Friend --



A Tribute



I met Kevin Zeese during Ralph Nader’s 2008 presidential campaign. Kevin was the press secretary and I was the deputy press secretary as well as the Maryland state campaign coordinator. Because of his support I was able to participate in parts of the campaign, had access to more challenging tasks, and was able to contribute more to building the movement than I would have been otherwise. I also witnessed for the first but not last time that Kevin could produce the fastest written, most comprehensive and incisive press releases and policy statements I had ever seen. To this day I aspire to reach his speed and deftness in presenting written arguments for an electoral platform or media talking points or policy paper. Because of Kevin’s advocacy I was invited to join him and Ralph to create an anti-war organization called Democracy Rising where I wrote and conducted research, and the trio of us brought a stronger spotlight to the devastating effects of the United States’ illegal occupation of Iraq. 



Throughout the years since, I observed Kevin’s unrelenting campaigning as a Senate candidate, his passionate leadership in his local, state and national Green Party work, and the tenderness and respect he showed toward others on protests, demonstrations and events, particularly those from vulnerable communities. His efforts were so widespread that I lost track of everything he was involved in, but I appreciated seeing his anti-imperialist and eco-socialist arguments strengthen and crystallize the longer I knew him.



It is clear that the Greens have lost a fierce fighter of our Party’s values and mission. He was a top-notch electoral candidate for us and had no problem being the featured speaker or author for any issue, but he also rolled up his sleeves and stood on street corners collecting signatures for petition drives and sat through hours of meetings on administrative committees for the Party. He did the grunt work as committedly as he accepted leadership positions, and we are a stronger local, state and national party for it.



His work is unfinished, and the best way to honor Kevin is to continue the fight for a better world, one that he believed in and worked alongside all of us to help create. 



We in the Maryland Green Party are commemorating his life’s work and in particular his dedication to our party by launching a Kevin Zeese Memorial Fund <[link removed]>. This fund will help support Green Party projects and campaigns that follow the spirit of Kevin’s efforts in areas such as media, legal defense, ballot access, democracy and direct action. 



Kevin had served as the Press Secretary for the U.S. Green Party’s presidential campaign, and I stepped in to help finish the job which Kevin knew was so important: lifting up the powerful voices of Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker. I will be donating my earnings from that campaign to the MGP’s Kevin Zeese Memorial Fund <[link removed]>. Please join me in commemorating his work to building our Party by donating to the Fund.



We would like to send our deepest condolences to Kevin’s partner and Green Party member Dr. Margaret Flowers for her blessing and support of this fund, and for her continued activism in our Party and beyond. On Saturday, November 21, 2020, 2-4 p.m. we will be hosting an online Green Party Memorial Service for Kevin Zeese <[link removed]>. This will be a safe space for Green Party members and allies to remember Kevin and discuss how we can help move forward the work to which he was so dedicated. Please mark your calendar and RSVP for this event <[link removed]>, we look forward to joining with you in sharing, remembering, and planning future work in Kevin’s memory.  



In gratitude,



Virginia Rodino



Maryland Green Party Co-Chair



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Franca Muller Paz is running a potentially historic campaign for Baltimore City Council, District 12. With her progressive, pro-labor agenda, she has won unprecedented support from organized labor. She secured theendorsement <[link removed]>of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO Unions, the first time this council has ever endorsed a third party <[link removed]> candidate. This week she received another labor endorsement from the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters <[link removed]>. Her background as a union representative and labor-centered platform has earned the trust of organized labor in Baltimore City, Maryland, and beyond. She has also received endorsements from environmental advocacy organizations like Sunrise Movement Baltimore and Sierra Club, as well as a national endorsement from the Democratic Socialists of America. Check out her full list of endorsements <[link removed]>! 



Franca is also on track to raise over $100,000 from over 1200 grassroots donors. In just 3 weeks of COVID-safe door-knocking, the campaign has identified over 1000 supporters -- and that number is quickly climbing. We need YOUR help to get our amazing Baltimore City candidate over the finish line. Even if you aren’t local to Baltimore, there are ways to be involved in voter outreach such as phone/textbanking, social media promotion, and donating. A win for Franca is a win for the city of Baltimore and our entire Party! 





Join us for one final online Franca for the People fundraiser and party.



There will be prizes, games, and lots of fun. Here is the link to RSVP: [link removed] <[link removed]>. Please spread the word to other Greens and progressives.



























To get involved, sign up to volunteer atfrancaforthepeople.nationbuilder.com/volunteer <[link removed]> or donate athttps://donorbox.org/franca-for-the-people



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Calling Howard County Green Party members: There will be a Howard County Green Party meeting on Saturday, October 10 from 4-5 p.m. Please join us online at: hello.freeconference.com/conf/call/5816907 <[link removed]>



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Please contact [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> if you have any items for next month’s newsletter, or want to become more involved in the Maryland Green Party.



Maryland Green Party

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