The oceans are rising, and so must we. Climate science tells us we need to make drastic reductions to our carbon emissions and transition to renewable energy within the next decade if we are to avoid some of the worst effects of climate change. And as the climate worsens, so too will poverty, racism, xenophobia, militarism and war — unless we win drastic systemic change. There’s little time left, and so more than ever, Greens must work hard to build a movement for a Green New Deal and ultimately a social ecological society.

My name is Garret Wassermann, and I am humbled and honored to be nominated for the position of Steering Committee Co-Chair at this important turning point in US political history — and perhaps human history as a whole.

The Steering Committee of the GPUS is tasked with overseeing the day-to-day operations of the party, including working with standing committees, states, caucuses, and paid staff to develop and implement new proposals, strategies, and more, toward our political goals. While our party is founded on key values such as grassroots democracy and decentralization, and decision-making comes bottom-up, the national party is often the first interaction point for potential new members as they search to learn more about the party, it’s history, it’s platform, and it’s strategy to create a new ecological society. I therefore believe it is critical that GPUS always puts out a good first (and second, and third, and…) impression, so that we can excite both current and potential new members about getting active in the Green movement. The Green Party is home to many amazing activists, organizers, and educators; there is no movement without people, so GPUS must do as much as it can to support the people in the Green movement and grow our local and state parties.

Specifically, if elected, in addition to working with other Steering Committee members to ensure smooth day-to-day operations, my goals while serving on the GPUS Steering Committee will include:

• Support serious discussion about party organization, including discussing how to best implement national membership and fundraising while respecting decentralization and state/local democratic control. GPUS Bylaws section 2–3 on Sustaining Memberships remains unimplemented, for example, and deserves discussion as part of larger strategy discussions.
  
  
• Support increased national solidarity as a party, discussing between relevant committees and all member states and caucuses on how to best coordinate, cooperate, and pool resources — consistently with our values — to better support outreach, political education, technology infrastructure, media, and ballot access, all of which is sorely needed to grow the Green movement via our local and state parties and support Green activists and candidates for office. GPUS Bylaws sections 4–2.7, especially part (e), and 4–2.9 for example allow the Steering Committee to work with standing committees to assign tasks as well as research and release reports to the national committee; these reports should describe the current status of GPUS and recommend actions that the national committee could take action on, if the Steering Committee is not clearly empowered by GPUS bylaws to take such actions itself.
  
  
• Educate the public on the Green Party platform, especially focusing on outreach to folks who are disenfranchised and alienated by today’s political system. This can be accomplished for example by issuing statements and endorsements consistent with GPUS Bylaws section 4–2.12. I also personally intend to continue working with Green Pages and other efforts to publish news and educational materials about the Green Party.

I invite all Greens to reach out with ideas or thoughts on how we can better work together and build our Green movement. I look forward to working with all of you on the important goals listed above, regardless whether I am ultimately elected co-chair or not; either way, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve and work with you all for a better world.

In solidarity,
Garret

Bio

Garret Wassermann (he/him) is a mathematician and physicist with an M.S. in both, an educator and author, and is currently working as a computer scientist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he has lived since 2011. Garret previously taught mathematics and physics courses at several Pittsburgh-region post-secondary institutions, and co-authored several educational manuals on introductory physics laboratory. Originally from New Orleans, Garret lived in the city & attended college as the city rebuilt from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005; that experience helped make clear how climate change, poverty, and racism are interconnected and must be addressed together if cities like New Orleans, maybe even humanity itself, are to survive this century.

Garret has been an active member of the Green Party since 2016, serving as media coordinator in 2017 and then vice chair of the Pittsburgh-area Green Party of Allegheny County from 2018–2020, as well as a ballot access coordinator with the Green Party of Pennsylvania’s Green Wave team from 2017–2020. During that time, Garret helped start new Green Wave initiatives to welcome new members, educate members about the Green Party’s key values and party history, and provide ballot access training to potential new candidates for elected office and their campaign volunteers and staff. Garret was elected a national committee alternate delegate in 2019 and a delegate in 2020, joining the Green Pages Editorial Board and working on several personal educational projects since early 2021.

Garret and his spouse Amanda live with six adopted cats, two ducks, and a chicken. When not working on Green politics, they enjoy working in their garden and watching wildlife, volunteering for mutual aid projects, reading about various topics, and playing video games to unwind.