CAMEJO, GONZALEZ DEFEND RIGHT OF NADER/CAMEJO TO BE ON BALLOT

CAMEJO, GONZALEZ DEFEND RIGHT OF NADER/CAMEJO TO BE ON BALLOT

Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Vice-presidential Candidate Peter Camejo and San Francisco Supervisor President Matt Gonzalez defended Ralph Nader's right to run for president at a news conference in San Francisco Tuesday, and announced plans to qualify the Nader/Camejo ticket for the California ballot in November.


Camejo said he and Nader will appear at a major rally in San Francisco on July 16 in the Mission High School auditorium to kickoff a statewide signature-gathering effort to attempt to put the independent ticket on the state's November ballot.


More than 500 Green Party leaders signed a statement of support drafted by Camejo, Gonzalez and Jason West, Mayor of New Paltz, NY. Among the signers are Green presidential candidates Carol Miller and Lorna Salzman, former Lt. Governor Candidate Donna Warren, Kevin McKeown, Mayor Pro Tem of Santa Monica, CA and many Green elected officials, party leaders and activists from across the United States. The list of signers is at: http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?glfn.


Camejo, who was the California Green Party candidate for governor in 2002 and 2003, also released statement showing huge support by Green Party leaders in the state and U.S. for the Nader/Camejo campaign.


As Nader's running mate, Camejo addressed criticism leveled at Nader by the media and accused Democrats of interfering with free elections by trying to impede ballot access for the Nader/Camejo ticket.


"It is frustrating to me the lengths the Democrats will go, to attack Nader for wanting to run and express his views," said Gonzalez. Yet they won't put the same energy into trying to reform the two party system that is clearly the culprit in the dilemma that faces Americans.


"The mystery of the 2004 campaign is that tens of millions of Americans oppose the war in Iraq, possibly a majority of Americans oppose the Patriot Act, and yet John Kerry and John Edwards, who are for the Patriot Act and for the war, are about to become the recipient of these tens of millions of people who disagree with them," said Camejo.


"Everyone knows that the majority of registered Democrats oppose the politics of their party's candidates and are closer to the politics of the Nader/Camejo ticket," added Camejo, noting that these voters are not voting for Nader/Camejo because the U.S. does not have run-off elections.


Both Gonzalez and Camejo emphasized that the Democrats along with the Republicans have steadfastly refused to allow run off elections such as IRV (Instant Runoff Voting) that would allow people to be free to vote for the candidate they support, would avoid the so-called spoiler effect, allowing the will of the electorate to be respected.


"If the spoiling of a president election in Florida has not led to the reforming of our electoral process, then one wonders what will," chided Gonzalez. "If this undemocratic solution is the best we can do, then I absolutely reject it, I will not participate in it."


"The Nader/Camejo campaign is telling people to vote for what they believe in," added Camejo. "Kerry could never win the election if he told people to vote for what they believe in because the overwhelming numbers of people who are going to vote for him do not agree with him."


Yet John Kerry and John Edwards, who voted for the Patriot Act and for the war in Iraq, Camejo said, are about to become the recipient of these tens of millions of people who disagree with them.


"The only reason people who oppose the war support Kerry/Nader is that we have an unfair and undemocratic system, dominated by corporate money, and the media has continually failed to tell this part of the story," said Camejo.


Gonzalez pointed out that the attacks on Nader/Camejo for running for office are really problematic. "They are running for public office in the U.S. because the actually hold views that are different from the two other major party candidates, yet they are being villainized for doing so," said Gonzalez.


"I want to remind people the facts are overwhelming," Gonzalez said. "At least 7 million Democrats voted for Bush in the 2000 election."


Instead of attacking the Nader/Camejo campaign, Gonzalez said, voters should focus on changing a system that is dominated by only two political parties.


For more information, email Forrest Hill at Forrest [at] votenader.org.