering committee for the Green Party of Monroe County will submit their decision on a mayoral candidate to the State Executive Committee.

Buckland says the process will unfold as planned IF City Council formally votes to hold a special election to fill outgoing Mayor Bob Duffy's seat.. She believes the frustration with the decision is not unique to her party. Buckland says that "a lot of Democrats are feeling very disenfranchised by that. They don't want that choice made for them by the party, but want the ability to choose someone. So our goal is to find an alternative. We're gonna give the people of Rochester a choice. And I have absolutely no doubt we're gonna have a viable candidate that will absolutely have a chance to win the election."

Buckland says that the common perception that only two parties can win elections is not true at the local level. She adds that many local Democrats already embrace Green Party values, but that they're operating in a structure that doesn't allow them to fully engage these values. At the same time, Buckland says that many residents don't know much about the Green Party. She says that there is a misconception that the Green Party stands solely for environmental issues. In fact, Buckland says, it has an all-encompassing platform. She believes that there will be a lot of outreach throughout the county to inform people about the party's values.