Meet Andy

My Name is Andy Ellis, I live in Northeast Baltimore City with my wife Dana, our four cats, and our flock of backyard chickens. I like the Orioles, the Ravens, and backyard gardening.

I went to Thomas Johnson high school in Frederick, attended college at Towson and St. Mary’s, and have lived in Baltimore City since 2005. While a student at Towson, I was on the debate team. In 2008, I coached a Towson debate team who were the first Black students to win a policy debate national championship.

I currently work for a media ratings company, where I have worked for 14 years- as a business intelligence lead. My job is to identify problems, understand data, and offer transformative solutions.

I am a passionate advocate for a better democracy and a long time organizer with the Green Party.

I also love to travel and can’t wait to see every part of Maryland!

ORGANIZING FOR GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY

I have done a lot of advocacy and organizing but my focus is mostly on grassroots democracy. I believe that grassroots democracy works best when there are organizations independent of the two party system, that are open to anyone to join. I believe these organizations need to push on government offices and elected leaders to make sure that the democracy is easy to access and that voters are engaged all the time, not just at election season.

Some highlights of my work for grassroots democracy on behalf of the voters of Maryland:

  • I have worked for over a decade to build the Green Party in Baltimore and across Maryland.

  • Worked with a group of friends to start the Harford Road Happy Hour, a series of community gatherings that bring people together across political lines while supporting local small businesses.

  • Developed software and worked with the State Board of Elections on emergency provisions to ensure grassroots voting rights during COVID State of Emergency.

  • Led advocacy efforts in Annapolis to increase access to and the reliability of the ballot access petitions that are at the root of grassroots democracy in Maryland.

  • Served as an appointed member of the 2023-2024 Baltimore City Charter Review Commission.

  • In 2024 I chaired Baltimore for Democracy, a ballot issue committee which successfully worked to defeat Question H in Baltimore City.

Why the Green Party

I have supported the Green Party in many elections, but I became actively involved in 2015. Since then I have been a candidate for state delegate and a Co-chair of the Maryland Green Party and the Baltimore City Green Party. I have worked on several Green Party campaigns, served on national committees, and traveled around the state and region to help support local independent political organizing.

I an seeking the nomination of the The Green Party because the party has values I agree with and solutions that address problems at their roots. Our movement has decades of experience at the national, state and local level doing the hard work of building healthy political parties independent of the two party system.

I believe the Green Party has an important role to play in Maryland. We have solutions to confront the climate crisis, ideas to expand democracy beyond the polarized two party system, policies that can end wealth inequality, and an enduring commitment to make repair for previous and ongoing injustices.

We need a political system with multiple healthy parties and the Green Party should be one of those parties.

Why I’m Running For Governor

I believe a candidate for Governor is a representative of their party to all the voters in Maryland. The candidate must connect with people and organizations all over the state. They must listen to the hopes and concerns of the people they meet and then they must offer a vision for the future that is based on the party’s values and responsive to the people’s needs.

I think a campaign for governor must be organized enough to connect with voters in all 24 counties, to work with movements with different goals, and to support candidates up and down the ballot. A good campaign will live on beyond the election and plant the seeds for political action all over the state.

I think I can be a great Green Party candidate and run a great Green Party campaign. If I can I will have an opportunity to share a vision of Green Party ideas, values, and solutions with all the voters in Maryland.

From there it is up to the voters, but I know one thing for sure, I can’t wait to make the case!