{news} Drug reform candidates in CT, AL, and MD

[David Bedell]

Drug War Chronicle
Feature: Drug Reformers Take the Third Party Path in Bids for Statewide
Office
6/2/06
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/438/reformcandidates.shtml

Frustrated by the two major parties' indifference -- if not downright
hostility -- toward ending the decades-old war on drugs, at least three
prominent drug reform leaders have launched bids for statewide office as
third party candidates. In Alabama, US Marijuana Party founder Loretta Nall
is running for governor on the Libertarian Party ticket. In Connecticut, the
state's most prominent drug reformer, Cliff Thornton of Efficacy is running
for governor as a Green. And in Maryland, Common Sense for Drug Policy's
Kevin Zeese is running a unity campaign under the banners of the Green,
Libertarian and Populist parties.

While the odds of any of them actually winning their races are long, all
three told DRCNet they are in it to win -- and to show the major parties
they risk voter defections if they fail to address growing public
disaffection with the drug war. And while none of them are so far being
accorded the dignity of having their candidacies measured by major opinion
polls, all hope to break that barrier between now and November.

Down in Alabama, Loretta Nall is adding pizzazz to a campaign already
replete with notable characters -- one of the leading Democratic contenders,
former Gov. Don Seigelman, will be in court on corruption charges on next
week's primary day. Challenging Gov. Bob Riley for the Republican nomination
is former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, who hopes to transform
his stance against the Constitution and in favor of placing the 10
Commandments in courthouses into a path to the statehouse. Early polls show
Riley defeating both Moore next week and either of the Democrats in
November.

In Alabama, Nall will be facing off against the two major party candidates
to be decided next week -- if she can get enough signatures to get on the
ballot by primary day, June 6. "Right now, I'm focusing all my energy and mo
ney on getting signatures. It's going to be a nail biter," she said. "The
Republicans and Democrats don't have to gather signatures, but third parties
do, and if we get on the ballot and don't get 20%, the party loses its
status and has to re-qualify with more signatures," she said.

For Nall, it all started with drug policy, and the issue remains central to
her campaign.

"Drug policy is a huge part of my campaign and I don't back away from it.
After all, I got my start from the cops kicking down my door," she said,
referring to the minor pot bust that started her on down the path to
activism. "I work it into all my speeches; it's the first thing I talk about
in candidate forums. Because the drug war is so pervasive, I can connect it
with all sorts of issues."

Nall is working other issues as well, running as a pro-immigration reform
and anti-Patriot Act and Real ID Act candidate, but the media is fascinated
with her drug policy stance, she said. "People want to know where I stand on
issues like immigration and education, but the reporters always want to ask
about drugs. The public knows where I am on drug policy."

Although running under the Libertarian banner, Nall doesn't quite fit the
mold. "I'm a libertarian, but not a big L one. In fact, I find myself
agreeing with liberal Democrats more than anybody. I would say I'm liberal
socially and conservative fiscally," she said. "I want our Alabama National
Guard troops out of Iraq, and that resonates -- if the rednecks down here
are tired of whipping brown skinned peoples' asses [Iraqis], Washington
needs to take notice," she said. "We also need to make biodiesel a big
issue -- we can't afford this $2.50 a gallon for gas business. And we need
education reform and Washington out of our classrooms."

In Connecticut, Cliff Thornton is facing off against Republican Gov. Jodi
Rell and Democratic challenger Dannel Malloy, the mayor of Stamford. Things
are off to a good start, he told DRCNet. "The campaign is going pretty well,
although we don't have a lot of money in the coffers," said Thornton. "We've
been getting great media attention and real good articles. Since I announced
in January, we've had pretty close to an article a week somewhere in the
state. The media likes what I'm saying."

The mainstream candidates aren't addressing key issues, Thornton said, and
part of his role is to redirect the focus. "I want to get these people to
talk about the issues," he said. "How many people are talking about the war
in Iraq? How many people are talking about the war right here? How many
people are talking about the race issue?"

For Thornton, who has made a career of calling for an end to prohibitionist
drug policies, hammering at the issue makes perfect sense. "Drug policy is a
big part of my campaign. That's what I'm known for. Cliff Thornton and drug
policy do not separate. After all, drug policy is two degrees from
everything. Transportation issues and full health care for all in
Connecticut are not drug policy issues, but again we're talking about the
money. Programs don't happen because we're spending money on the drug war."
So what does Thornton talk about? "I definitely talk about what we did in
Hartford and the white paper that resulted," he said, referring to last
fall's symposium bringing together Connecticut political and law enforcement
leaders, public health experts, and drug law reformers and the progressive
drug policy positions that resulted from that conference. "I also tell them
that cannabis should be legalized, that we should have heroin maintenance,
and that drug use should be de-stigmatized. This is a public health problem,
not a law enforcement problem."

He also talks about crime. "We've had 16 shootings since last Wednesday," he
noted. "They're saying they're not directly drug-related, but all these
people are coming from drug-infested areas. You have to ask how many of
these kids that did these shootings had parents in prison or in the drug
trade. How many of them saw the cops continually harassing people?" he said.
"The mayor and police chief are talking the same old talk, but you can't
just keep doing the same old failed thing over and over again. We've been at
the drug war for a century, and we just keep doing the same thing and
getting the same results. How can we expect things to change if we just keep
doing the same thing?"

Thornton is running as a Green, and beyond advancing the drug policy agenda,
he also wants to make the Greens a viable alternative in Connecticut. "As
drug policy reformers, we're way ahead of the local party people," Thornton
said. "The Greens couldn't get the press to pay attention, but I know how to
get the press." If only he could be as successful in fundraising, he said.
"We're not so good at that; we've only got about $30,000."

Thornton acknowledged that his prospects for victory are slim, but said he
expected to show well. "I want to garner between 10% and 25% of the vote in
November. The key is to show that you can lead and win with drug policy
reform," he said.

In Maryland, Zeese, a veteran of the 2004 Ralph Nader presidential campaign,
is up against Democratic contenders Rep. Ben Cardin and former NAACP head
Kweisi Mfume and Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Michael Steele in the race to
succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes. Early polling shows Cardin
leading Steele by 10 points, while Mfume versus Steele is currently a dead
heat. In a close race, a Zeese candidacy could make the difference.

"I'm running on issues of peace, justice, democracy, and prosperity, and the
drug issue comes in under justice," said Zeese. "I always mention it. I
always mention that Maryland has the most racially unfair drug enforcement
system. Of our drug prisoners, 90% are African-American. This is selective
enforcement, and we also saw that when Maryland became one of the first
states to be sued by black drivers for racial profiling," he said. "But this
is an issue that really comes up only with African-American audiences. With
white audiences, it's probably more a negative than a positive."

Except, perhaps, on college campuses. "Drug policy reform resonates well on
campus," he said. "When I address an audience, I always ask what they want
to talk about. Almost always, it's the Patriot Act, Iraq, the deficit,
corporate power, but on college campuses, they want to talk about the war on
drugs and they want to talk about weed."

For Zeese, the campaign is much broader than drug policy. "I focus a lot on
the Iraq war, the divide between rich and poor, and the corruption of our
political system," he said. "I talk about how people feel unrepresented, and
I hit my common themes on justice issues, civil liberties, the Patriot Act,
and the drug war, but the two big issues are war and peace and rich and
poor."

Zeese rejected the notion that third party candidacies are "spoilers," and
he chided the drug reform movement for not backing his campaign. "I'm always
appalled by drug reformers who support Democrats who support the drug war,"
he said. "We complain about spineless Democrats and then we vote for them.
It's really asinine for drug reformers to think the Democrats are going to
be their saviors. You're voting for people who want to put your friends and
families in jail. Can anyone point me to the Democratic Party's leadership
on drug reform? The drug reform movement is showing its level of political
maturity by not getting involved in this race," he said. "If you want to
talk about spoilers, for the drug reform movement, the spoilers are the two
main parties."

Zeese has no illusions about his prospects. "Winning would be a real long
shot, but that's what it's about, and it's a lot like pushing boulders
uphill. It's a constant battle to be taken seriously," he said, noting that
he is beginning to get some mainstream press attention. "I would like to win
this battle, but I think I would be successful if I can create a three-way
race where I'm included in the polls and debates and my impact on the race
is clear," he said. "If I do well, that will be a signal to the parties they
are out of touch with the voters."

-- END --

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