VP candidate for American Vegetarian Party (aka Vegetarian Party) (1960)
Running mate with nominee: Symon Gould (1894-1963)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/537
The campaign:
He was the founder of the American Vegetarian Party, but in the three previous elections Symon Gould had placed himself in the role of running-mate. In 1960 he finally stepped up to the position of Presidential nominee.
The VP choice was Christopher Gian-Cursio, who has the distinction of being the first hyphenated surnamed running mate in American history. Gian-Cursio was a Miami-based naturopathic practitioner and chiropractor who was a professional associate with the better known Herbert M. Shelton, who had served as the AVP's Presidential nominee in 1956. And, like Shelton, Gian-Cursio had experienced years of finding himself in court under charges of practicing without a license. Shelton himself likened Establishment efforts to haul them into court with that of the Gestapo. Gian-Cursio was sentenced to a year in prison in 1947 when two of his patients died. Shortly after the 1960 election, Gian-Cursio would be convicted of manslaughter in Florida for the 1963 death of a patient and sentenced to five years of incarceration.
Beyond dietary policy the AVP endorsed the protest methods being used at the time by Martin Luther King. Said Gould, "The American Vegetarian Party endorses all forms of protest on the part of Negroes, especially the passive, non-violent kind, and takes special note in endorsing the Gandhian method of protest illustrated by the 'sit down' strike, especially that Mahatma Gandhi subscribed to the vegetarian ethical ideals in his procedures."
After the election Gould told the press he thought the Party polled half a million votes and he personally spent three hundred dollars on the campaign. On Gian-Cursio's role, Gould said, "He did an outstanding job, especially around Miami." I could not find any evidence that Gian-Cursio campaigned at all and his nomination did not seem to be counted as an important milestone or credential in his life by his followers or foes.
Gould's post-election summary included, "The 2-Party system is too limited for this big country. We're big enough to be exposed to all sorts of philosophies. It's a pity that we find it so difficult to have our names listed on Big City voting machines. We must depend on places where the voters mark their ballots or can write in the candidates of their choice."
Since they were not on any ballots and no votes for AVP were recorded it is difficult to ascertain the strength of their poll numbers. But Gould's guess of half a million is probably off by several zeroes.
"We face the future with confidence," Gould concluded, "I'll be 70 in 1964 when we try again." He wouldn't make it.
Election history: none
Other occupations: naturopathic practitioner, chiropractor, author, lecturer
Buried: Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (Rochester, NY)
Notes:
Buried in the same cemetery as Louise Brooks
Purchased Warner Castle in Rochester, NY in 1944 to use as a sanitarium called The Castle of Health.
The building and land became part of a city park in 1951.
Moved from Rochester to New York City in 1952. Living in Miami, Fla. by 1960
Radio comedian Fred Allen appeared as a character witness in a 1947 trial on behalf of Gian-Cursio
It didn't help.
Described by the press in 1947 as "a suave, dark man with a small mustache."