Ecology Party of Florida
ChairpersonCara Campbell[1]
TreasurerGary Hecker[1]
Founded2008 (2008)[2]
HeadquartersFort Lauderdale, Florida
Membership (2012)125[2]
IdeologyEnvironmentalism
Regionalism
Seats in the Florida Senate
0 / 40
Seats in the Florida House of Representatives
0 / 120
Website
ecologyparty.org

The Ecology Party of Florida is a minor environmental political party in the United States state of Florida. Founded as a front group to support Ralph Nader's 2008 presidential candidacy, it has remained minimally active in the years since that election.

Formation and early history

The Ecology Party of Florida was founded as a Ralph Nader front group.

The party, which describes itself as "peacefully revolutionary", was founded by supporters of Ralph Nader in 2008 (under Florida elections law, political parties are recognized upon filing a statement of existence with the Florida Secretary of State naming a chair and a treasurer).[2][3][4] The party was formed to give Nader easy access to the Florida ballot line in that year's election; Florida elections law allows any registered political party to place a candidate for president of the United States on the election ballot, but requires unaffiliated candidates (which Ralph Nader was in 2008) to submit a petition signed by 119,316 registered voters.[5] The party nominated Nader for president of the United States in 2008.[6] Nader accepted the nomination and appeared on the ballot in Florida as a candidate of the Ecology Party of Florida, while running in most other states as independent or unaffiliated.[3][6][7]

Later activities

In 2009 the party registered as a co-intervener in an attempt to stop administrative licensing of two proposed nuclear reactors in Levy County, Florida.[8] Contributions from an anonymous donor allowed the party to retain legal representation in support of its efforts.[2]

The party did not nominate a candidate in the 2012 presidential election.[9]

In 2015 the party joined with a number of other groups, including Greenpeace, the Tea Party Network, Sierra Club, and Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, in pushing a ballot initiative in Florida that, if passed, would permit businesses to produce "up to two megawatts of power a day [sic]" and sell it directly to businesses and residences on adjacent property.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ecology Party of Florida". dos.elections.myflorida.com. Florida Secretary of State. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Penn, Ivan (30 October 2012). "Ecology Party of Florida to battle over environmental concerns surrounding the Levy County nuclear plant". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Florida's Small Parties Short on Candidates". Sunshine State News. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Constitution". ecologyparty.org. Ecology Party of Florida. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "Five States Require Substantially More Signatures for Independent Presidential Candidates than for Minor Parties". Ballot Access News. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  6. 1 2 Smith, Adam (10 September 2008). "Nader: Florida's Ecology Party nominee". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  7. ↑ Amato, Theresa (2009). Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-party Tyranny. New Press. ISBN 978-1595583949.
  8. ↑ Man, Anthony (9 February 2009). "Ecology Party tries to block two Florida nuclear reactors". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "2012 Florida Presidential Results". Politico. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  10. ↑ Turner, Jim (2 August 2016). "Second group launches solar energy ballot initiative". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
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