11 July 2014
By Mari P-A
The Red Vine
"This paper, much like the Weekly Worker, spends a lot of time
discussing, criticizing and reporting on the left. It is important that
organizations on the left engage in active discussions and debates to
reach a common ground that leads us one step closer to unity. On that
note, I interviewed Mimi Soltysik, the Socialist Party USA candidate for
California State Assembly District 62 (including South Los Angeles and
stretching to the Pacific) on behalf of The Red Vine:
What made you decide to run?
A few years ago, when we were organizing the Socialist Party Los
Angeles Local, we set as a goal the possibility of supporting a local
electoral campaign within two years. Two years later (2013), we
discussed the idea again as a group, took a survey of our capacity to
approach something like this, voted on the idea and decided to give it a
shot. The approach was, while I would file the petitions and it would
be my name on the ballot, we really wanted to use the campaign as a way
for the members of the L.A. and Ventura Locals to engage in a dialogue
with the community using a vehicle that had some built-in familiarity,
to learn more about what our neighbors are facing, and to have an
extended opportunity to listen.
We knew we were going to run an explicitly socialist campaign that
pulled no punches, and thought that engaging the folks in the 62nd
District with an electoral campaign might be a good way to begin this
process. We had comparatively little in the way of financial resources,
and we were fully aware of who and what we’d be facing as challengers,
but we have a lot of hustle and determination. I’d be lying if I said I
wasn’t a bit surprised about the final tally of votes. We were really
pleased...."
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