June General Meeting Recap and Updates
The June membership meeting of the Baltimore County Green Party, held on June 20 at Towson Public Library, was our best-attended meeting of our short eight-month history! Along with that record attendance (23), we now have our highest number of dues-paying members (19).
The meeting had a full agenda. We began by discussing our fight against the republican-sponsored anti-immigrant bill in Baltimore County Council. The Baltimore County Green Party, (BCoGP) mobilized for this fight. We gathered petitions, participated in coalition meetings, spoke at the rally outside the Courthouse on the day of the hearings, and then testified at the hearing. On the day of the vote itself, we again mobilized, and made up a good fraction of the coalition crowd at the vote. The result was victory, as the bill was tabled, with one of the Republicans feeling the pressure and changing sides, while the one formerly waffling Democrat held firm.
We also participated in a rally called by the Howard County NAACP, against the racist murder of Richard Collins III by an alt-right fanatic.
We then turned to some administrative business. We amended our by-laws, in several small ways. We changed the terms of officers from a year to six months, and added several new positions to the Steering Committee, to reflect our growth, and share out the work load. We added Committee Chairs to the leadership roles that will be required to be registered as Greens.
Based on those changes, we proceeded to the election of officers, for the June-December period. Kate Holmes and Mark McColloch were re-elected as Co-Chairs. Myles Hoenig was returned as Secretary. Theresa Alexander was elected as Treasurer, and Patrick Maguire as Digital Media Coordinator. Evan Draine and Ryan Sullivan were chosen as At-Large members.
We then heard a report by Jonathan Holtzman, using maps, on the Congressional, Legislative, and Councilperson Districts in Baltimore County, along with their incumbent office holders. This was background information for the chapter to continue its discussions of which elections to contest in 2018.
We heard a report from Maryland Green Party Co-Chair Ian Schlakman on the upcoming Maryland Green Party Assembly, which was held on June 24.
The meeting ended with brief presentations on their political books by two of our attendees: Autumn Burton, with her book Mirrors, and Jay Bonstingl, with his book, Green is the New Bernie Blue.
We also participated in a rally called by the Howard County NAACP, against the racist murder of Richard Collins III by an alt-right fanatic.
We then turned to some administrative business. We amended our by-laws, in several small ways. We changed the terms of officers from a year to six months, and added several new positions to the Steering Committee, to reflect our growth, and share out the work load. We added Committee Chairs to the leadership roles that will be required to be registered as Greens.
Based on those changes, we proceeded to the election of officers, for the June-December period. Kate Holmes and Mark McColloch were re-elected as Co-Chairs. Myles Hoenig was returned as Secretary. Theresa Alexander was elected as Treasurer, and Patrick Maguire as Digital Media Coordinator. Evan Draine and Ryan Sullivan were chosen as At-Large members.
We then heard a report by Jonathan Holtzman, using maps, on the Congressional, Legislative, and Councilperson Districts in Baltimore County, along with their incumbent office holders. This was background information for the chapter to continue its discussions of which elections to contest in 2018.
We heard a report from Maryland Green Party Co-Chair Ian Schlakman on the upcoming Maryland Green Party Assembly, which was held on June 24.
The meeting ended with brief presentations on their political books by two of our attendees: Autumn Burton, with her book Mirrors, and Jay Bonstingl, with his book, Green is the New Bernie Blue.
To follow up on upcoming events, we want to provide a list:
- BCoGP- Dundalk Outreach and Educational Event- Thursday, June 29th at 6:30pm- North Point Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library. An Outreach/Educational Event to engage the Dundalk area to meet the Green Party and learn about the issues we are working on such as; the Fight for $15, Black Lives Matter, Immigration, Healthcare for All, and Environmental Justice.
- BCoGP- Electoral Committee Meeting- Monday, July 10th at 7pm- We will meet at Panera Bread, Putty Hill location in Towson.
- BCoGP- Reisterstown/Owings Mills Canvassing- Sunday, July 9th at 10:30 am- We will meet at Franklin High School, 12000 Reisterstown Rd, Reisterstown, Maryland 21136 to canvass that region for our Reisterstown/Owings Mills Outreach and Educational Event (see below)
- BCoGP- July General Meeting- Tuesday, July 11th at 6:30pm- We will meet at the Towson Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library in the Wilson Room.
- MGP- Potluck Picnic- Sunday, July 16th from 12pm- 7pm- We will meet at Double Rock Park for a social potluck picnic for all Maryland Green Party members and supporters. Alcohol permitted and all dogs must be on a leash. Family friendly event!
- BCoGP- Reisterstown Outreach and Educational Event- Tuesday, July 18thfrom 6:30pm-8:30 pm- We will meet at the Reisterstown Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library. This is an Outreach/Educational Event to engage the Reisterstown area to meet the Green Party and learn about the issues we are working on such as; the Fight for $15, Black Lives Matter, Immigration, Healthcare for All, and Environmental Justice.
- Action and Issues Committee Meeting- TBD- you email Mark at mmccolloch@ccbcmd.edu if you would like to be added in the discussion on setting up this meeting
In closing, if you have not paid your dues for this month or would like to begin paying dues, we have a convenient online dues mechanism.
We thank you for your continued support, dedication, and commitment to the Baltimore County Green Party!
Yours in solidarity-
Kate Holmes
Mark McColloch
Co-Chairs
Baltimore County Green Party
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