Claudeliah J. Roze, February 18, 1980 -
VP candidate for Unaffiliated (aka Non Affiliated aka Independent aka Becoming One Nation aka Operation Restoration) (2020)
Running mate with nominee: Jade S. Simmons (b. 1977)
Popular vote: 7,092 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Jade Simmons, based in Kingwood, Tex., filed as an Unaffiliated candidate for President with the FEC on Feb. 21, 2020.
Simmons' varied career included being a concert pianist, motivational speaker, author, and Miss Illinois (1999).
Dubbing her campaign "Operation Restoration," Simmons took a centrist leaning Left approach and felt that as an outsider with communication skills she could end the hyper-partisanship that was dominating public discussion of all things political and cultural. She told one reporter, "I feel like what we're watching is the nation, especially culturally, spiritually and racially, being ripped to shreds. So I feel like what we're restoring is our original identity. I look back at the concept of us really being one nation, under God and indivisible."
One press release summarized the platform: "Operation Restoration - The mission of Operation Restoration, the campaign of Jade Simmons, is to 1) to restore the United States of America to its' God-given identity of being a unified nation, that honors God and serves ALL people, 2) to strip away the dysfunctional practices of divisive politics and bring forth a new lane of leadership that prioritizes people over profit, political games, and personal agendas and 3) to give voice to the voiceless and the "muted middle" – those individuals that don't fully agree with the left side or the right side but believe there is a place in the middle where we can honorably meet and find common ground on the issues that matter to our country."
Claudeliah J. Roze was announced as the running-mate on Sept. 20, 2020. Her biography was presented on the campaign website--
Claudeliah J. Roze has an accomplished 20+ year career serving in positions of trust in the aerospace, defense, and intelligence communities. She is a naturally strategic and dynamic team leader who effectively navigates politically-charged environments to create alliances and solutions that benefit those at stake. Roze is regularly consulted by senior and executive leadership within her company on critical matters that affect both the business bottom line and the culture of the organization. Claudeliah is currently the first African-American female Technology Director with a large aerospace and defense company.
She is the daughter of two United States Army Veterans. A father who achieved his high school diploma during his first of 2 Vietnam war deployments and a mother who also served in the United States Army and later became the first of her 12 siblings to graduate with her bachelor’s and master’s degree. A product of a strong military family, Claudeliah is passionate about providing full support to United States service women and men throughout and after their military careers.
In her work, Ms. Roze leads a team of senior engineers and engineering fellows in developing transformational and cutting-edge technologies in the interest of national security. With a focus on strategic investments and timely, coordinated execution, she guides teams in considering customer's current and future needs, evaluating partnerships in the commercial market, and building the company’s capabilities and strengths.
Throughout her 20+ year career, she has supported key defense and intelligence programs, serving in both the customer’s and her company’s best interest. Claudeliah is deeply passionate about building diverse and high-functioning teams that serve people.
As Vice President, Claudeliah will cast a vision for revitalizing the United State's position as the most technologically-advanced nation in the world, developing a hybrid model of manufacturing, services, and financial sectors to create more jobs, economic stability, and regain our independence as a producer and exporter of goods, services, and policy.
An awardee of the Mae Jemison Engineering Scholarship, she graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Claudeliah’s history of professional excellence has earned her national recognition as a Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) Modern Day Technologist in 2019, which recognizes an individual’s commitment to shaping the future of engineering, science, and technology. In addition to highlighting Claudeliah’s accomplished technical career, the prestigious award focused on her passion for developing diverse leaders that will evolve the face of technology.
In her corporate role, she is successfully implementing a business-wide initiative with partnerships from their Women’s Network and their Black Employees Network to increase innovation and develop and mentor a diverse pipeline of senior technologists, scientists, and fellows, highlighting women and people of color.
During a time when our nation is facing an increasingly complex security environment defined by rapid technological change, Claudeliah supports United States readiness by empowering innovation and delivering new capabilities to our Defense & Intelligence forces.
Simmons/Roze finished 11th in the national election, at the top of what I would consider the third tier of third party results, actually outpolling the Socialist Workers Party. They were on the ballot in Oklahoma (0.23%) and Louisiana (0.08%). They were also registered write-ins in over two dozen additional states. In Florida the running-mate was Melissa Nixon.
Since both candidates were residents of Texas, there would have been a potential Constitutional problem in the event of their victory.
Election history: none
Other occupations: engineer, technology director in aerospace and defense industry
Notes:
Roze was listed in the Dallas Business Journal "2019 40 Under 40."
