The Party for Socialism and Liberation has a candidate on the ballot for Mayor of Long Beach, California. She is Stevie Merino. The election is April 13. This site doesn’t normally try to post news about every minor party nominee’s campaign announcement, because it’s outside the scope of this blog and there are other web pages that do a better job of that, especially Independent Political Report and Third Party Daily. However, an exception is being made in this case because the Party for Socialism and Liberation is the newest nationally-organized party in the nation that has run as many as a dozen candidates, and it is interesting to see which races the party chooses to contest.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation ran its first candidates in 2008. In 2009 it had candidates for Mayor of Los Angeles, and for Mayor of New York city.
Stevie Danielle Merino is referred to as “she” in other press coverage, including a quote from her campaign chairman.
Long Beach elections are non-partisan.
Interestingly, the PSL’s elections website doesn’t have Stevie listed among the 2010 candidates. It seems like all the focus is on the candidates they’re running in Peace and Freedom primaries.
Does Long Beach require 50%-plus to be elected?
Santa Barbara has nonpartisan, first-past-the-post elections. Several election cycles ago, the winner of the mayor’s race got 29% against six opponents.
They are running a candidate in the Green primary in Ohio, unfortunately.
@4
The PSL also ran two members for the Illinois state house in 2008 on the Green ballot line, so there is at least some precedent among them for this. I don’t remember if they ran simply as Greens, openly as PSL members, or as both.
Jim, thanks for the correction on the candidate’s sex.
Yes, Long Beach has old-fashioned run-offs if no one gets 50% in the first election.