Bill W. Thorn Sr., b. ca1916
VP candidate for Consumer Party (aka Citizens Party) (1984)
Running mate with nominee: Sonia Johnson (b. 1936)
Popular vote: 21,628 (0.02%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
In their second, and final, national election the Citizens Party selected Sonia Johnson as the standard bearer. Johnson had an inner conflict to reconcile-- she was a devout Mormon but also passionate about the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Naturally as her ERA activism increased and she became critical of the Church she found herself excommunicated. To some she was a heretic, to others a heroine.
Barry Commoner, the 1980 Presidential nominee, endorsed Rev. Jesse Jackson in the Democratic primaries, a move that many felt took the wind out of the sails of this new third party. Another major hurdle for the 1984 campaign was that the Party was still paying off the debt from the 1980 effort.
There were three running-mates for Johnson in 1984. Richard Walton was the official VP nominee on the ballot or certified write-in in 21 states. In California Johnson had won the primary for the Peace and Freedom Party (which included defeating Dennis Serrette of the New Alliance Party and Gavrielle Holmes of the Workers World Party) and her running-mate there was Emma Wong Mar. In Pennsylvania under the banner of the Consumer Party her VP was Bill Thorn.
Thorn included a brief autobiographical statement in a newspaper profile: "For 40 years I have been leading fights in my community for civil rights, jobs, housing, rent control, and lower utility bills. I've testified before congressional committees, sued in courts, and walked picket lines seeking justice and the right to a decent life for all people."
In addition to the Peace and Freedom Party and the Consumer Party there was another major player. The Socialist Party of the United States of America decided not run a ticket in 1984 and endorsed the Citizens Party.
There was a bit of excitement in the press in Pennsylvania concerning a switch in political allegiances. Dorothy Muns Blancato, an interior decorator and Jazz pianist from Vanport, Penn. was selected as the VP for the New Alliance Party and planned to be listed in three states: Alabama, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Although news reports indicate she was originally intended to be a stand-in candidate, in August 1984 she withdrew from the ticket without informing NAP Presidential candidate Dennis Serrette first and instead endorsed Sonia Johnson of the Citizens Party. Part of the result of this complicated episode was that Serrette failed to find a place on the Pennsylvania ballot.
Although the Citizens Party had a generally progressive platform and was comprised of the largest confederation of Leftist parties in 1984, Johnson's campaign understandably made feminist issues the central focus.
The popular vote was almost evenly split three ways among the VPs. Nationally the Party grossed 72,161 votes (0.08%), a considerable decline from their 1980 performance. Interesting that 2/3 of the result came from California and Pennsylvania where they ran under the names of their host parties.
The Johnson/Thorn ticket placed 3rd in Pennsylvania with 0.45%, one of only two states (the other being Louisiana) where Johnson ran ahead of all the other third parties. It was also the state where Johnson received her second highest percentage.
The Citizens Party evaporated shortly after the election. Or did it? In hindsight we see they served as a forerunner of today's Green Party, America's 4th largest political party. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania-based Consumer Party limped along for another Presidential election cycle.
Election history:
1982 - Pennsylvania State House of Representatives (Consumer Party) - defeated
1983 - Philadelphia City Council (Consumer Party) - defeated
1986 - Governor of Pennsylvania (Consumer Party) - withdrew
Other occupations: welder, welding instructor, tenants rights activist, founder of Montrose Civic Association,
Buried: ?
Notes:
Withdrew from the 1986 race for Governor of Pennsylvania after suffering a stroke.
Possibly the same as Willie W. Thorn 1916-1993 but I cannot make the connection.
