Arlin Dee Troutt Jr., January 15, 1950 (Tennessee) -
VP candidate for Grassroots Party (1996)
Running mate with nominee: Dennis Robert Peron (1945-2018)
Popular vote: 5,378 (0.01%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
The Grassroots Party was formed in 1986 to promote the legalization of marijuana and had already run candidates for President in two election cycles. In May 1996 the Party nominated Dennis Peron of California for President and Arlin Troutt of Arizona for VP in a teleconference. Both gentlemen had already entered the status of legal martyrs to the cause by this time.
Dennis Peron was a Vietnam War vet who settled in San Francisco and became an activist for Gay rights and medicinal marijuana. The loss of his partner to AIDS in 1990 added a sense of urgency to his efforts and he worked to change government policy via public referendum. He was one of the co-authors of California Proposition 215 which was also on the ballot in 1996. This was one of the early successful steps in decriminalizing the substance and starting the whole debate and problems of practical application of state law vs. federal law regarding cannabis that continues to this day. Less than a month before the election, the State of California arrested Peron on a variety of marijuana-related charges. It was not his first brush in court with the authorities.
Arlin Troutt's case was more severe. The colorful singer musician who was once associated with Willie Nelson had started a hempwear clothing line in Arizona called U.S. Hemp and had even received letters of thanks from Bill Clinton and Al Gore when he sent them samples of his product. But in 1993 Troutt found himself accused by the federal prosecutors of conspiracy to transport and sell massive amounts of marijuana. It took a couple years for authorities to catch up to him as he made himself scarce.
When they did catch him in early 1995, he was held without bail. At his trial in Minneapolis he was given eight years in prison. Troutt made a political speech right before he was sentenced, concluding with, "Our system of justice has been compromised and tainted by economic profit and the promise of political advancement provided by the drug war. Fear and ignorance guided by greed and blind ambition created the prohibition of hemp. I am morally and intellectually compelled to resist these forces. When the American people find out what hemp is and why it's really illegal may they deal with this government as harshly as it has dealt with me." His statement was met with prolonged applause from supporters who were present, but some felt the judge gave Troutt an extra year or more simply because of this rallying incident.
As an incarcerated candidate during an election season Troutt found his fellow prisoners to be less than interested in government affairs: "I'm trying to campaign, believe me, I'm trying. I'm talking to everybody I can. But the thing is, most of the people in here are younger than me. They don't seem to be, ummmmm, politically oriented. I talk to them and they say, 'What do you mean register to vote?' And then they go back to watching 'Baywatch.'"
In 1996 the Grassroots Party decided to broaden their platform to include, according to the St. Cloud Times, "legalized prostitution, removal of all gun restrictions and a lower legal age for consensual sex." So a number of members who felt the original focus was being obscured walked out and formed the Independent Grassroots Party, making an effort to stay with the original mission.
The Peron/Troutt ticket appeared on the ballot in two states and the popular vote result was Minnesota 0.22% where they placed 6th out of 11, and Vermont 0.19% where they finished 7 out of 10. Although they did not have a huge impact in the Presidential contest, the passage of California Proposition 215 would be a very historic change.
Election history: none
Other occupations: singer, musician, artist, clothier, Peace Corps, magician's assistant, restaurant owner, cockfighting promoter
Notes:
Troutt has written about being left-handed in a right-handed world, and I know what he means.
Also uses the name Ulysses Samuel Hemp.
Served some prison time on a drug-related charge in the 1970s.
