MD Green Party Coordinating Council

2026 May 26 

Opened 7:38 pm 

Attending 

Brian Bittner, Mary Rooker, Claudia Barber, Bill Barry, Andy Ellis, Dana Polson, David Alan Tibbetts, Nancy Wallace 

Quorum established. 

DECISIONS 

  1. Mary Rooker was unanimously appointed Election Administrator for our July 2026 primary election. 

  2. We’ll issue a political statement on data centers by the end of this week. Send edits to Brian on the draft he emailed to the MGP-CC list today at 4:56 pm.  

Treasurer’s Report 

Not available – Tim absent. 

Secretary’s Report 

  • March 24 regular minutes approved. 

  • April 26 Emergency Assembly minutes approved. 

Emergency Assembly Report 

Report from our April 26th "Emergency" assembly and associated bylaws changes. We extended when we can hold our annual assembly, extended officer term limits, made it easier to call an assembly, and more.

Election Administrator Appointment 

Mary Rooker was unanimously appointed Election Administrator for our 2026 primary election. First Monday in July, July 6, is State Board of Election deadline for declaration of intent; would likely be July 8-22. We will advertise that we’re willing to train people in ranked choice voting.

Updates on July 11, 2026 MGP Annual Assembly 

  • Venue confirmed: 10:30-2:00 pm at Crofton Library. (Annapolis Library was unavailable.)     

  • Schedule: central focus would be to highlight candidates (5-10 minutes each); new officer elections; general words about the party; CC decisions made during the year.    

  • We considered possible speakers, including an independent County Commissioner candidate David Tibbetts proposed. 

Candidate/Primary Election Updates 

  • Process: to be determined, likely OpaVote software, which we’ve used in the past. 

  • Deadlines: first Monday in July (July 6) is State Board of Elections deadline for candidate filing. 

Data Centers Statement 

DECISION:  We’ll issue a political statement on data centers; Brian emailed draft today, 4:56 pm. Send edits to Brian; goal is for the statement to be done and issued by the end of the week.  

  1. Brian and Andy spoke. We’re seeking a general political (not policy) statement that doesn’t go into policy details. Data centers are a threat to the democratic process and bad for the environment. A statewide ban is the only way we can protect the people from corrupt politicians and corrupt fracking and data center industries. 

  2. Harford County has a ban; there are good efforts in Montgomery, Prince Georges, Frederick, and elsewhere. This issue is one where Republicans and Democrats (politicians) will agree and be pro-industry, so it’s a good issue for us to get involved in. Democrats are more out of touch with voters on this issue than rural Republicans, like those in Harford County.  

  3. Andy’s campaign has issued a statement.  

  4. The state legislature might pass a pre-emption bill.  

  5. A good Prince George’s County leader on this is Taylor Frazier McCollum. 

Annual National Meeting, July 24-26 

Nancy is driving, offered a carpool. 

Adjourned 

8:45 pm