The Third Way
Tired of the Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum of the two-party system? Sorry, the third-party options in New Mexico for 2006 are slim.
By Jeff Berg
I clearly remember the first time I voted. It was in the 1972 presidential election, and I was just 21. For quite some time, I had maintained an active curiosity about the political system of this country. I recall visiting the local headquarters of both main political parties in the small town where I was born and reared, before leaving for the wild, wild, West less than a year after the disturbing 1972 election.
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Christina Vahlsing is running a
quixotic write-in campaign for governor. |
As a kid, it was cool to obtain different campaign buttons, stickers and whatever else we could haul away off the tables of candidates' giveaways. If I remember correctly, the Republican Party was much more popular at that time in my hometown of Barrington, Ill., than the Democrats, something that has now changed.
I remember Illinois politics as being a juggernaut of corruption when I was a youth. One-time Gov. Otto Kerner, Jr., was indicted and imprisoned for bribery and other charges. Another political pirate, one of the first candidates I recall actually liking, was another Illinois governor, Dan Walker. One of Walker's campaign slogans dealt with the issue of abandoned cars. It went something like this: Stern voice says, "Abandoned cars— rats breed in them, children play in them." Walker walked the length of the state, quite a hike to say the least, and was a "maverick" Democrat, opposing the so-called "machine" of Richard Daley, the mayor of Chicago for many years. After leaving office, Walker got in some hot water and then plopped in prison for his part of the savings and loan scandal.
Another scoundrel was the one-time secretary of state, Paul Powell, who died in office in 1970 after narrowly averting prison himself for corruption charges. The jury had erred big time, as Powell had squirreled away $800,000 that was found in shoe boxes in a Springfield, Illinois, hotel room after his death, thus proving you can't take it with you.
In the late 1960s, my father, the poster boy for intolerance, was a supporter of American Independent Party presidential candidate George Wallace, who turned a few heads with his startling popularity in the 1968 election. In my high school political science class, I remember being one of two students who would even dare to utter Wallace's name; the other was Tom Cox, a young man of southern breeding.
That was also the year comedian Pat Paulsen made a humorous attempt at running for president. Perhaps Paulsen had the right idea, and would have made a great leader of the free world.
Wallace's candidacy—and perhaps Paulsen's—piqued my interest in politics in a different way. Always looking for alternatives to the mainstream, I took notice of smaller or so-called "third" political parties. Since 1976, in presidential elections, I have found myself able to vote for only two candidates of the two major parties and that was only after serious soul-searching and deliberation. There have been Green candidates, Socialist candidates, and Lenora Fulani, who at one time was the presidential candidate for the New Alliance Party, which sounded great on paper, but her later activities make me roll my eyes when I think of the vote cast in that election!
By far, my favorite vote was cast for Barry Commoner, a professor, author and "eco-socialist" who ran in 1980 under the Citizen's Party banner. Commoner's campaign coined my (still) favorite political slogan, "It's all bullshit."
Which of course remains true to this day.
New Mexico politics under the two-party system has always been a cauldron of scandal and slime, up to and including today. How many current politicians are under indictment in this state? Patronage and patrones are a way of life in New Mexico, a fact that is acknowledged, snickered and shrugged at, but never altered. Dona Ana County politics are likewise rife with questionable behavior, and always have been. Not an election goes by without charges of vote fraud. No wonder, as I received no fewer than five voter registration cards in the mail this summer.
Despite the bleak performance of the two major parties, historically, third-party candidates in New Mexico have not fared well. In the upcoming statewide November general election, no third-party candidates have qualified for the ballot for governor, US Senate or US House, although David Bacon is running for the Public Regulation Commission, District Four, on the Green Party slate (www.davidbacon2006.org). Apparently, however, three candidates with either no party affiliation or a third-party affiliation will try to get votes as write-in candidates. They include C. Dean Burk, who might actually be a Democrat, who is running for Congress against Al Kissling(D) and Rep. Steve Pearce(R); Orlin Gentry Cole, who has dropped the gauntlet for US Senate versus Sen. Jeff Bingaman(D) and Allen McCulloch(R); and the no-party candidate for governor, Christina Vahlsing, against Gov. Bill Richardson(D) and John Dendahl(R).
Vahlsing's campaign, which is based in Albuquerque, shares this information on her Web site (vahlsingforgovernor.com), on a page not far from her photo page, where she has posted her driver's license picture to "drive home a point":
"This is a 'GUARANTEE PROMISE' if I win the job of Governor of the State of New Mexico; I will open all New Mexico's books and do a full investigation of all New Mexico's expenditures to the Penny and gradually phase-out property tax which could be accomplished in four years; And let's publish our States daily incoming capital and outgoing expenditures on the internet for us all to scrutinize the spectacle $,$$$,$$$,$$$,$$$,$$$,$$$.00s of tall tales! It should enlighten us! Government business is not to be in business for themselves; but to function as a charity and to provide aid and comfort to its citizens by the authority of its citizens. Let's overhaul everything!"
She has my vote! Well, maybe. . .
The only information about Congressional candidate-wannabe C. Dean Burk is that he is apparently a resident of Deming, but his only contact information is a post office box address.
Senatorial hopeful Orlin Gentry Cole, however, has been a past candidate, running as a write-in for various offices for 32 years. Once a Democrat, he apparently switched to the other side in 2004, claiming in an article in the UNM Daily Lobo student newspaper that the Democrats really didn't stand for anything. Now nearing 80, Cole is "back" on the campaign trail, after mustering 194 votes in 2004, nearly trebling his 1998 tally of 78, but far below his record of an area-code ironic 505.
New Mexico is one of the few states in the Southwest that is not awash in third-party candidates for this election, however. The other "four-corner" states, Arizona, Colorado and Utah, can boast would-be lawmakers affiliated with the Green, Libertarian, Reform and Prohibition Parties. Even Texas has a bevy of entrants from the Socialist Workers Party, some Libertarians, a lone Constitution Party candidate and others listed as plain old independents or write-ins, plus not one but two serious independent candidates for governor (if Kinky Friedman can ever be called "serious").
One of the reasons for New Mexico's comparative paucity of parties might be because it is so difficult in this state to even get a new party on the ballot. Last month, a federal judge rejected a challenge by the Libertarian Party to New Mexico's ballot law. As the Libertarians' Web site explained the party's case: "New Mexico is the only state that requires a new party to submit one petition to qualify itself, and then completely separate petitions for each of that party's nominees (who would have been nominated by convention). A new party that wanted to run a full slate of candidates for all partisan offices (in NM) would need approximately 250,000 valid signatures." Barring a successful appeal, the upholding of New Mexico's two-petition ballot access requirements means that Libertarian candidates for US senate, state treasurer, land commissioner and Bernalillo County sheriff won't be on the ballot.
As defined by the secretary of state's office, a "new" party and/or independent candidate would have to follow the guidelines below:
"Number of signatures needed to qualify as a political party: To qualify as a political party in New Mexico each political party shall file rules, regulations and a petition containing the hand-printed names, signatures, addresses of residence and counties of residence of at least one-half of one percent of the total votes cast for the office of governor or president at the preceding general election. (1-7-2 NMSA 1978)
"Number of signatures needed by a minor party candidate: Nominating petitions for minor party candidates shall be signed by a number of voters totaling not less than one percent (1%) of the total number of votes cast for governor or president of the United States at the last preceding general election in the state, district, division or county, as the case may be. (1-8-2 and 1-8-3 NMSA 1978)
"INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE PROVISIONS
"Number of signatures needed by an independent party candidate: Nominating petitions for independent candidates shall be signed by a number of voters equal to at least three percent of the total number of votes cast for governor at the last preceding general election in the state, district, division or county, as the case may be. (1-8- 51 NMSA 1978)"
So, if I am reading this correctly, if I were to start the Throw the Rascals Out Party, I would have needed 3,782 signatures, and then an additional 4,842 to run for a major office such as US Senator or guv'nor. As an independent, it would have meant 14,527 signatures.
A formidable task, indeed.
In Utah, on the other hand, the Green Party, although there are two factions of it, was able to field several candidates, including an acquaintance of mine, whom I have worked with on environmental issues.
Bob Brister, a recent employee of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, gave up his lucrative position in that organization, along with his nickname, "Slideshow Bob," to run for US Congress in Utah's Second District (www.bristerforcongress.org).
Brister, a long-time activist for social and environmental causes, gained his nickname as he traveled around the country for several years, as the organization's outreach coordinator, presenting slideshows and forums to drum up grassroots support for the preservation of Utah wilderness (www.suwa.org). He surprised his colleagues when he announced his candidacy last spring, and filed this report while on the road to Hurricane (pronounced "Hurra-cun" by the locals), Utah, to actually partake in a debate (one of several) with fellow candidates, Democrat incumbent Jim Matheson and Republican LaVar (LaVar? Who'd vote for someone named LaVar?) Christensen.
Herewith a brief transcript of my interview with the candidate:
Jeff Berg: "What were the factors that ultimately helped you decide to run?"
Bob Brister: "The factors that influenced my decision to run were: I believe voters should have an opportunity to vote for a candidate against the war in Iraq. I believe it would be a travesty of democracy if voters did not have the choice of a Congressional candidate committed to bring the troops home. My candidacy provides that choice."
JB: "What effect do you think non-mainstream parties have on elections besides being 'spoilers' on occasion?"
BB:"The Democratic Party has failed to serve the role of an opposition party. My campaign is intended to help build the Green Party as a real opposition party. Because of his abysmal voting record, (incumbent) Jim Matheson should be removed from office. Specifically, his votes for the war in Iraq, his vote for the (Congressman Richard) Pombo (R-California) bill to gut the Endangered Species Act, his vote for the Central American Free Trade Act, and his votes for the Federal Marriage Amendment were beyond the pale. My candidacy may earn enough votes to cause Matheson to lose the election.
"I think the 'spoiler' effect is good and constructive in the movement for pro-democracy reforms. The Democrats and Republicans have no incentive to implement pro-democracy reforms such as IRV (instant run-off voting) and proportional representation unless new parties influence the outcome of elections. These reforms would allow new parties to have a voice without the so-called 'spoiler' effect. I suspect that the Democrats and Republicans will have to lose a few elections before seeing the benefits of pro-democratic reforms.
"New parties bring issues to the fore, which the old parties' leadership will not. For example, the Brister for Congress Campaign is calling for:
"Neither the Democratic nor Republican leadership supports this agenda.
JB: Can you share with me how the support for you and the Greens has been so far?
BB: "Excellent. I've visited about 30 service and advocacy organizations to receive issue briefings and introduce my campaign to them. Almost all the people in the organizations with whom I've spoken recognize the inadequacy of Rep. Matheson and the need for a real opposition party.
"We've had campaign booths at festivals and fairs and always have people come up to us and thank us for our campaign. A very few people express opposition to us, usually based on their support for the war. The support expressed for us at the Gay Pride Festival and Parade in Salt Lake City was exceptionally strong. We hold a Honk & Wave for Peace at a busy intersection at least twice a month. The response to our 'US Out of Iraq Now/Bob Brister for Congress' banner and 'Honk for Peace' signs is amazing, including in the town of Price where we were last week.
"Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said, 'Maybe we should support the Green Party candidate and send the message that when we elect a Democrat, we expect them to be a Democrat.' Our candidacy is about building the Green Party as an independent, opposition party, not about influencing the Democratic Party. However, if Democrats realize that they will never get a progressive Democrat in Rep. Matheson's seat as long as he is there, we welcome their votes and their support."
Another paradox to note about third parties is that those that may be more popular, such as the Greens, often receive "help" from the mainstream party that stands to gain from their presence. In the 2000 election, the Republicans were more than happy that Ralph Nader was around to siphon off votes from the Democrats. More recently, a heated congressional race in New York State has seen the Democrats working hard to keep the Green Party candidate off the ballot. Libertarian candidates will often receive best wishes from Democrats, who feel that they will benefit from the votes that might otherwise be cast for a Republican.
Even though it seems, at least to me, that voters and citizens are stuck with a "two-party" system, there is always hope that someone will come up with a method to truly make the political system of New Mexico and the United States accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy. As long as people like Bob Brister are willing to expend the time, energy and resources needed to bring real change to the forefront, then there is always a note of hope.
As a friend who is an ardent reader of Desert Exposure said to me last month, after reading Publisher Fryxell's column about the faux "war" on terrorism, "I think Fryxell should run for president. . . ."
Senior Writer Jeff Berg waits impatiently in Las Cruces
for lobbyists to be outlawed.