On April 12th the Wisconsin Green Party voted unanimously to endorse 3 candidates for the Fall 2014 election cycle: Ron Hardy for State Treasurer, Lawrence Dale for US House of Representatives District 7, and Michael LaForest for State Assembly District 47.

"This is a great day for Wisconsin - this November, everyone in our state will have the chance to vote for a party that stands for peace, justice, ecology, and real grassroots democracy - which means getting the corrupting influence of big money out of our Capitol," said WIGP co-chair Dave Schwab of Madison.

Green Party members also resolved to gather at least 4,000 signatures by June 2nd, double the number of valid signatures required to put a candidate for statewide office on the ballot.

Read on for more information about our Green candidates, and how you can help put them on the ballot!

• Ron Hardy for State Treasurer: Ron Hardy of Oshkosh is a Winnebago County Supervisor. As state treasurer, he will audit state government finances to protect taxpayers from waste, fraud, and corruption. He is also running to advocate for public banking, a living wage, and other economic policies from the WI Green Party platform.

"I am running for Wisconsin State Treasurer to ensure that State Finances are an open book. I will audit all aspects of our financial accounts to ensure that the public's money is being used as it was intended, and that there is no waste, fraud or corruption. As State Treasurer, I will advocate for the adoption of a $15/hour state minimum wage, as well as for the creation of a Public State Bank of Wisconsin. A State Bank of Wisconsin would put control over the taxpayers' money in the hands of the public, and put the creation of credit into the hands of the public, with the interest generated going back to the public."

• Lawrence Dale for US House of Representatives, District 7: Based in Eagle River, Lawrence is running for Congress in the 7th District, which covers Northwest Wisconsin. He is campaigning for sustainable economic alternatives to the ecologically devastating mining projects proposed for the district, including support for small organic farmers and legalization of hemp/marijuana. He also advocates amending the US Constitution to end the Citizens United era of unlimited corporate spending on elections.

"What is our legacy going be - what is my legacy going to be - to the children of the future? Will they be convinced we did all we could do to ensure they inherit a livable world, one with a still-functioning democracy, or will it be a corporate-sponsored tyranny like China? Will those children believe we did our best to stop mining projects, as in the Penokee Hills? And will they wonder why we did (or didn’t) care enough to seriously engage in the fight to amend the Constitution to prevent corporate oligarchs from hijacking our democracy?"

• Michael LaForest for WI State Assembly, District 47: Based on Madison’s East Side, Michael is running for State Assembly to bring a voice of compromise, free of special interest influence, to our state government. He is campaigning to get PAC and special interest money out of our electoral system.

"Until a level field is created, upon which any eligible American citizen can run a viable campaign for any seat in any State legislature or the Federal legislature, we will continue to have a government that is saturated with excessive money that is donated from questionable sources and driven by special interests.   There can be no honesty in politics if money is misconstrued as free speech."

Help us put these great Green candidates on the ballot!

We need your help to get our candidates on the ballot for Wisconsin voters! To prevent our petitions from being challenged, we are aiming to gather twice the amount of signatures required. That means:

• 4000 signatures for State Treasurer (2000 valid signatures required)
• 2000 signatures for US Congress in the 7th District (1000 valid signatures required)
• 400 signatures for State Representative in the 47th District (200 valid signatures required)

We can meet this goal if every Wisconsin Green helps out. Whether you can gather 20 or 200, every signature does make a difference. Here's how to help:

1. Download and print nomination papers (below) for every candidate you are able to gather signatures for (any WI voter can sign for a statewide candidate like state treasurer; to sign for a US House or State Assembly candidate, they must live in the district).

2. Fill out the short volunteer form on our site so we can get in touch about how you can help with the petition drive.

Ron Hardy for State Treasurer - view downloadable nomination paper

Ron Hardy for State Treasurer - view downloadable quarter-page flyer

Lawrence Dale for US House of Representatives District 7 - view downloadable nomination paper

Michael LaForest for WI State Assembly District 47 - view downloadable nomination paper