Below: Fred Mazelis 2011
Fred Mazelis, May 4, 1941 -
VP candidate for Workers League (1992)
VP candidate for Socialist Equality Party (1996)
Running mate with nominee (1992): Helen Betty Halyard (b. 1950)
Running mate with nominee (1996): Jerome White (b. 1959)
Popular vote (1992): 3,050 (0.00%)
Popular vote (1996): 2,438 (0.00%)
Electoral vote (1992, 1996): 0/538
The campaign (1992):
The previous election in 1988 would be the high point for this party in terms of popular votes. But as any of the activists would tell you in their third national election, it wasn't about getting votes but building a party. But the Michigan-based Trotskyite group was seeming to become self-encapsulated in the same way the Socialist Labor Party had been, and they held a special antipathy for the Socialist Workers Party.
Helen Halyard of Michigan, the VP in the 1984 election, served as the Presidential nominee. Fred Mazelis of New York, who is considered among one of the founding members of the League, was her running-mate. Mazelis started his activity as a Workers League candidate in Michigan in the 1980s.
They did not receive much press coverage, but Halyard did manage to sum up their situation in what we call the "elevator speech": "Rich people have two political parties to represent them-- Democrats and Republicans. The working class is politically disenfranchised. No matter who gets elected, they're not going to help the living standards of working people."
Unlike most of the other political parties on the Left, you would be hard pressed to find any statements from the Workers League during this era regarding civil rights for groups based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. For the Workers League it all apparently came down to the economy, building a labor party, and replacing the capitalistic system.
On the ballot in two states, they finished with 0.05% of the vote in New Jersey (placing 12th out of 13), and 0.03% in Michigan.
The campaign (1996):
The Workers League had morphed into the Socialist Equality Party in 1995 and their first Presidential nominee under the new name was Jerome "Jerry" White. Based in Michigan, this would be the first of White's four runs as the SEP nominee. Mazelis was once again the VP choice.
As usual the media all but ignored the SEP campaign. The platform included: Change the tax code to increase income tax on those earning more than $150,000 a year, create a five-year $500 billion public works program, reduce the work week to 30 hours with no loss in pay, require laid-off workers to collect regular wages until another job can be found.
Even though the SEP ticket was now on the ballot in three states instead of just two, their popular vote continued to decline: Michigan 0.04%, Minnesota and New Jersey 0.02% each. They placed dead last in Minnesota and New Jersey, and in Michigan they ranked 8 out of 9. The 1996 national vote result of 2,438 has not been surpassed to date (April 2020). It appears the SEP did not run a Presidential candidate in 2000.
Election history:
1982 - US House of Representatives (Mich.) (Workers League) - defeated
1984 - US Senate (Mich.) (Workers League) - defeated
1989 - Mayor of New York City (Workers League) - defeated
Other occupations: writer, union activist
Notes:
Winner of the 1984 race was Carl Levin.
Competitors in the 1989 race included David Dinkins (winner), Rudy Giuliani, Lenora Fulani.
Has a BS in Chemistry.
