Richard John Walton, May 24, 1928 (Saratoga Springs, NY) – December 27, 2012 (Providence, RI)
VP candidate for Citizens Party (aka Independent aka Citizens Group) (1984)
Running mate with nominee: Sonia Johnson (b. 1936)
Popular vote: 24,236 (0.03%)
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 1984 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.
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.
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. Like many other third party efforts, the Johnson/Walton ticket made more news about legal challenges concerning inclusion in the debates and ballot placement than they did in promoting their issues.
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 ticket with Walton did contain their highest percentage, 0.56% in Louisiana, where they actually placed third. Johnson/Walton's next highest percentages came from Utah 0.13%, North Dakota 0.12%, Arkansas and Vermont 0.11% each, and Washington 0.10%.
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. Walton himself become one of those who was part of forming the Green Party.
Election history: none
Other occupations: US Navy, disc jockey, journalist, author, teacher, union activist, activist for the homeless
Buried: ?
Notes:
Worked for Adlai Stevenson 1952 and 1956, and for George McGovern 1972.
Later joined the Green Party and was a 1996 Rhode Island temporary stand-in for VP nominee
Winona LaDuke.
