Charles Oliver Southern, February 20, 1920 (Cincinnati, Ohio) - June 13, 1998 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
VP candidate for Independent (1984)
Running mate with nominee: Thomas M.J. Jones (1908-1994)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Thomas M.J. Jones, a 76-year old retired postal worker from Delhi Township in the Cincinnati region ran for President as an independent write-in.
Jones wanted to cut the defense budget in favor of social programs. He also felt marijuana should be legalized "because people are going to break their necks to raise it and make money, and the government could get a cut of the profits."
The running mate in this campaign was a former co-worker of Jones' named Charles Southern also of Cincinnati, "But I haven't asked him yet. He doesn't know." Southern was most likely the same as the Republican African American political figure who was active in that community. This is complicated by the fact that Charles Southern Jr. (b. 1948) also lived in Cincinnati so apologies if I am confusing father and son.
Jones had realistic expectations about the outcome: "I got a few friends I'll get write-in votes from but I don't expect to win. I know I can't make it because it's a money game. I don't have $20 million to spend on a campaign. I think all that money could be better spent anyway."
Being residents of the same state would have posed a Constitutional complication in the event the Jones/Southern ticket had won.
Election history: none
Other occupations: soldier (WWII), engineer for General Electric, member of the Avondale Community Council, Board of Directors Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, President of the Lincoln-Douglass Republican Club, co-founder Greater Cincinnati Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Notes:
Trained to be a pilot at Tuskegee, Alabama.
Ham radio buff.
Buried in the same cemetery as Samuel Fenton Cary (1814-1900) VP candidate for Greenback Party
1876. Also with Salmon P. Chase, Joseph Hooker, and George Pendleton.
