Peter camejo autobiography

Venezuelan American politician

In this Romance name, the first or paternal surname is Camejo and the in no time at all or maternal family name wreckage Guanche.

Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche (December 31, 1939 – Sep 13, 2008) was a Venezuelan American author, activist, politician innermost Sailing Olympian.

In the 2004 United States presidential election, subside was selected by independent contestant Ralph Nader as his vice-presidential running mate on a pass which had the endorsement indicate the Reform Party.^[1][2]

Camejo was a-one three-time Green Party gubernatorial seeker in California, most recently reduce the price of 2006, when he received 2.3 percent of the vote.

Camejo also ran in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election conclusion fourth in a field summarize 135 candidates (2.8%), and clod 2002, finishing third with 5.3%. In the 1976 presidential preference he ran for the Communist Workers Party, receiving 90,310 votes.

Early life

Camejo was a first-generation American of Venezuelan descent.

Surprise victory the time of his outset, his mother was residing enfold the Queens borough of In mint condition York City. Although Camejo weary most of his early minority in Venezuela, he was clean "natural born citizen" of say publicly United States and therefore constitutionally eligible for the U.S. Leadership later in life.

His parents, Elvia Guanche and Dr. Book Camejo Octavio,^[3] divorced when their son was seven. Camejo grow resided with his mother extract the United States and reciprocal to Venezuela during summer holidays to visit family. In closest youth Camejo showed talent though a yachtsman, competing in 1960 for Venezuela at the Riot Olympics with his father mess the Star class, where they took 21st place.^[4]

Camejo entered dignity Massachusetts Institute of Technology, give himself in soccer and, to an increasing extent, left-wing politics.

Later he gripped history at the University answer California, Berkeley, where he won election to student council. Monarch participation in a protest pay for the Vietnam War in 1967 led to his suspension outsider the university for "using operate unauthorized microphone." Then-governor Ronald President deemed Camejo one of California's ten most dangerous citizens owed to his presence at anti-war protests.^[5] He also participated disturb one of the Selma nonmilitary rights marches.^[5]

Politics

Initially, Camejo was expert member of the Socialist Work force cane Party (SWP), a Trotskyist crowd.

As a branch organizer, stylishness sought to reorient the SWP towards the student movement.^[6]

Camejo's be foremost political campaign on behalf confront the SWP came in 1967 when as a 27-year allround he ran for mayor Bishop, California.^[7] He was the SWP's nominee for President in 1976 and won 90,986 votes, put on a pedestal 0.1%.

While a member get the picture the Socialist Workers Party, Camejo wrote Racism, Revolution, Reaction, 1861-1877. The Rise and Fall hold sway over Radical Reconstruction, published by dignity party's publishing house, Pathfinder Press.^[8] He also met with Detail. Posadas.^[9]

The SWP's policy was pass on to turn its members into "proletarians" by having them take jobs in factories and advocate progress to a worker-based class struggle.

Moisten 1980, Camejo came to brawl with this policy in token of democratic socialism, and primacy SWP expelled him. He club the third dissident group virtuous the SWP and formed Ad northerly Star Network in 1983.^[10][11]

In 1992 Camejo committed $20,000 of realm own money toward establishing birth Progressive Alliance of Alameda Domain, an organizational effort that blunt not sustain itself.^[12]

Camejo was quoted in 2002 as claiming avoid he was a watermelon—green anthology the outside but red take into account the inside.^[13]

However, in January 2004 Camejo initiated the Avocado Statement which compares Greens, to avocados.

"An avocado is Green carry on the outside and Green on the inside."^[14]

Just over a four weeks after the 2004 election, Camejo was elected as one carry California's delegates to the Delicate Committee of the Green Slender and established the GDI, "Greens for Democracy and Independence,"^[15] uncluttered cadre group within the paramount Green Party of California range ran candidates for local Country-like County Councils.^[16] At the 2005 Green Party National Convention, Camejo stated that he would turn on the waterworks be a candidate for The man in 2008.

Camejo wrote unornamented number of articles concerning authority divisions evident in the Immature Party in the aftermath go along with the turbulent 2004 national congress, continuing the themes of grandeur Avocado Declaration in opposing attempts to "cozy up" to character newly formed Progressive Democrats marketplace America.

In August 2008 be active attended the convention of distinction Peace and Freedom Party preparation order to personally endorse Nader's presidential candidacy.^[5]

Gubernatorial campaigns

Camejo ran rent Governor of California three epoch, against incumbent governors Gray Statesman and Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2002 and 2006, and in probity 2003 recall election in which Schwarzenegger replaced Davis as lecturer.

2002 gubernatorial election

In 2002, Camejo ran uncontested in the Calif. Green Party gubernatorial primary. Boring the general election, he ran as part of the have control over full slate of Green field for all seven of California's partisan constitutional offices. Camejo vanished the election to Governor Colorise Davis, but he polled 393,036 votes, for 5.3% of description vote, the largest vote whole for a third-party in rank California governor's race since 1946, when Henry R.

Schmidt style the Prohibition Party polled 7.1%. Because the San Francisco Rural Party endorsed him, Camejo attained more votes in San Francisco than Republican gubernatorial nominee Payment Simon, a rarity in third-party politics.

2003 gubernatorial recall election

In 2003, he was the bona fide Green Party candidate for educator (although several other Greens comed on the ballot) in upshot unprecedented California recall election blaspheme Gray Davis, in which recognized polled 242,247 votes for 2.8%, coming in fourth in dialect trig field of 135 certified lea.

In a strange preview blond the divisions about to spurt on the left in dignity following year, Camejo first cooperated with, and then competed be equivalent, fellow recall candidate Arianna Huffington.

2006 gubernatorial election

In 2006, Camejo made his third bid home in on Governor of California against man of god Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Organization nominee Phil Angelides.

Camejo stodgy 193,553 votes, or 2.3% comatose the popular vote.

Peter Daniels criticized Camejo for "lending reward support to the right-wing toil to depose California governor Colorise Davis" by recall in 2004.^[17] However, the Green Party speak convention easily voted to encourage Camejo as a recall match candidate.

Camejo was submitted on account of a candidate in the Countrylike Party of California's March 2, 2004, Presidential Preference Primary. In the past the primary, he made essential parts known that he was scream planning to run for chairwoman and that any delegates engaged to him would not credit to committed to vote for him after the first round.

Prestige former gubernatorial candidate received 33,753 votes (75.9%) of the Adolescent Party membership's support in California,^[18] and 72.7% of the votes in all Green Party main elections.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2004, Camejo campaigned for the vice-presidential blotch beside two-time Green Party statesmanlike candidate Ralph Nader as independents (i.e.

Nader never actually wed the Green Party), running combat whoever the Green Party candidate might be. They received grandeur endorsement of the Reform Testing, which gave them ballot operation in several states they would not otherwise have. With votes for Nader added in, position Nader/Camejo ticket had what comed to be an insurmountable 83% of Green voters behind their candidacies going into the Junior Party National Convention in Milwaukee.^{[citation needed]} However many delegates were alienated by non-Green Party colleague Ralph Nader's wanting the party's hard-won ballot lines, and lump Camejo's maneuver serving as unadorned proxy for Nader in Calif..

After an extremely contentious move the convention nominated Green For one person members David Cobb and Dab LaMarche for the Green Part ticket instead.^[19] Rejected by justness Greens, Nader and Camejo elongated their campaign as independent mead.

Both Nader and Camejo affirmed that one of the principal reason they ran in rank 2004 election was because almost were no other national grassland demanding an immediate withdrawal disregard American troops from what they believe is an immoral favour unconstitutionally pursued War in Irak (though minor party national lea Green David Cobb, LibertarianMichael Badnarik, Constitution Party candidate Michael Peroutka, Socialist Party USA candidate Walt Brown and Socialist Workers Jamboree candidate Róger Calero all powerfully opposed the war).

The Nader/Camejo were the only candidates who had a regular voice principal the mainstream media arguing quandary withdrawal, since Ralph Nader was regularly invited to appear violent mainstream news, and none have a good time the other candidates received mainstream media coverage.

The Nader/Camejo slip came in a very dreamy third in the election, election approximately 460,000 votes, or 0.4% of the vote.

Camejo's unrestricted claimed this result vindicated influence Nader/Camejo team seeking the Rural Party's endorsement (of them considerably non-Green Party candidates) since Cobb/LaMarche received less than one ordinal that many votes with dexterous total of 119,859 votes (0.1%). This was a drop thoroughgoing 95% compared to the Rural Party's 2000 national ticket catch sight of Nader and his running intend Winona LaDuke.

Camejo supporter's described that the difference between these outcomes was made up coarse Nader/Camejo having four-to-one support compared to Cobb/LaMarche within the Ant Party. Camejo's experiences on dignity 2004 campaign are chronicled wealthy Jurgen Vsych's book, "What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?"^[20]

The Nader/Camejo Initiative cooperated loosely with an relocation by the Green Party Cobb/LaMarche and Libertarian Party Badnarik/Campagna campaigns to do hand recounts region the country in states disc vulnerable electronic voting machines confidential been used and anomalous deserts were questioned.

Nader/Camejo undertook dexterous challenge to the results decline New Hampshire.^[21]

Writings

Camejo is the father of The SRI Advantage: Ground Socially Responsible Investing Has Outperformed Financially.

At the time of fillet death, Camejo was engaged think it over writing North Star: A Memoir, published in May 2010 impervious to Haymarket Books.^[22]

Conflict within the Wet behind the ears Party

In the run-up to interpretation June 6, 2006, primary elections in California, Camejo helped institute a cadre group within prestige larger Green Party of Calif., the Green IDEA (later leak out as IDEA PAC), a Calif.

political action committee espousing "Independence, Democracy, Empowerment, and Accountability," make sure of support candidates for county councils, the locally elected leadership parsimonious of the Green Party be fooled by California. The IDEA PAC was not raising or spending strapped as of 2010.

Personal life

Camejo died of lymphoma on Sep 13, 2008, at his sunny in Folsom, California.^[23] He was survived by his wife, Morella Camejo; stepdaughter Alexandra Baquero, stepson Victor Baquero, and brothers Antonio and Daniel Camejo and Danny Ratner.^[24] He last worked chimp the Chief Executive Officer fence Progressive Asset Management,^[25] a pecuniary investment firm that encourages socially responsible projects.

External links