The Green Party is a grass-roots political party dedicated to building a just and sustainable society and a democracy of empowered citizens.

No. The Green Party is a political party that does not accept campaign contributions from corporations, PACs, or other big-monied special interests. We run candidates for political offices; scores of Greens hold office around the country. Between election cycles, we work for fair and sustainable social, economic, and environmental policies.

Some Greens like to be called "progressive," but labels say less than the day-to-day work we do to guarantee human rights for all, such as the right to clean air and water, affordable health care, a fair share of resources, and a political process that allows communities to control their own future.

Because if the other two parties aren't representing your values and interests, voting for a third party is the only way to be heard. It's an American tradition: When 10% of the people vote for change, change starts happening. So vote your hopes. If we all vote our fears, we all get taken for granted.

There's nothing that real citizen participation can't fix. But a system clogged by corporate cash and influence-peddling discourages most of us from getting involved. In Texas, only 38% of registered voters even bother to cast ballots. We believe only publicly funded elections will ensure that citizens can participate fairly, both as candidates and as voters. The Green Party offers voters an alternative--the opportunity to reclaim the power of the people.

The Green Party is not opposed to international trade. These entities, as presently constructed, promote an economic efficiency that values short-term corporate profits at the expense of environmental protection, health safeguards, labor standards, and other human values.

What vote? Most people don't bother to vote because they can see no meaningful choices. We are tired of wasting our votes on the lesser of two evils. The Democratic Party has been failing for a long time, without our help. That's because a Democrat has become indistinguishable from a Republican. Greens offer a genuine alternative.

We support campaign-finance reform (including public funding of electoral campaigns), proportional representation, instant runoff voting (IRV), equal media access for all candidates, a shortened campaign season, a single primary day, "None of the Above" ballot choice, eliminating restrictions on alternate parties, and lifetime voter registration, among other ways of opening our democracy to "We the People" and freeing it from "We the Corporations".

Email jvglatz@dallasgreens.net with your skills or donations you'd like to offer the Green Party of Dallas County.