Peace and Freedom Presidential Nomination

By Dave Kadlecek

I have not yet decided which candidate I will support for President. All four of those under serious serious consideration have acceptable though imperfect politics. Given that, my main criteria in deciding who to support will be which candidate, if nominated, I believe would do the most to help build the Peace and Freedom Party.

The Candidates

There are four candidates under serious serious consideration: Gloria La Riva, Cynthia McKinney, Brian Moore and Ralph Nader.

Gloria La Riva is the candidate of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, running on a ticket with Eugene Puryear (a Howard University student who might not appear on the California ballot if we nominate him because he isn't yet 35 years old). La Riva has been a Peace and Freedom candidate for Governor in the past.

Cynthia McKinney, the former Democratic Congresswoman from Georgia, will almost certainly be the nominee of the Green Party (they will decide in July). She hasn't yet announced a vice-presidential running mate. She has also been associated with moves to form a "Reconstruction Party" and/or a "Power to the People Coalition".

Brian Moore is the candidate of the Socialist Party USA, running on a ticket with Stewart Alexander. Moore is a former independent candidate for U.S. Senate in his home state of Florida, and Alexander, who lives in Riverside County, was the Peace and Freedom candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2006.

Ralph Nader is an independent candidate nationally, running on a ticket with Matt Gonzalez. Nader has previously run for President both as the Green Party nominee and as an independent candidate. Gonzalez, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who came in second running for Mayor in 2003, has been a Green but recently changed his registration to Decline to State.

All four of these Presidential candidates have acceptable though imperfect politics. All four will be running for President throughout the country whether or not they are the Peace and Freedom Party nominee in California.

My Criteria

Given that all are acceptable politically, my main criterion in deciding who to support will be which candidate, if nominated, I believe would do the most to help build the Peace and Freedom Party. Except possibly to break a tie, I won't be considering which candidate has political positions closest to my own.

I see three ways in which these national presidential campaigns can help build the Peace and Freedom Party: improving the general political climate, building recognition of the party directly through their own Presidential campaigns, and providing material support to the party organization and its local candidates.

In Alameda County, we have two strong local candidates running, Marsha Feinland for Senator in the 9th State Senate District (including Berkeley, Oakland, Castro Valley, Dublin and Livermore, as well as the Richmond area of Contra Costa County) and Gene Ruyle for Representative in the 10th Congressional District (mostly in Contra Costa County, but including Livermore in Alameda County). I'll look at how the presidential candidates could help their campaigns, but we also need to look at how the presidential candidates can help build the Peace and Freedom Party's organization in areas where the party has no local candidates on the ballot. These include the southern half of our county, Marin and Santa Clara counties within the Bay Area, and most of Southern California the San Joaquin Valley.

I will be evaluating how well the prospective Presidential candidates can help build Peace and Freedom based both on the commitments they make in seeking our party's nomination and on their ongoing campaign activities.