| Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party | |
| Abbreviation: | GMPJP |
| Colors: | Lime |
| Headquarters: | Dummerston, Vermont |
| Ideology: | Socialism[1] Anti-capitalism[2] Environmentalism |
| Position: | Left-wing[3] [4] [5] |
| Seats1 Title: | Statewide Offices |
| Seats2 Title: | Seats in the State Senate |
| Seats3 Title: | Seats in the State House |
| Seats4 Title: | Elected County Judges |
| Seats5 Title: | Countywide Offices |
| Seats6 Title: | Mayorships |
| Seats7 Title: | Seats on the Burlington City Council |
| Seats8 Title: | Other elected offices |
| Seats8: | 3 (2017) |
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Vermont |
The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party (GMPJP), previously named the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a socialist political party in Vermont, United States. LUP was formed in 1970 by progressives to contest the 1970 Senate election.
GMPJP is a self-proclaimed "non-violent socialist party". In 1995, LUP was described by The New York Times as the cradle of progressivism in Vermont.[6]
GMPJP is the fourth-largest party in Vermont after the Democratic, Republican, and Progressive parties.
Notable past and present members include William H. Meyer, Peter Diamondstone, Bernie Sanders, Michael Parenti, and Mary Alice Herbert.
The Liberty Union party (LUP) was formed to contest the Vermont elections of 1970.[7] LUP co-founders included former Congressman William H. Meyer, Peter Diamondstone, Dennis Morrisseau and others.[8]
In 1971, People's Party was formed as a national umbrella party for various socialist-oriented state parties, including the LUP.[9]
In 1971, Bernie Sanders joined LUP and became the party's candidate for several offices. At the first Party meeting he attended, in 1971, LUP nominated Sanders as the LUP Senate candidate in the January 1972 special election; he placed third with 2% of the vote.[10] In 1974, Bernie Sanders ran again as the Senate candidate, but received 4.13% of the vote. In 1976, Sanders was the party's candidate for Vermont governor, where he received 6.1% of the vote, which remains the best result for any LUP candidate for governor as of 2021. In October 1977, At the time of his resignation from the party, Sanders was party chairman. Sanders quit due to the inactivity of the party between elections.[11] As an independent politician, Sanders became Vermont's congressional representative in 1991 and U.S. senator in 2007. He ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020.
In 1974, political scientist Michael Parenti was the party's candidate for election to the House of Representatives; he placed third with 7.1 percent of the vote.[12]
In 1976, the party's Vermont lieutenant governor candidate John Franco took enough votes to force the election to the Vermont General Assembly's House. The party also lost the outspoken members, Nancy Kaufman and Martha Abbott before the 1978 election cycle.[7] Despite Liberty Union co-founder, Peter Diamondstone, appearing biennially on the ballot from 1970 through 2016, none of the party's candidates were elected during that period.[13]
In 2009, David Van Deusen, endorsed by LUP and the Vermont Progressive Party (VPP), won a contested race for a seat on the Moretown Select Board. Van Deusen was a District Vice President of the Vermont AFL-CIO, active within US Labor Against The War,[14] cofounder of the Green Mountain Anarchist Collective, and received the backing of organized labor. This victory represented an electoral high water mark for the Liberty Union Party (previous Liberty Union wins included a Representational Town Meeting Delegate in Brattleboro, and a single Justice of the Peace position some decades earlier). In 2010 Van Deusen again ran and again won a contested seat on the Moretown Select Board.[15] Again he was endorsed by the Liberty Union, the Progressives, the Socialist Party USA, and organized labor. In this election Van Deusen was the top vote-getter among four Select Board candidates (three candidates, including Van Deusen running for two one year seats, and one candidate running as a write-in for one open three-year seat).[16] In 2011 Van Deusen did not seek re-election to the Select Board. In this election he ran for First Constable of Moretown (a position he held in 2007). While Van Deusen won the election, he did not seek the endorsement of the Liberty Union Party. This time he had the endorsement of the local Progressive Party alone. During Van Deusen's two terms on the Moretown Select Board, he was able to win "livable wages" for all non-elected town employees, doubled property tax relief for disabled military veterans (through a Town Meeting article), successfully advocated for the use of the Town Hall for a free weekly children's play group, made strides in opening up the local democratic process to all town residents, and publicly supported a Vermont run single-payer healthcare system.[17] [18]
In 2012, the party once again re-qualified for major party status as a result of a 13.1% showing for Liberty Union candidate Mary Alice Herbert in the election for Vermont Secretary of State against Democrat Jim Condos.[19]
In 2014, the party re-qualified for major party status yet again as a result of a 10.32 showing for Liberty Union candidate Mary Alice Herbert in the election for Vermont Secretary of State. In the race for Treasurer Murray Ngoima received 8.3% of the vote. For Attorney General the LU candidate, Rosemary Jackowski, received 3.9% of the vote. In VT State Senate races, Ben Bosley won 13.9% of the vote for Grand Isle district. In the Windham County Senate contest, Jerry Levy & Aaron Diamondstone won on 5.0% & 4.6% of the ballots.
In the 2016 Vermont gubernatorial election, former Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee ran as the Liberty Union's candidate for governor. Lee supported single payer healthcare and ran far to the left of the Democratic Party while at the same time remaining an advocate for the right of Vermonters to own firearms.[20] Lee received 2.8% which was the highest percentage for a LUP candidate for governor since the 1978 Vermont election and at the same time garnered 8,912 votes, second highest number for a Liberty Union gubernatorial candidate in the party's history.
In other 2016 races, Murray Ngoima received 3.9% of the vote for Treasurer, Mary Alice Herbert 9.7% for secretary state, Marina Brown 4.7% for Auditor and Rosemarie Jackowski 3.7% for attorney general. For US Congress, Erica Clawson received 9.2% of the vote. Liberty Union Party co-founder, Peter Diamondstone received 1.0% of the vote for US Senate.
In 2018 elections, Emily Peyton received 0.6% of the vote for Governorship, Murray Ngoima 1.5% for lieutenant governor, Mary Alice Herbert 3.6% for Secretary of State, Marina Brown 3.9% for Auditor and Rosemarie Jackowski 3.4% for Attorney General. For US Congress, Laura Potter received 1.4% of the vote. For US Senate, Reid Kane received 0.4% of the vote.
In 2020, the Liberty Union Party did not nominate any candidates for state office. They only nominated Gloria La Riva for presidency.[21]
In September 2021, the party changed its name from Liberty Union to Green Mountain Peace and Justice. Jessica Diamondstone, party chair and daughter of the party's founder stated that she feared the old name might make the party sound as if it had right-wing positions. Diamondstone felt the new name would be more clear on the political positions of the party.[22]
In 2022, under its new name, Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party nominees ran only for U.S. Senate and Lieutenant Governor seats.[23] For U.S. Senate, Natasha Diamondstone-Kohout received 0.5% of the vote and for Lieutenant Governor, Ian Diamondstone received 2.9% of the vote. Both candidates were related to Peter Diamondstone.
Over the years, GMPJP has endorsed various presidential candidates from other leftist political parties:
| Year | Gubernatorial nominee | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Bernie Sanders | 2,175 | 1.15% | |
| 1974 | Martha Abbott | 7,629 | 5.40% | |
| 1976 | Bernie Sanders | 11,317 | 6.09% | |
| 1978 | Earl S. Gardner | 3,629 | 2.92% | |
| 1980 | John Potthast | 1,952 | 0.93% | |
| 1982 | Richard Gottlieb | 850 | 0.50% | |
| 1984 | Richard Gottlieb | 695 | 0.30% | |
| 1986 | Richard Gottlieb | 491 | 0.25% | |
| 1988 | Richard Gottlieb | 2,923 | 1.20% | |
| 1990 | Richard Gottlieb | 1,389 | 0.66% | |
| 1992 | Richard Gottlieb | 3,120 | 1.09% | |
| 1994 | Richard Gottlieb | 1,733 | 0.82% | |
| 1996 | Mary Alice Herbert | 4,156 | 1.63% | |
| 1998 | Richard Gottlieb | 1,177 | 0.54% | |
| 2000 | Richard Gottlieb | 337 | 0.11% | |
| 2002 | Peter Diamondstone | 625 | 0.27% | |
| 2004 | Peter Diamondstone | 1,298 | 0.42% | |
| 2006 | Bob Skold | 638 | 0.24% | |
| 2008 | Peter Diamondstone | 1,710 | 0.54% | |
| 2010 | Ben Mitchell | 429 | 0.18% | |
| 2012 | Dave Eagle | 1,303 | 0.44% | |
| 2014 | Peter Diamondstone | 1,673 | 0.87% | |
| 2016 | Bill Lee | 8,913 | 2.83% | |
| 2018 | Em Peyton | 1,839 | 0.67% | |
| 2020 | Did not nominate | N/A | nil | |
| 2022 | Did not nominate | N/A | nil |