Thursday, October 22, 2015

Greetings from the Socialist Party USA's Soltysik/Walker Campaign

22 October 2015

A Statement by 2016 SPUSA Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates Mimi Soltysik and Angela Walker


"Love is an action, never simply a feeling.” bell hooks

On Saturday, October 17th in Milwaukee, WI, the delegates of the Socialist Party USA National Convention put their faith in us to represent the organization and its principles as its Presidential candidates. We are humbled with gratitude and will work hard to deserve that trust. It is with great love and fire that we forge ahead in this campaign.

The campaign's focus throughout the upcoming year will not be on the candidates. The campaign's focus will be on you. You are the mother, the father, the student, the worker. You are the community - the community that fights for the breath of dignity as the boot of oppression digs its heel into your throat - and you are the sacred, essential ingredient necessary for liberation. Capitalism and its defenders tremble when contemplating your power. That fear makes us smile, as we are seeing the dawn of a new era of equality, peace, and justice peeking over the horizon. Its light heals our collective wounds. It is the light of socialism....


Read More

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Socialist Party National Ticket Nominated

17 October 2015

By Richard Winger
Ballot Access News

"On October 17, the Socialist Party, meeting in Milwaukee, nominated Mimi Soltysik for President and Angela Walker for Vice-President."

Read More

Socialist Party USA nominates Mimi Soltysik for President, Angela Walker for VP

17 October 2015

By Andy Craig
Independent Political Report

"[T]he Socialist Party USA’s 2016 nominating convention, being held in Milwaukee, has selected Mimi Soltysik for President and Angela Walker for Vice-President.

Soltysik was the campaign manager for the party’s 2012 ticket, and in 2014 ran for California State Assembly. He is also the co-chair of the national party, and editor of The Socialist magazine. Walker is a bus driver and socialist activist in Milwaukee, where she ran last year year for Sheriff with the independent ballot label “Draft Bernie Sanders for President,” winning over 20% as the only opponent of Democratic nominee and incumbent Sheriff David Clarke."

Read More

Friday, October 16, 2015

Socialist Party Presidential Convention Underway

16 October 2015

By Richard Winger
Ballot Access News

The Socialist Party national convention convened today (October 16) in Milwaukee. On Saturday, October 17, the party will chose a national ticket. The frontrunners appear to be Emidio “Mimi” Soltysik for President and Angela Walker for Vice-President.

Read More

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Real Socialists Think Bernie’s a Sellout

13 October 2015

By Patricia Murphy
The Daily Beast

"Although many groups in the country call themselves socialist, only one is a functioning political party, Socialist Party USA, which advocates for publicly owned, democratically operated utilities, manufacturing run by co-ops and a democratized economy. The Socialist Party has no plan to nominate or support Sanders in 2016."....

Read More

Friday, October 9, 2015

Socialist Fights to Get Party Name on Ballot

09 October 2015

By Matt Reynolds
Courthouse News Service

LOS ANGELES (CN) - The ACLU on Thursday challenged the constitutionality of California voting regulations that forced a socialist politician to state on ballots that he is not affiliated with any party.

The ACLU Foundation of Southern California sued the state on behalf of Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik, California State Chair of the Socialist Party USA, and Jennifer McClellan, a member of the party's National Committee. They seek a court order to allow candidates of "non-qualified" parties to state their party preference on ballots in voter-nominated elections."....

Read More

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Two Socialist Party Candidates Sue California to Have Party Label on Ballot

8 October 2015

By Richard Winger
Ballot Access News

On October 8, two Socialist Party candidates for the California legislature filed a federal lawsuit against the California law that forces them to have “party preference: none” on the ballot, if they run for Congress or partisan state office. Soltysik v Padilla, c.d., 2:15cv-7916-AB. They want to have “party preference: Socialist” on the ballot.

Because California no longer has party nominees for Congress or partisan state office, there is no purpose for the party labels shown on California ballots except to give information to the voters about that candidate’s principles. California only permits candidates who are members of qualified parties to have a partisan label on the ballot.

Read More

Elections Laws Illegally Force Some Candidates to Falsely State “No Party Preference”

08 October 2015

ACLU of Southern California
Media contact:
Brendan Hamme, 714.450.3963, bhamme@aclusocal.org


LOS ANGELES – California’s Elections Code discriminates against candidates affiliated with so-called “non-qualified” parties by forcing them to falsely state “Party Preference: None” on the ballot when they clearly prefer a political party, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and pro-bono attorneys charged in a lawsuit filed today.

The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, was brought on behalf of Emidio Soltysik, the National Male Co-Chair and California State Chair of the Socialist Party USA, and Jennifer McClellan, a member of the Party’s National Committee. It seeks an injunction allowing candidates affiliated with non-qualified parties the same right to list their party preference afforded to other candidates.

The code violates candidates’ First Amendment and Equal Protection rights, said Brendan Hamme, an ACLU of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) attorney. “Party affiliation is the single largest factor in how the vast majority of voters vote,” he said. “Yet candidates who associate with non-qualified parties are denied the ability to convey this vital information to voters on the ballot.”....

Read More

Friday, October 2, 2015

Socialist for School Board

2 October 2015

By Jen McClellan
The Socialist

The following is an interview with Pat Noble. Pat Noble is a member of the Red Bank Regional High School Board of Education, is the National Treasurer of the Socialist Party USA, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Socialist Party of New Jersey and the Chair of the Central New Jersey Socialist Party. Folks can follow him on Twitter @socialistpat.


Jen: Tell me a little about the position you’re running unopposed for.

Pat: I am currently running for re-election for a second, three-year term on the Red Bank Regional High School Board of Education. The Board is comprised of nine seats from three constituent districts, with my seat being one of the Red Bank seats. The purpose of a Board of Education is to serve as a policy-making body for the district.

Jen: What challenges do you face being a socialist in office in a two-party system?

Pat: I should start by clarifying that my position is non-partisan, though I am very open about my politics as a democratic socialist and have been endorsed by the Central New Jersey Socialist Party local in my 2012 campaign and subsequent 2015 re-election bid. I think the greatest challenge a socialist can face in electoral politics is that of public misconception. Our beliefs and principles, while radical in their own right as an alternative to capitalism, are also radically different than the beliefs and principles that are falsely associated with us by corporate media and the right-wing Democratic and Republican parties. We are painted as authoritarians that only seek massive government control and centralization, which of course is very far from reality. Since we do not have regular access to media in the same way that the capitalist parties do, our largest challenge is continuing to change the public perception of what socialism actually is. When presented as individual ideas or proposals, socialist positions carry the support of a significant amount of the working class. Our task is to not only put forward socialist ideas to our communities and through our activist work, but to also connect those ideas to a larger need for systematic change.

Read More