California National Party
The California National Party is a Californian nationalist and social-democratic political party in California. The CNP supports big tent, progressive policies for California and also campaigns for Californian independence from the United States.
History
The California National Party was founded in 2015, with the intent of creating a political platform centered on California's needs and Californian indentity.On 6 January 2016, the California Secretary of State's office sent a memorandum to registration of voters offices in all 52 counties of California to inform them that they had "received formal notification from the California National Party of their intent to qualify" as a political party on 7 December 2015, and thereafter assigned the party a code designation of "CNP".
Formal organizing for the party did not begin until June 2016, when the CNP held its first convention and elections in Sacramento, California. At that convention, Theo Slater and Andria Franco were elected as Chair and Vice Chair. Jed Wheeler, founder of Californians for Independence, was elected Secretary as the two groups merged. The CNP adopted a new platform, based on the Californians for Independence platform, in September of that year; and launched a website, mailing list, and recruitment drive. The party re-filed with the Secretary of State in November 2016 and the new leadership was officially recognized shortly after.
The CNP has publicly distanced itself from the Yes California's "Calexit" movement, which has been criticized for its connections to Russia and for the ideology espoused by Yes California. The CNP disavowed Yes California founder Louis J. Marinelli and Yes California's methods of advocating Californian independence. Jed Wheeler, then Secretary of the CNP, stated in an interview with Politico that "Yes California isn't a Californian movement" and that "Yes California is a movement whose optics are all designed for a Russian audience to reinforce Putin", while stressing that the CNP is a progressive Californian party advocating "a raft of progressive policies, ranging from infrastructural upkeep to universal health care".
Organization
The California National Party is organized as a general purpose committee with the California Fair Political Practices Commission.Ideology
The party name and central purpose of the California National Party is partly inspired by the Scottish National Party, a social democratic, civic nationalist, center-left party that advocates independence for Scotland. The CNP believes that "California politics should focus on improving the lives of Californians through infrastructure development, encouraging local economic growth, and protecting our land and people".The CNP's stated "core values" are "building and defending California", "fact-based, compassionate policy", "individual rights and social responsibility", "locally-focused political empowerment", and "prosperity for all Californians"
The CNP supports greater powers and funding control for local government.
Political positions
Civil rights
Environmental issues
The CNP supports expansion of the California cap-and-trade carbon market. It also supports investment into infrastructure along the California coast to minimize the effects of sea level rise.It supports a permanent moratorium on offshore drilling along California's coastal seas.
The CNP also supports universal public access to all of the beaches of California, based on the freedom to roam principle established when California was under Spanish law.
It supports the expansion of the California State Parks, to include both recreational parks and conservationist reserves.
Education
The CNP supports universal access to education from primary school to higher education. It advocates that all public schools, colleges, and universities in California should be run by administrations led by educators or former educators with teaching experience, not politicians or third party managers.The CNP platform advocates for access to bilingual education across all California public schools. It promotes the goal of bilingual fluency among all Californians, facilitated by official bilingualism in education between English and Spanish, likened to Canada with French and English or Belgium with Dutch and French. It similarly supports greater access to foreign language education to promote greater levels of language education, akin to European standards.
;Primary education
The CNP supports free, universal access to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten education, advocating the expansion of California public schools to include pre-k and kindergarten.
It supports the inclusion of "California studies" in all levels of public education, covering topics including California's history, geography, peoples, and cultures.
The party platform supports greater funding of teacher salaries from the Californian government and supports creation of career programs to attract high performing teachers.
;Higher education
The CNP advocates that California Community Colleges should be free for all Californians.
The party advocates for a guaranteed offers of admission for all Californians to the California State Universities for all students who meet the CSU entrance requirements.
It similarly advocates for a guaranteed offers of admission for all Californians to the University of California for all students who meet the UC entrance requirements.
The CNP supports the expansion of all three public higher education systems in California: the CSU system, the UC system, and the CCC system.
Healthcare
The CNP supports the creation of a universal single-payer healthcare system for California.It advocates the consolidation of all public healthcare administrations at a state and local level into a single, unified "California Healthcare System". It has cited a system similar to the French healthcare system as an ultimate goal, with a Canadian-style healthcare system as an optimal, transitional system.
Immigration
The CNP platform proposes the Californian government take a greater role in the attraction of immigrants to California, either for work, study, or residence. It supports the right of California to participate in the issuance of visas for immigrants alongside the U.S. federal government. It also proposes that the Californian government enact a strategic plan for immigration to California.The CNP advocates the access of all public services as a right of all California residents, regardless of immigration status.
The party opposes the construction of the "Trump wall" along California's southern border with Mexico. It also supports the freedom of movement across the countries of North America.
The CNP's party platform also supports the creation of a guest worker program to allow for fluctuating levels of temporary immigration for labor shortages not met by the local population or other permanent resident immigrants.