SPONSORS: Charlene DiCalogero, Co-chair GRP and State Committee member; co-sponsor, Roni Beal, State Committee member, Central Mass chapter

VETTING COMMITTEES:

FLOOR MANAGER: C. DiCalogero

SHEPHERD: C. DiCalogero

SUMMARY: For at least the last 4 years in which I have been an elected member of State Committee (the last two also as party Co-chair), David Rolde has disrupted the work of the Green-Rainbow Party at the state level, and damaged the reputation of the state and national Green Party. As a member of State Committee at its meetings, at Administrative Committee meetings as a representative of the Legislative Working Committee or as a member of chapters or other committees, and through his public activities as an identifiable member of the GRP State Committee, I believe he has alienated many members and leaders of the GRP.

By his public behavior and statements, which violate a number of our 10 Key Values, while simultaneously continuing to act as a member of the State Committee, I have received evidence that he also discourages people from joining the party and potential candidates from running GRP.

Even after multiple concerns from different party leadership have been expressed directly to him, David Rolde continues, whether intentionally or not, to exhibit destructive behaviors.

BACKGROUND:

Evidence

1. 10 KV violations

a. Respect for Diversity

i. anti-Jewish statements against a candidate (Danny Factor, 2016, at endorsement request meeting, at which vibes watcher Greg Williams interrupted his attack and declared that David should be removed from State Com) and Jewish people in general (there is “Jewish privilege;” “Jews are not oppressed”)

ii. of 6 candidates requesting endorsement at StateCom summer 2018, questioning only the Muslim and Middle Eastern candidate on Israel-Palestine, which was racist, possibly sexist, and irrelevant. He did not ask any other candidate that question. The candidate was running for State Rep, which is not focused on international relations.

b. Nonviolence <p>

i. State Com October 2019, elimination of the military proposal: David refused to accept Charlene’s amendment to institute a nonviolent defense system because “the United States does not deserve to defend itself.” Such a position is inherently violent, racist, sexist, etc., because it exposes everyone in this country to attacks from other countries that would likely follow implementation of such a policy, with no organized means for response.

c. Grassroots Democracy

i. David consistently and publicly supports the violent dictator Bashar Al Assad of Syria, who has been responsible for numerous human rights crimes including 85,000 civilian deaths. <p>

ii. He supports authoritarian regimes in China and other countries: he opposes the Hong Kong democracy movement as “an attack on China” at the 2019 GBC meeting attended by Charlene DiCalogero and Maha Gray, co-chairs. While opposition to US foreign interventions is consistent with the GPUS platform, the promoting of governments whose behavior grossly violates the Ten Key Values is inconsistent with support for those values.<p>

iii. David denies that the Tienanmen Square massacre of Chinese students by PRC soldiers occurred (GBC meeting 2019 as above). This shows an unwillingness to stand up for the key values of grassroots democracy and nonviolence, as well as a respect for documented history.

2. Attacks on leadership, lying about people’s actions or affiliations, lying about issues under consideration for consensus by committees

a. lied about provisions of the Death with Dignity bill during the AdCom telecon of 2019 that he wanted the GRP to oppose, then during the Round Robin accused everyone else on the call of wanting to kill people. David Gerry says the bill contains none of the provisions that David claimed were in it.

b. accused Matt Andrews of being pro-war (dates and places?), CD of being a Democrat at October 2019 State Com. He has no presented no credible evidence, or evidence of any kind, for these accusations.

c. Claimed at the October 2019 State Com that Gene Sharp, a well-known theorist, researcher and trainer in nonviolent direct action, was “in the CIA.” He presented no evidence for this accusation.<p>

d. David for years was not a member of any Working Committee, as required by our bylaws. Instead, he criticizes and attacks people who are doing significant work for the party, such as an unfounded accusation against the State Convention committee of bias of favor of some presidential candidates. His accusation wasted time and energy that is needed to do the work of reconstituting the State Committee, planning Regional Conventions, supporting candidates, etc. His rallying of other disruptive GPUS candidates to the 11/7/19 State Committee telecon meeting resulted in a meeting that personally attacked the GRP appointee to the Presidential Campaign Support Committee and resulted in almost none of the intended agenda being addressed and the meeting went well over (1-2 hours over) the agreed-upon time.

Such behavior is abusive and excludes people who have neither the time nor the energy to stay on unproductive and endless phone calls.

e. general disruptiveness and behavior unbecoming a State Com member

i. screaming continuously at the female co-chair and StateCom in general during State Com call with a State Com member in July 2018, during which meeting he was the vibes watcher.

ii. In response to Charlene DiCalogero’s co-chair message, StateCom Oct 2019, of the great victory of Worcester Climate Emergency Declaration: “it’s not a great victory.” It’s unlikely he knows what’s in the declaration, or who was involved in writing it and getting it passed. The impact of such dismissive statements are to lower morale of the body, and to undermine the female co-chair’s leadership.

iii. David frequently interrupts speakers at State Com meetings, alleging “vibes,” which is often not a matter of interpersonal conflict, but his disagreement with the speaker’s political or practical perspective. It is disrespectful to State Com members and others who are trying to share their viewpoints, discourages honest discussion, and appears to be frequently directed at the women (witness attack on Priscila Espinosa, Oct 2019 State Committee).

iv. At the 2019 State Convention, when a keynote speaker was introduced, David responded with jeers and boos. This is no way to treat speakers invited as guests by the GRP, and who are traveling some distance to speak to our meetings without requiring a speaker’s fee. And it embarrasses the volunteers organizing the meeting, forcing them to apologize to the invited speaker (reported by C. Sotiropoulus, May 2019).

v. David’s interruptions are frequent, as you can see from the multiple instances cited from a single meeting. They often constitute some form of an attack, and effectively disrupt and postpone the business of StateCom and other meetings.

Response by State Committee and other bodies, and results of David Rolde’s actions David has been given numerous opportunities to redeem himself and has shown no capability to respond positively or to act collaboratively. He has caused irreparable harm by alienating active and potential members, and provided ammunition to Green Party detractors with his negative comments on social and mass media. Rather than having significantly changed or improved his behavior in response to concerns raised, he appears instead to have escalated his attacks.

TEXT OF MOTION: In accordance with GRP Bylaws, v. January 26, 2019, Section 8.6, and due to multiple and egregious violations of Sections 4.1 and 5.6 presented, we request that State Committee take the following actions:

1. If David Rolde resigns from the State Committee previous to the meeting at which this motion is considered (per phone conversation between C. DiCalogero and David Rolde, 12/9/19), as described in GRP bylaws Section 8.7, and all other state-level positions or bodies to which he may belong: that he be removed and banned from all GRP-hosted listserves, Facebook pages and other social media. David Rolde will be prohibited from participating in these positions, bodies and media now and in the future.

2. Should David refuse to resign, we ask that the State Committee remove him from State Committee, and that he be banned from GRP-hosted listserves, Facebook pages or other social media, now and in the future.

We further request that David Rolde take the following actions:

1. End his campaign to be the presidential nominee of the Green Party of the U.S., and

2. cease his baseless attacks on the GRP and the GPUS.

He is unqualified to be the GPUS nominee by experience, by knowledge, by temperament, by political outlook, and by his non-collaborative behavior toward the members of the GRP and GPUS.

He declared at the presidential candidates’ forum at the July 2019 ANM, Salem State University, Salem, MA, that, “I am running in the 2020 Green Party US presidential primaries as a protest candidate against the so-called “USA” and its phony presidential elections.”

This shows an intention to take advantage of the GPUS primary process to promote his own ideas rather than seriously seeking a position of leadership, unity, and party-building which is the Green Party’s purpose in sponsoring a presidential process. He cannot be a serious candidate for President of the United States while asserting a belief that the U.S. should not continue to exist as a nation. Such a candidacy is not supported or justified by the 10 Key Values or the GPUS platform.

IMPLEMENTATION:

1. Tech Committee members and/or Communication Committee members, or any others having the ability to remove David Rolde from the GRP website, listserves, Facebook pages, Twitter and any other social media run by the GRP, remove or block his access, as soon as possible after the State Committee decision. They shall notify the co-chairs when this is completed.

2. The Secretary of the GRP will send written notification to officers of all chapters of David Rolde's removal from the State Committee as soon as possible.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

REFERENCES AND ATTACHMENTS:

GRP Bylaws, v. January 26, 2019, Section 8.6. State committee representatives may be removed with a 2/3 vote of the state committee. The individual being removed from the state committee shall not be allowed to vote.

GRP Bylaws, v. January 26, 2019, Section 4.1 “Members of the Green-Rainbow Party must adhere to the following standards: uphold the Ten Key Values and the Bylaws and Structure of the Green-Rainbow Party, be honest and forthright in all dealings, and be scrupulous in the handling of Green-Rainbow Party and/or GRP chapter funds.”

GRP Bylaws, v. January 26, 2019, Section 5.6. Participants in meetings of the Green-Rainbow Party are expected to treat each other with civility and consideration.

Human Rights Violations during the Syrian Civil War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_violations_during_the_Syrian_Civil_War

https://www.davidrolde2020.org/platform.html

https://www.davidrolde2020.org/about.html Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, United Nations, 2 February 2015

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/A.HRC_.28.69_E.pdf

Communist Party of China

Moderates:

Final remarks:

While I feel it necessary for the good of the party to submit this motion, I bear no personal ill will toward David. I believe as elected and appointed leaders, officers and members of the Green-Rainbow Party that State Committee members have a responsibility to ensure as much as possible the good and democratic functioning of the only U.S. party for “People, Planet and Peace.” At this critical moment in U.S. and world history, we cannot afford to allow malicious attacks on the party, whether from inside or outside our membership, whether from sincere beliefs or from ulterior motives, to cripple the ability of the party to function well and attract support.