These Green Candidates Stepped Up in 2017!

14 Greens were elected in Green Wave's first year: Jim Keller, West Reading Twp Judge of Elections (Berks) David Kurzweg, Cumru Twp Judge of Elections (Berks) Julia Zion, Maxatawny Twp Judge of Elections (Berks) Dave Ochmanowicz, Quakertown Community School Board (Bucks) Stuart Chen-Hayes, Newtown Twp Judge of Elections (Bucks) Paul Notwick, Bristol Twp Judge of Elections (Bucks) Bradley Granlun, Philipsburg Borough Council (Centre) William Pilkonis, Scranton Judge of Elections (Lackawanna) Tim Runkle, Elizabethtown Judge of Elections (Lancaster) Cem Zeytinoglu, Stroudsburg School Board (Monroe) Olivia Faison, Philadelphia Inspector of Election (Philadelphia) Kristin Combs, Philadelphia Judge of Elections (Philadelphia) Ethan Leatherbarrow, Philadelphia Judge of Elections (Philadelphia) Kerry Foose, Lenox Inspector of Elections (Susquehanna) Our statewide total of Greens holding office is currently 19! Congratulations to ALL the Greens who ran in local and state-wide campaigns. Your hard work and dedication was MUCH appreciated and we learned a great deal from the experience.  Ju les Mermelstein appeared on the ballot in every voting booth across the  state as Green candidate for SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE and garnered 106,050 votes -- meaning over 5.5% of PA voters chose a Green as one of their 4 picks for the office!   Jules wa s one of our most experienced electoral candidates ever, having been elected 5 times as Upper Dublin Township Commissioner as a Democrat.  He is a member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) & a Montgomery County delegate to the Green Party of PA. Nate Craig ran for Mayor of Phoenixville in Chester County and earned over 10% of the vote drawing media attention for a "strong 3rd party showing,"   Nate is a Chester County Green who was inspired by Bernie Sanders’ call to build a movement that would need to take root in local, county, and state governments. Ann DiCampello ran for Bristol Township Council in Bucks County and received 2.3% of the vote.  Ann volunteers for the Bristol Township Environmental Advisory Council and the Greenbelt Overhaul Alliance of Levittown (G.O.A.L.).  She is also a member of the Bucks County Sierra Club and represents the Bucks County Green Party to the coalition Bucks Environmental Action Group.    Dave Ochmanowicz was elected to the Board of the Quakertown School District, Bucks County.   Dave is a voting delegate to the Green Party of the US & a member of several national committees. He has previously served as Secretary of the Green Party of PA & as chair of his Bucks County local, and is currently a county delegate to the state party.   Dave successfully cross-filed in the primary to appear on the general election ballot on both the Democratic and Green tickets; his PSEA-endorsed reform slate of 4 swept the election.  Bradley Granlun was elected to Borough Council this fall in Philipsburg (Centre County), where he was born and raised.  A registered Green and lifelong conservationist, Brad ran successful write-in campaigns to appear on the Democratic and Republican ballots as well as on the Green ballot line!   Stuart Chen-Hayes was elected Judge of Elections in Newtown Twp (Bucks County).  An active member of his county party and a professor of education. Stuart was active in the 2016 recount, which sparked an interest in the mechanics and integrity of vote-counting.  He visited 500 houses in his precinct and received 162 of his neighbors' votes!  Though his bid for Borough Council fell short, Timothy Runkle was elected Judge of Elections for his precinct in Elizabethtown (Lancaster County).  Tim is the Chair of his Lancaster Green Party and serves the Green Party of PA as Treasurer and as a member of the Green Wave Committee. Olivia Faison was elected Inspector of Elections in her Philadelphia voting district, a role she has filled as a volunteer poll worker since 2008.  Kerry Foose was elected Inspector of Elections in Lenox Township (Susquehanna County) where she lives on a small organic farm.  Kerry's community engagement has ranged from directing an animal shelter to heading a farmers' market cooperative to serving on a clean air council.  Neal Gale, a resident of Abington Twp in Montgomery County, ran for Judge of Elections.  Neal represents his county local as a voting delegate to the Green Party of PA  and also serves on the Abington Township Energy Advisory Council.   Ethan Leatherbarrow, a resident of Philadelphia County, was elected as a write-in by 8 of his neighbors for Judge of Elections.  Ethan is an Eagle Scout and returned Peace Corps volunteer (Senegal).  A graduate student at University of Pennsylvania, he is also the program coordinator at a nonprofit promoting volunteer environmental stewardship in University City and surrounding neighborhoods. Paul Notwick and his wife are thirty year residents of Bristol Township. Paul was appointed Judge of Elections in 2016 and re-elected in November 2017 as a write-in candidate. Paul is a retired Bucks County public elementary school teacher and former vice-president of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers. In keeping with his commitment to education, Paul volunteers with Welcoming the Stranger, a group that teaches English as a second language to people newly arrived in the U.S.  Paul believes our current political system needs to be opened to a wider range of parties, ideas, and actions to bring about a diversity that will be more representative of the people.