Luis Javier Rodriguez, July 9, 1954 (El Paso, Tex.) -
VP candidate for Justice Party (aka Independent aka Independent Party of Connecticut aka Natural Law Party aka Oregon Progressive Party aka New Mexico Independent Party aka Nonaffiliated) (2012)
Running mate with nominee: Ross Carl Anderson (b. 1951)
Popular vote: 43,123 (0.03%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Ross Carl "Rocky" Anderson served as the Mayor of Salt Lake City 2000-2008 and was perhaps one of the most politically liberal politicians to come out of Utah in recent history. A Democrat, he operated to the Left of his party and had the distinction of being one of the few major city mayors to call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. By 2011 he was disappointed with the Democratic Party and was key in forming the Justice Party, using it as a springboard for his run for the Presidency.
In July 2012, Anderson found an "Always Running"-mate in Luis J. Rodriguez.
A resident of California in 2012, Rodriguez had an early history of running with gangs and brief periods of incarceration but also desiring to get pursue an academic education where he developed both political and literary interests. By the time Anderson selected him as his VP, Rodriguez had become a well known poet and activist. I first became aware of him through his book Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. (1993) which was quite popular with the students I worked with in that era. Although not exactly a household name, Rodriguez enjoyed name recognition among the voter base Anderson was trying to reach.
Anderson's platform was encapsulated in his Washington State Voters Pamphlet statement--
Statement: My campaign is about deeply shared values, focused on achieving greater economic, social, and environmental justice for all. Instead of falling in line with the dominant parties that have created a militarist and corporatist government for sale to the highest bidders, we are calling for people to aspire to a government that is genuinely of, by, and for the people.
Peace and prosperity require (1) proven pre-school and secondary educational opportunities so that everyone has a chance to excel; (2) the chance for everyone to obtain a college or technical education without crushing debt, just as our forebears committed to secondary education for all; (3) returning outsourced jobs to the U.S and putting millions of people to work in a WPA-like initiative; (4) equal rights under the law, regardless of race, religion, and sexual orientation; (5) a restorative criminal justice system that focuses on problem-solving, rather than on punishment and retribution (including an end to the disastrous "war on drugs"); (6) a Medicare-for-all system that will provide essential healthcare for everyone, be less expensive, and provide better medical outcomes; and (7) responsible environmental stewardship, including protection of the climate through utilization of clean energy sources.
My foreign policy will promote peace and respect for human rights, not the empire-building wars of aggression supported by both major parties. I will promote long-term U.S. security and build better relationships with other nations by ending the immoral drone killings that have killed hundreds of innocent civilians, the assassinations of U.S. citizens without any semblance of due process, and the claim of authority to indefinitely detain even U.S. citizens without charges, trial, legal assistance, or right of habeas corpus. I will dismantle the imperial presidency and restore a government in harmony with fundamental U.S. values and our Constitution.
Anderson occupied a place on the political spectrum that was too liberal for mainstream Democrats, but too central for some other progressive groups and he found himself frequently competing with the Green Party for voters. In some cases it appeared his experience as an elected executive robbed him of the "outsider" status that often can be an advantage with disaffected voters, plus the Justice Party was not exactly created as the result of a massive grassroots movement.
Anderson was able to partner with some existing political parties and gain ballot access through them such as the Oregon Progressive Party, the Independent Party of Connecticut, the Natural Law Party in Michigan, and the New Mexico Independent Party. In some ways Anderson was able to rely on groups that had supported and organized for Ralph Nader's 2008 campaign. Nader himself fell short of an endorsement, but he "supported" Anderson. Anderson had actually won the Peace and Freedom Party primary in California, but removed himself from consideration before their convention.
Anderson/Rodriguez were on the ballot in 15 states and write-ins in 16 others, placing 7th nationally. Their strongest results were in Utah (0.52%), Idaho and Vermont (0.38% each), Connecticut (0.35%), Oregon (0.19%), Washington (0.16%), New Mexico (0.15%), Michigan and Tennessee (0.11% each), Rhode Island (0.09%), Louisiana and Minnesota (0.07% each), Colorado and New Jersey (0.05% each).
In 2016 the Justice Party endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries.
Election history:
1977 - Los Angeles Unified School Board (Nonpartisan) - defeated
2014 - Governor of California (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
Other occupations: bus driver, truck driver, construction worker, factory worker, welder, poet, novelist, journalist, 2014-2016 Los Angeles Poet Laureate, editor, typesetter, publisher, lecturer, National Committee of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America, teacher, steering committee of the National Poor Peoples Campaign, co-founder of the Network for Revolutionary Change
Notes:
2014 opponents included Jerry Brown (winner) and Cindy Sheehan.
Both parents were Mexican born.
In his 1977 election Rodriguez was identified as being a member of the Communist Labor Party of North America.
