Terra. com has this op-ed advocating statehood for Puerto Rico. Terra.com is a major internet provider in Latin America, and in Spain, and has a large readership in the U.S. as well. The op-ed says a recent poll in Puerto Rico shows that 57% now favor statehood.
On October 18, 2006, Connecticut TV station WVIT, channel 30, was hosting a gubernatorial debate at which only the Democratic and Republican nominees were invited. The Connecticut State Police Central Criminal Intelligence Unit sent officers to that debate, because the police believed that Greens might show up to protest the exclusion of their gubernatorial candidate. These police officers were separate from the normal police unit that provides security for the Governor, and of course they were also in addition to any city police. As it turns out, no Greens protested at that debate. This information has surfaced because of a somewhat related lawsuit filed by the campaign manager for the Green Party’s gubernatorial campaign that year. See this story. Thanks to Green Party Watch for the link.
The Socialist Equality Party has announced that it is running D’Artagnan Collier for Mayor of Detroit. The election is August 4, 2009, with any needed run-off set for November 3, 2009.
The Socialist Equality Party seemed to have lost interest in competing in elections after 2006. It had not named any candidates since 2006, except that in September 2008, it announced a write-in ticket for president and vice-president, Jerome White and Bill Van Auken. That ticket didn’t get on the ballot in any state, but filed for write-in status in New York and was credited with 18 votes.
The Socialist Equality Party first appeared on ballots in 1996, but then did not run candidates for public office again until 2003. Under its old name, the Workers League, it ran for public office in 1974 through 1994.
There will be at least four political parties with “socialism” or “socialist” in their party names this year, in the U.S. The other three are the Socialist Workers Party, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and the Socialist Party.
On May 12, 2009, the New York State Board of Elections revised its official vote totals from the presidential election of November 2008. As compared to the last tally (of March 13, 2009), Barack Obama gained 244 votes; John McCain gained 43 votes; Ralph Nader gained one vote; Bob Barr gained one vote. Thanks to Rhodes Cook for this news.
Virginia elects all 100 members of its State House on November 3, 2009. The petition deadline for independent candidates, and for the nominees of unqualified parties, was June 9. It appears that the Independent Green Party will have about a dozen candidates, and the Libertarian Party will have one, and the Green Party will have one or two, and the Constitution Party will have one. As far as is known, no other minor parties are running any candidates. The exact list of candidates won’t be available from the State Board of Elections until July 1. Candidates file in their home city or county so the State Board still doesn’t know who has filed.
