Back in 1990, Tony Mazzocchi, a prominent labor leader in the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, founded the Labor Party. It is running its first candidate for partisan office this year, for the South Carolina legislature. That candidate is Brett Bursey. Here is his web page. He is running in State House district 69, centered on Lexington, in the center of the state, west of Columbia. The district is currently represented by a Republican who is not running for re-election. Both major parties also have a candidate in the 69th district this year.
The Labor Party became ballot-qualified in South Carolina in 2006, by turning in a petition signed by 10,000 registered voters. Because it turned the petition in so late in the year, it was not permitted to run any candidates in 2006. Parties in South Carolina remain on the ballot by running at least one candidate every four years, so Bursey’s candidacy keeps the Labor Party on the ballot in South Carolina for another four years.
Unlike the Working Families Party, the Labor Party does not believe in ever cross-endorsing major party nominees.
Mr. Mazooty!
Ballot access in South Carolina is obtained by running at least 1 candidate and is good for 4 years? Man, that’s got to be weird to ever hear about, knowing that the duopoly doesn’t like competition.
South Carolina was the last state to provide for government-printed ballots, in 1950. The original ballot access law from 1950 said that once a party qualified, it was on forever. There was no way for it to ever cease to be qualified. This the United Citizens Party, which qualified in 1972 and then went defunct, was revived by New Alliance Party activists in 1984. Then the legislature changed the law to say parties go off the ballot if they have no candidates for two elections in a row.
I met Brett Bursey a few times when I was still living in Charleston, SC and part of CofC’s SDS group, as well as the local anarchist collective. The man is AMAZING. He got arrested at Charleston airport for protesting Bush when Bush flew in (and yes, that IS something to be proud of). This, of course, isn’t the only great thing about him. But it would take ALL DAY to type up the great things about him.