B. Kwaku Duren

B. Kwaku Duren, April 14, 1943 (Beckley, W. Va.) -

VP candidate for Independent (aka New Alliance Party) (1988)

Running mate with nominee: Lenora Fulani (b. 1950)
Popular vote: 31,180 (0.03%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In 1988 Lenora Fulani was the nominee for the New Alliance Party. She managed to achieve the nearly impossible task of gaining ballot status in all 50 states + DC. In some cases the NAP worked with already existing third parties such as the Solidarity Party and United Citizens Party. In California they tried but failed to take over the Peace and Freedom Party and in the process temporarily derailed the PFP for that election year.

In the 1988 election the Peace and Freedom Party seemed to be in a bit of disarray as it tried to fend off a takeover attempt by the New Alliance Party. The PFP appeared to have been seriously split and a third of the delegates walked out of the convention in Oakland. This was a rare election where the PFP did not appear on the Presidential ballot in California. NAP leader Lenora Fulani and Internationalist Workers Party figure Herb Lewin both claimed the nomination but when they filed with the California Secretary of State the election officials refused to recognize either one as the legitimate Presidential selection.

Lewin claimed victory but Fulani said she was nominated at a "parallel convention" in a nearby hotel.

It seems the PFP party officials made the request not to list either one on the ballot. Party chair and 1980 presidential nominee Maureen Smith told the press the nomination process "never got off on a legal start" since so many delegates were not credentialed. There had been talk of officially making Eugene McCarthy the PFP choice and it seems some negotiating did take place but consensus was never attained.

Meanwhile, Dennis L. Serrette the New Alliance Party Presidential nominee for 1984, denounced the NAP as a toxic cult during the 1988 election season. This point of view would be shared by several in the cultbusting community.

Fulani had eight running-mates in 1988, stating "If we got elected, we'd figure it out." Her VP who was on the California ballot only was B. Kwaku Duren, one of the few 1988 Fulani ticket-sharers who had already established a prior public political identity independent of the NAP.

In the 1970s Duren was an ex-convict who was already on the path of seeking social change through community action when his sister was shot and killed by a California State Highway Patrol officer during what should have been a normal traffic stop. This seemed to sharpen his resolve as he joined the Black Panther Party and earned a degree in law. Always a controversial figure, Duren was making a second try for a seat in the US House as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party at the same time he was running for Vice-President with the New Alliance Party.

In 1987 Fulani said the NAP was prepared to endorse Jesse Jackson in the event he won the Democratic nomination, but in case he didn't her campaign was forging ahead.

The NAP platform included national health care, support for AIDS victims, recognition of Native American treaty rights, stronger environmental regulations, a freeze on military spending, ending aid to South Africa-Contras in Central America-Israel, support of pro-choice laws, support of public transportation.

Nationally Fulani gained 217,221 votes (0.24%) and placed 4th, a truly impressive and historic finish on many levels-- for openers, Fulani was the first African American woman to be listed on every US ballot. The Fulani/Duren ticket received 0.32% of the popular vote in California, so it was better than Fulani's national average.

Election history:
1986 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1988 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1990 - California Insurance Commissioner (Peace and Freedom Party) - primary - defeated
1992 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
2013 - Mayor of Compton, Calif. (Nonpartisan) - primary - defeated

Other occupations: attorney, author, teacher, co-chair of the Coalition Against Police Abuse, Coordinator of the Southern California Chapter of the Black Panther Party, President of the Union of Legal Services Workers of Los Angeles, Executive Director of Community Services Unlimited, founding member and chairman of the New African American Vanguard Movement

Notes:
Winner of the 1986 and 1988 races was Merv Dymally.
One of his fellow candidates in the 2013 race was Rodney Allen Rippy.
Birth name: Robert Donaldson Duren.

Maureen Smith

Maureen Smith, b. ca1942

VP candidate for Independent (1988)

Running mate with nominee: Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005)
Popular vote: 234 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The Pennsylvania-based Consumer Party had been around since the late 1960s as a statewide organization. In 1984 they endorsed the Citizens Party but in 1988 they were ready to try a national run with a goal of obtaining ballot status in over half the states. It didn't work out that way.

In 1988 they approached Eugene McCarthy, now 72, and asked him to be their standard bearer. It isn't clear if there was truly an official running-mate (McCarthy always had disdain for the office of Vice-President anyway and felt it should be eliminated), but it would appear Harlem legendary consumer advocate Florence M. Rice was the closest to being the choice of the Consumer Party.

The former liberal icon had changed quite a bit since his independent 1976 run for President. In 1980 he endorsed Ronald Reagan and later had some kind of financial connection with Right-wing cult leader Sun Myung Moon and his Unification Church.  

It was clear McCarthy viewed the nomination as an opportunity rather than a cause. He voiced a hope of broadening the campaign and going beyond Consumer Party in an interview with the Chicago Tribune: "I'd just as soon have a new name. It's like the Know-Nothings and the Barn Burners. I'm hopeful some other groups will come in. We've had some calls from the National Unity people-they're a sort of a (John) Anderson organization. And maybe some independent parties from around the country. I don't know about the Socialists and Vegetarians. The Peace and Freedom people might come in. I don't think they have a candidate. They're a pretty wild bunch."

In the 1988 election the Peace and Freedom Party "wild bunch" seemed to be in a bit of disarray as it tried to fend off a takeover attempt by the New Alliance Party. The PFP appeared to have been seriously split and a third of the delegates walked out of the convention in Oakland. This was a rare election where the PFP did not appear on the Presidential ballot in California. NAP leader Lenora Fulani and Internationalist Workers Party figure Herb Lewin both claimed the nomination but when they filed with the California Secretary of State the election officials refused to recognize either one as the legitimate Presidential selection.

Lewin claimed victory but Fulani said she was nominated at a "parallel convention" in a nearby hotel.

It seems the PFP party officials made the request not to list either one on the ballot. Party chair and 1980 presidential nominee Maureen Smith told the press the nomination process "never got off on a legal start" since so many delegates were not credentialed. There had been talk of officially making McCarthy the PFP choice and it seems some negotiating did take place but consensus was never attained.

Old time Trotskyite and retired machinist Herb Lewin of Pennsylvania acted as if he was the PFP nominee anyway. However in California there was no PFP candidate on the ballot. McCarthy had sort of a backhanded endorsement when PFP Chair Maureen Smith became his running-mate in the Golden State. Unfortunately for them, they had to settle for being certified write-ins.

McCarthy proposed shortening the work week, curtailing or eliminating the FEC, raising tariffs, and creating a national sales tax on "wasteful, socially undesirable consumption, not just of cigarettes and liquor, but also of oversized, overpowered and overfueled automobiles." 

McCarthy's quotes from the campaign:

There is no real choice between Democrats and Republicans. If any new direction is to come, it must come through an independent party, the Consumer Party, and I have willingly offered myself to lead it.

I don't expect to lose. Sure I've lost before, but I didn't feel I wasted my time, and I expect to have a significant impact.

There are two kinds of people who don't make good presidents-- vice presidents and governors.

We are being controlled, and conditioned, over-advertised, dominated by corporate power, by the media. You watch the evening news, where you are supposed to be getting your information. They give you 35 seconds of news and then they give you relief for hemmorhoids. We spend more on advertising than we do on education.

Responsible political participants should challenge absolutely the concepts and historical judgments now used to justify militancy and the arms buildup.

The perception that American politics should be conducted within the framework of only two parties is a misconception. It's against what the Founding Fathers intended.

When the media did cover McCarthy, which was not often, they spent most of their time treating him as the new Harold Stassen and a relic as they used more ink on his history than on his current platform. Many editorialists were not kind.

McCarthy was on the ballot in four states and a certified write-in for Arizona (apparently no VP with him there) and California. In total he had three running-mates and nationally earned 30,905 votes, placing sixth. The McCarthy/Smith ticket earned 234 write-in votes in California.

Election history:
1980 - US President (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1986 - Treasurer of California (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1992 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated

Other occupations: Peace and Freedom Party chair, clerical worker, Santa Clara County Transportation Agency

Notes:
Winner of the 1992 race was Leon Panetta.

Victoria Ann Murdock

Victoria Ann Murdock, August 30, 1948 -

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (aka Internationalist Workers Party) (1988)

Running mate with nominee: Herbert G. Lewin (1914-2010)
Popular vote: 10,148 (0.01%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

1988 was Herbert Lewin's second Presidential run.

In the 1988 election the Peace and Freedom Party seemed to be in a bit of disarray as it tried to fend off a takeover attempt by the New Alliance Party. The PFP appeared to have been seriously split and a third of the delegates walked out of the convention in Oakland. This was a rare election where the PFP did not appear on the Presidential ballot in California. NAP leader Lenora Fulani and Internationalist Workers Party figure Herb Lewin both claimed the nomination but when they filed with the California Secretary of State the election officials refused to recognize either one as the legitimate Presidential selection.

Lewin claimed victory but Fulani said she was nominated at a "parallel convention" in a nearby hotel.

It seems the PFP party officials made the request not to list either one on the ballot. Party chair and 1980 presidential nominee Maureen Smith told the press the nomination process "never got off on a legal start" since so many delegates were not credentialed.

Old time Trotskyite and retired machinist Herb Lewin of Pennsylvania acted as if he was the PFP nominee anyway. Lewin had lost the Liberty Union Party primary in Vermont, and also the non-binding California primary for the Peace and Freedom Party. He had a history with the Socialist Workers Party but by 1984 had been selected by the ultra-obscure Internationalist Workers Party to be their first President candidate. Their method was to work within existing Leftist political parties.

During the campaign Lewin criticized the New Alliance and Workers World parties for being too cozy with the Democrats.

He was on the ballot in three states as the PFP Presidential candidate: New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Also as a registered write-in in California. Vikki Murdock was his running-mate the first two states, Emma Wong Mar the VP in Vermont and California. It isn't clear between Murdock or Mar who was serving as the official nominee and who was the stand-in, or indeed if that situation even existed. Both VPs were based in California. Some news reports did vaguely indicate Mar was the actual Party selection. She described herself to the media as "an independent Socialist."

Murdock was also running for US Congress in California's 32nd District as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party in 1988 where she earned 2.35% of the vote.

Nationally Lewin earned 10,367 popular votes (0.01%) mostly from New Jersey. The Lewin/Murdock ticket received 0.32% of the vote in New Jersey actually placing third [!] and 0.05 in Rhode Island.

Election history:
1986 - California Assembly (Pace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1988 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1990 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - primary - defeated

Other occupations: anthropology student, temporary postal clerk,

Notes:
Raised in Long Beach, attended Paramount High School and California State University-Long Beach.

Emma Wong Mar

Emma Wong Mar, September 7, 1926 (New York, NY) – September 16, 2015 (Oakland, Calif.)

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (aka Citizens Party) (1984)
VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (aka Internationalist Workers Party) (1988)

Running mate with nominee (1984): Sonia Johnson (b. 1936)
Running mate with nominee (1988): Herbert G. Lewin (1914-2010)
Popular vote (1984): 26,297 (0.03%)
Popular vote (1988) : 219 (0.00%)
Electoral vote (1984, 1988): 0/538

The campaign (1984):

In their second, and final, national election the Citizens Party selected Sonia Johnson as the standard bearer. Johnson had an inner conflict to reconcile-- she was a devout Mormon but also passionate about the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Naturally as her ERA activism increased and she became critical of the Church she found herself excommunicated. To some she was a heretic, to others a heroine.

Barry Commoner, the 1980 Presidential nominee, endorsed Rev. Jesse Jackson in the Democratic primaries, a move that many felt took the wind out of the sails of this new third party. Another major hurdle for the 1984 campaign was that the Party was still paying off the debt from the 1980 effort.

There were three running-mates for Johnson in 1984. Richard Walton was the official VP nominee on the ballot or certified write-in in 21 states. In California Johnson had won the primary for the Peace and Freedom Party (which included defeating Dennis Serrette of the New Alliance Party and Gavrielle Holmes of the Workers World Party) and her running-mate there was Emma Wong Mar. In Pennsylvania under the banner of the Consumer Party her VP was Bill Thorn.

Mar has the distinction of being the first Asian American VP on a Presidential ticket.

In addition to the Peace and Freedom Party and the Consumer Party there was another major player. The Socialist Party of the United States of America decided not run a ticket in 1984 and endorsed the Citizens Party.

Although the Citizens Party had a generally progressive platform and was comprised of the largest confederation of Leftist parties in 1984, Johnson's campaign understandably made feminist issues the central focus.

The popular vote was almost evenly split three ways among the VPs. Nationally the Party grossed 72,161 votes (0.08%), a considerable decline from their 1980 performance. Interesting that 2/3 of the result came from California and Pennsylvania where they ran under the names of their host parties.

The Johnson/Mar ticket placed 5th in California with 0.28%, but it was Johnson's highest popular vote (26,297) of any single state and the third largest percentage.

The Citizens Party evaporated shortly after the election. Or did it? In hindsight we see they served as a forerunner of today's Green Party, America's 4th largest political party.

The campaign (1988):

In the 1988 election the Peace and Freedom Party appeared to be in a bit of disarray as it tried to fend off a takeover attempt by the New Alliance Party. The PFP appeared to have been seriously split and a third of the delegates walked out of the convention in Oakland. This was a rare election where the PFP did not appear on the Presidential ballot in California. NAP leader Lenora Fulani and Internationalist Workers Party figure Herb Lewin both claimed the nomination but when they filed with the California Secretary of State the election officials refused to recognize either one as the legitimate Presidential selection.

Lewin claimed victory but Fulani said she was nominated at a "parallel convention" in a nearby hotel.

It seems the PFP party officials made the request not to list either one on the ballot. Party chair and 1980 presidential nominee Maureen Smith told the press the nomination process "never got off on a legal start" since so many delegates were not credentialed.

Old time Trotskyite and retired machinist Herb Lewin of Pennsylvania acted as if he was the PFP nominee anyway. Lewin had lost the Liberty Union Party primary in Vermont, and also the non-binding California primary for the Peace and Freedom Party. He had a history with the Socialist Workers Party but by 1984 had been selected by the ultra-obscure Internationalist Workers Party to be their first President candidate. Their method was to work within existing Leftist political parties.

During the campaign Lewin criticized the New Alliance and Workers World parties for being too cozy with the Democrats.

He was on the ballot in three states as the PFP Presidential candidate: New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Also as a registered write-in in California. Vikki Murdock was his running-mate the first two states, Mar the VP in Vermont and California. It isn't clear between Murdock or Mar who was serving as the official nominee and who was the stand-in, or indeed if that situation even existed. Some news reports did vaguely indicate Mar was the actual Party selection. She described herself to the media as "an independent Socialist."

Nationally Lewin earned 10,367 popular votes (0.01%) mostly from New Jersey. The Lewin/Mar ticket received 58 write-in votes in California and 219 votes (0.07%) on the ballot in Vermont.

Election history:
1982 - California State Assembly (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1986 - California State Assembly (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1990 - Lt. Governor of California (Peace and Freedom Party) - primary - defeated
1992 - California State Assembly (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1994 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated

Other occupations: medical technologist, Planned Parenthood,  State Chair of the Peace and Freedom Party, union activist

Buried: ?

Notes:
Winner in the 1994 race was Ron Dellums.

Elizabeth Cervantes Barron

Elizabeth Cervantes Barron, March 14, 1938 (Los Angeles, Calif.) -

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1980)

Running mate with nominee: Maureen Smith (b. ca1942)
Popular vote: 18,116 (0.02%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In 1968, 1972, and 1976 the Peace and Freedom Party had been an entity with national electoral ambitions and joined political confederations to form umbrella groups. By 1980 in the face of  the rising wave of conservatism, the Party retrenched and settled on making California their focus.

The nonbinding PFP California primary election drew an ecumenical list of Leftists. The winner was Dr. Benjamin Spock (Presidential nominee of the PFP-backed People's Party in 1972) and the runners-up were Gus Hall (Communist Party USA Presidential nominee 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984), David McReynolds (Socialist Party USA Presidential nominee 1980, 2000), and Deidre Griswold (Workers World Presidential nominee 1980). At the following convention, in which Spock was absent, the LA Times reported  "after considerable bickering, party delegates turned to Maureen Smith as a 'unity candidate.'"

Her running-mate was Elizabeth Cervantes Barron, a teacher who had run for other offices and successfully racked up enough percentage points in votes in the 1970s to have the PFP qualify for the ballot in 1980.

Smith, a clerical worker from Santa Cruz County told the press she expected the campaign would be working with a budget of only $1000.

"By voting for us, we'll tell the powers that be that you're tired of Carter and Reagan and the other politicians serving the corporate interests of this country," Smith was quoted by the press. "The challenge of the 80s is to establish an alternative system for socialism and feminism ... We're for full employment and worker ownership of industry. We're for affirmative action to be competitive with a white, male dominated society ..."

The PFP platform included support for disarmament, graduated income tax, rent control, Gay rights, socialized health care and opposition to deportation of undocumented migrants and the draft. Smith said the PFP was "the only Left" party on the ballot. In California, the lone state where the PFP was on the Presidential ballot in 1980, she very well might have been correct, although a few folks in Barry Commoner's Citizens Party might argue otherwise. David McReynolds, the Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party USA and not on the California ballot, endorsed the Smith/Cervantes Barron ticket.

Smith said she would consider 50,000 to 100,000 votes a success, or 0.50% to 1%. The results fell a bit short of that where they earned 0.21% of the vote. Cervantes Barron was also running for the California State Assembly as the PFP candidate in the same election and finished that race with 5.85%.

In the event they had won the Presidential election the fact that both candidates were from the same state would have posed a probable Constitutional crisis.

Election history:
1974 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1978 - California Controller (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1980 - California State Assembly (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1994 - US Senate (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
2006 - California Controller (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated

Other occupations: teacher

Notes:
Plays the piano.
Winner of the 1994 race was Dianne Feinstein.
Joined the Peace and Freedom Party in 1967.