01/03/2026
12/31/25
Hello and thanks for being Green!
On this last day of 2025, it's time to look back over everything the Wood County Green Party did during this first year of resistance to the Trump regime.
Protests
We started the year with protest, before Trump was even inaugurated we traveled to Washington D.C. for a protest called by the Women's March organization. The Wood County Green Party was there as hundreds of thousands filled the National Mall in an event that presaged a year of unprecedented protests against a regime that threatens Democracy itself.
Over and over, Greens turned out throughout the year, standing with others during the Good Trouble protest, the No Kings protests, several protests outside Bob Latta's office, protests on the I-75 bridge, and others including a protest we organized against Latta on the BGSU campus as he judged an art competition.
We also continued the bi-weekly protest against the genocide of the Palestineans. That genocide has not stopped just because Trump declared a "ceasefire." The mainstream press has turned away from that crisis since Trump's declaration, but Israel has continued to slaughter innocents by the hundreds. Our last protest on 12/28 only had four people, please come out to the next one January 11, 2025 at 3 PM at the corner of Main and Wooster.
There are going to be back to back protests that day, we've also been invited to join a protest against new data centers on that corner, starting at 1 PM.
As the Republicans continue their assault on the environment, Democracy, and the rule of law in America, it looks like 2026 will be another year of record protests.
Community Events
Greens were also happy to turn out for many community events all through the year. We had booths at the BG Pride festival, the BGSU eco-fair, and other events. Our giant Earth ball brought our message of environmental responsibility to parades in Bowling Green and Oak Harbor. We again had a very successful booth at the Wood County Fair, this is where many of you receiving this newsletter signed up. Thank you!
Politics
As much fun as it is to march in parades and have booths at public events, we can't forget that we are, at heart, a political party. As such, we were very active politically in 2025.
We testified in Columbus against Ohio's SB2 which ridiculously declares coal, natural gas, and nuclear power as "clean" energy. We went back again to testify against the incredibly dangerous SJR3, which calls for a constitutional convention that would rewrite the federal constitution, allowing Trump a third term, enabling foreign-born billionaires like Musk to become President, and threatening every single freedom protected by the Bill of Rights.
We also helped collect petition signatures to try to overturn SB1, the ruinous bill that forces teachers at public universities to teach global warming denial and anti-vax "science."
Locally, we continued to press the Bowling Green city government for bike lanes, pedestrian friendly streets, and elimination of the solar panel penalty.
Networking
This year was a banner year for working with other organizations. We worked with the BGSU Democratic Socialists, BG Persists, and even the Democrats to pull together protests and other events.
The most visible of those events was the "Where's Bob?" town hall that we organized with BG Persists. Hundreds turned out to demand that Bob Latta do his job and stand up to Trump as he trashes our constitution and laws. Predictably, Latta turned tail and ran. He still supports the lawless administration, no matter what it does.
Less visible, but perhaps more important, was our work with the BG SONG Climate Action Team. We produced a report that was given to both city council and the municipal utility board that used real world data to finally prove that rooftop solar panels do NOT shift costs to other utility users or the city. In fact, we proved conclusively that the city profits from rooftop solar and that panels actually LOWER costs for other customers. Our report is being used by Leatra Harper's lawsuit against the City.
Other Successes
There were other events and successes, including a showing of the movie, "Radioactive: The Women of Three Mile Island," and a van load of us who went to see the Palestinean dance troupe at Lourdes college in Sylvania.
Our Voters' Guide was perhaps the most successful activity. Ten volunteers vetted about 70 candidates, evaluating them using our Green Values of Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice, and Non-Violence. Over 350 paper copies were distributed throughout the county. Thousands more download the PDF version. We received numerous thanks and much positive feedback.
We also participated in the Wood County planning event, and there were other actions, too numerous to mention.
All this was in addition to our monthly pizza meetings at Joe's house. The next Pizza meeting will be 7 PM Friday, January 30 at Joe's house 517 South Main Street in BG. Please Come!
THANK YOU!
None of this would have been possible without hundreds of volunteer hours, and thousands of dollars in donations. Thank you so much to everyone who volunteered and donated throughout the year. In keeping with our Key Values, we did all this without a dime of PAC or corporate money. Greens won't be bought, and we won't be silent when there's injustice or threats to our environment.
What's Next for 2026?
The newest threat to our environment in Wood County seems to be a surge of data centers. These energy and water hogs get massive tax breaks and return very little in terms of employment. They take up huge areas, destroying farmland and green spaces, and are raising the cost of electricity. The opportunities to stop data centers seem to be at the County level.
Since it doesn't appear we'll have a gubernatorial candidate in 2026, we need to focus our energy on getting a candidate on the ballot for Wood County Commissioner. The current Commissioner, Doris Herringshaw will be a formidable opponent, but she must be beaten because Republicans like her at the local level are the ones enabling Trump to destroy our country at the federal level. We can beat her if we make it clear to voters that politicians like her are the ones enabling Trump when he destroys our White House, starves children, impoverishes people, and denies them health care. Please consider running for County Commissioner.
Thanks again for being Green. Let's keep fighting!
---Joe DeMare Co-Chair Wood County Green Party.
