{news} Great Seeing You: Candidate for Governor Calling for Drug-Policy Reform

[clifford thornton]

Mr. Brittain was the lead attorney in the landmark desegregation case Sheff  VS. O'neil.

Cliff
----- Original Message ----- 
From: jbrittatty at comcast.net<mailto:jbrittatty at comcast.net> 
To: clifford thornton<mailto:efficacy at msn.com> 
Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2006 1:06 PM
Subject: Great Seeing You: Candidate for Governor Calling for Drug-Policy Reform


Dear Governor:

It was great to see you on Saturday.  I will send you some money to add my name as an endorsement of your candidacy.  List me as supporter in all public references.  

--
John C. Brittain 
2513 Gadsby Place 
Alexandria, VA 22311 
703/979-0062 
jbrittatty at comcast.net<mailto:jbrittatty at comcast.net> 


  -------------- Original message -------------- 
  From: "clifford thornton" <efficacy at msn.com> 




        This is a front page article


        http://tcextra.com/cgi-script/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=WJ.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=267&rnd=761.9413200300187<http://tcextra.com/cgi-script/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=WJ.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=267&rnd=761.9413200300187> 
       
        Green Candidate for Governor Calling for Drug-Policy Reform
        06-16-2006 -- By MICHAEL MARCIANO Editor

        HARTFORD - With Gov. M. Jodi Rell's approval rating hovering near 80 percent and two Democratic mayors fighting to unseat her, news about the Connecticut Green Party hasn't occupied much front-page space. But that may be about to change, according to the party's candidate for governor, African-American and retired businessman Clifford W. Thornton. 

        Thornton, 61, is an acquaintance of Ralph Nader's who was in town for the funeral of the consumer advocate's mother in February. He is running on the Green Party ticket first and foremost as a drug-policy reformer who believes the continued war on drugs has been a failure. 

        "I've already won because I'm getting people to talk about the issues," Thornton said in a telephone interview. "The other candidates are going to avoid the drug war left and right but the drug war is connected to everything we're talking about."

        Thornton said the Green Party is in the process of setting up its campaign headquarters on New Britain Avenue in Hartford and that he is interested in talking about issues that Democrats and Republicans typically avoid.

        "Eighty-five percent of the people are fed up with the federal Congress, so I think we have a good chance," Thornton said. "People want to talk about the issues as opposed to talking about this same-sex marriage thing. That's one of the reasons I'm running. I'm interested in making the Green Party a strong, viable party and reaching the tens of thousands of people in this state who think they don't have a voice in government. I'm going to raise the issues that no one else raises."

        Thornton's dedication to drug-policy issues stems from his younger years. His mother died of a heroin overdose when he was 18 and he initially believed drug laws should be harsher. He believes now that if heroin use had been legal and supervised by doctors his mother might have survived.

        After spending 25 years in middle management at Southern New England Telephone, Thornton became an activist with the Connecticut-based nonprofit group Efficacy, which he founded to raise awareness about drug-policy reform, crime prevention and public-health issues. He has spoken to more than 200,000 people in the United States, Columbia, Canada, Europe and New Zealand as a member of the organization and has completed more than 400 radio shows on the topic of drug-policy reform.

        Thornton acknowledges that some people in opposing parties have already labeled him as a "one-issue candidate" but he contends that drug-policy reform affects all aspects of life, from the economy to public safety and family issues. "It's two degrees from everything in society," he said. "I understand that and most people don't - even within the Green Party."

        As Thornton begins to garner media attention in newspapers and on television, Connecticut Democrats may already be looking at him as a potential spoiler, á la Nader in the 2000 presidential election. "The Democrats are already coming at us, saying we're going to take votes away from them and I say 'Rightly so. You deserve it. You're not talking about anything.'"

        Thornton now lives in Glastonbury with his wife, Margaret. He has five grown daughters. For more information about his candidacy, visit www.votethornton.com<http://www.votethornton.com/>.



        Thornton for Governor
        PO Box 1971
        Manchester CT 06045
        VoteThornton at yahoogroups.com<about:blank>
        WWW.VoteThornton.com<http://www.votethornton.com/>
        860 657 8438 -H
        860 268 1294-C
        860 778 1304-Campaign Manager
        860 293 0222-Field Coordinator 
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