2 Greens drop out of races

Two Green Party of Utah candidates have dropped out of their respective races because of internal party politics, they said.

Diana Lee Hirschi, who was running for Salt Lake County mayor, and Linda Parsons, who was running for the Utah House of Representatives in District 34, announced this week they have withdrawn from the election.

The former candidates said in a news release that a lawsuit filed this month in 3rd District Court has divided the state party.

The suit was filed by Greens who are opposed to the lack of a presidential candidate on the Utah ballot in November.

David Cobb and Patricia LaMarche are the presidential and vice presidential candidates officially recognized by the Green Party of the United States. But local Greens told state elections officials the party does not want any names on the ballot because Cobb and LaMarche were nominated undemocratically.

Parsons' husband, Jerry Parsons, is named as a defendant in the suit.

Hirschi and Parsons will continue to be members of the Green Party, but they do not believe the current situation represents the party's values, they said.