Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party
FoundedMay 30, 1970 (1970-05-30)
Preceded byPeople's Party
HeadquartersDummerston, Vermont
IdeologySocialism[1]
Anti-capitalism[2]
Environmentalism
Political positionLeft-wing[3][4][5]
Colors  Lime (Black sometimes used as well)
Statewide Offices
0 / 6
Seats in the State Senate
0 / 30
Seats in the State House
0 / 150
Elected County Judges
0 / 42
Countywide Offices
0 / 42
Mayorships
0 / 8
Seats on the Burlington City Council
0 / 12
Other elected offices3 (2017)
Website
libertyunionparty.org

The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party, known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a political party active in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a self-proclaimed "non-violent socialist party".

The LUP was founded in 1970 by former Congressman William H. Meyer, Peter Diamondstone, Dennis Morrisseau and others,[6] and was described by The New York Times as the cradle of progressivism in Vermont.[7] The party is the fourth-largest in the state after the Democratic, Republican, and Progressive parties.

History

The Liberty Union party (LUP) was formed to contest the Vermont elections of 1970.[8] In 1971, People's Party was formed as a national umbrella party for various socialist-oriented state parties including the LUP.[9]

Bernie Sanders joined Liberty Union in 1971 and became the party's candidate for several offices. At the first Party meeting he attended, in 1971, Sanders was nominated to be the Party's Senate candidate in the January 1972 special election; he placed third with 2% of the vote.[10] Sanders was the party's candidate for Vermont governor in 1976 where he received 6.1% of the vote, which remains the best result for any LUP candidate for governor as of 2021. At the time of his resignation from the party in October 1977, he was party chairman. Sanders quit due to the inactivity of the party between elections.[11] As an independent politician, Sanders became Vermont's congressional representative in 1991 and U.S. senator in 2007. He ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020.

In 1974, political scientist Michael Parenti was the party's candidate for election to the House of Representatives; he placed third with 7.1 percent of the vote.[12] Bernie Sanders ran again as the Senate candidate, but received 4.13% of the vote.

In 1976, the party's Vermont lieutenant governor candidate John Franco took enough votes to force the election to the Vermont General Assembly's House. The party also lost the outspoken members, Nancy Kaufman and Martha Abbott before the 1978 election cycle.[8] Despite Liberty Union co-founder, Peter Diamondstone, appearing biennially on the ballot from 1970 through 2016, none of the party's candidates were elected during that period.[13]

In local Vermont town elections in 2009 a Liberty Union and Vermont Progressive Party endorsed candidate, David Van Deusen, won a contested race for a seat on the Moretown Select Board. Van Deusen, at the time a District Vice President of the Vermont AFL-CIO active within US Labor Against The War,[14] and cofounder of the Green Mountain Anarchist Collective, also received the backing of organized labor. This victory represented an electoral high water mark for the Liberty Union Party (previous Liberty Union wins included a Representational Town Meeting Delegate in Brattleboro, and a single Justice of the Peace position some decades earlier). In 2010 Van Deusen again ran and again won a contested seat on the Moretown Select Board.[15] Again he was endorsed by the Liberty Union, the Progressives, the Socialist Party USA, and organized labor. In this election Van Deusen was the top vote-getter among four Select Board candidates (three candidates, including Van Deusen running for two one year seats, and one candidate running as a write-in for one open three-year seat).[16] In 2011 Van Deusen did not seek re-election to the Select Board. In this election he ran for First Constable of Moretown (a position he held in 2007). While Van Deusen won the election, he did not seek the endorsement of the Liberty Union Party. This time he had the endorsement of the local Progressive Party alone. During Van Deusen's two terms on the Moretown Select Board, he was able to win "livable wages" for all non-elected town employees, doubled property tax relief for disabled military veterans (through a Town Meeting article), successfully advocated for the use of the Town Hall for a free weekly children's play group, made strides in opening up the local democratic process to all town residents, and publicly supported a Vermont run single-payer healthcare system.[17][18]

In 2012, the party once again re-qualified for major party status as a result of a 13.1% showing for Liberty Union candidate Mary Alice Herbert in the election for Vermont Secretary of State against Democrat Jim Condos.[19]

In 2014, the party re-qualified for major party status yet again as a result of a 10.32 showing for Liberty Union candidate Mary Alice Herbert in the election for Vermont Secretary of State. In the race for Treasurer Murray Ngoima received 8.3% of the vote. For Attorney General the LU candidate, Rosemary Jackowski, received 3.9% of the vote. In VT State Senate races, Ben Bosley won 13.9% of the vote for Grand Isle district. In the Windham County Senate contest, Jerry Levy & Aaron Diamondstone won on 5.0% & 4.6% of the ballots.

In the 2016 Vermont gubernatorial election, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee ran as the Liberty Union's candidate for Governor. Lee supported single payer healthcare and ran far to the left of the Democratic Party while at the same time remaining an advocate for the right of Vermonters to own firearms.[20] Lee received 2.8% of the vote, which was the highest percentage for a LUP candidate for governor since 1978.

In other 2016 races, Murray Ngoima received 3.9% of the vote for Treasurer, Mary Alice Herbert 9.7% for secretary state, Marina Brown 4.7% for Auditor and Rosemarie Jackowski 3.7% for attorney general. For US Congress, Erica Clawson received 9.2% of the vote. Liberty Union Party co-founder, Peter Diamondstone received 1.0% of the vote for US Senate.

In 2018 elections, Emily Peyton received 0.6% of the vote for Governorship, Murray Ngoima 1.5% for lieutenant governor, Mary Alice Herbert 3.6% for Secretary of State, Marina Brown 3.9% for Auditor and Rosemarie Jackowski 3.4% for Attorney General. For US Congress, Laura Potter received 1.4% of the vote. For US Senate, Reid Kane received 0.4% of the vote.

In 2020, the Liberty Union Party did not nominate any candidates for state office. They only nominated Gloria La Riva for presidency.[21]

In September 2021, the party changed its name from Liberty Union to Green Mountain Peace and Justice. Jessica Diamondstone, party chair and daughter of the party's founder stated that she feared the old name might make the party sound as if it had right-wing positions. Diamondstone felt the new name would be more clear on the political positions of the party.[22]

In 2022, under its new name, Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party nominees ran only for U.S. Senate and Lieutenant Governor seats.[23] For U.S. Senate, Natasha Diamondstone-Kohout received 0.5% of the vote and for Lieutenant Governor, Ian Diamondstone received 2.9% of the vote. Both candidates were related to Peter Diamondstone.

Year Gubernatorial nominee Votes  %
1972 Bernie Sanders 2,175 1.15%
1974 Martha Abbott 7,629 5.40%
1976 Bernie Sanders 11,317 6.09%
1978 Earl S. Gardner 3,629 2.92%
1980 John Potthast 1,952 0.93%
1982 Richard Gottlieb 850 0.50%
1984 Richard Gottlieb 695 0.30%
1986 Richard Gottlieb 491 0.25%
1988 Richard Gottlieb 2,923 1.20%
1990 Richard Gottlieb 1,389 0.66%
1992 Richard Gottlieb 3,120 1.09%
1994 Richard Gottlieb 1,733 0.82%
1996 Mary Alice Herbert 4,156 1.63%
1998 Richard Gottlieb 1,177 0.54%
2000 Richard Gottlieb 337 0.11%
2002 Peter Diamondstone 625 0.27%
2004 Peter Diamondstone 1,298 0.42%
2006 Bob Skold 638 0.24%
2008 Peter Diamondstone 1,710 0.54%
2010 Ben Mitchell 429 0.18%
2012 Dave Eagle 1,303 0.44%
2014 Peter Diamondstone 1,673 0.87%
2016 Bill Lee 8,913 2.83%
2018 Em Peyton 1,839 0.67%
2020 Did not nominate N/A nil
2022 Did not nominate N/A nil

Presidential nominee

Over the years, it has selected various presidential candidates from several national leftist political parties. For the 1972 and 1976 elections, the LUP was a member of the national People's Party, thus the People's presidential candidates were the LUP's.[9] In 1980, 1988, 1996, and 2000 it endorsed the Socialist Party USA's candidates. Mary Alice Herbert, the party's 2006 candidate for Lieutenant Governor, was the vice presidential candidate of the Socialist Party USA in 2004. However, due to conflicts with her running mate, Walt Brown, the LUP gave its ballot line to Workers World Party candidates John Parker and Teresa Gutierrez. In 2008, the Socialist Party's presidential candidate, Brian Moore, was the only candidate to collect the 1,000 signatures required to participate in the Liberty Union Party's presidential primary. The primary election is binding, so Moore and his running mate Stewart Alexander were the Liberty Union nominees in the November general election.[24][25]

YearPresidential nomineePartyVotes
1972Benjamin SpockPeople's Party[26][27]1,010 (0.5%)
1976Margaret WrightPeople's Party[9]No ballot access
1980David McReynoldsSocialist Party136 (0.1%)
1984Dennis SerretteNew Alliance Party323 (0.1%)
1988Willa KenoyerSocialist Party142 (0.1%)
1992Lenora FulaniNew Alliance Party429 (0.2%)
1996Mary Cal HollisSocialist Party292 (0.1%)
2000David McReynoldsSocialist Party161 (0.1%)
2004John ParkerWorkers World Party265 (0.1%)
2008Brian MooreSocialist Party141 (0.1%)
2012Stewart AlexanderSocialist PartyNo ballot access
2016Gloria La RivaParty for Socialism and Liberation327 (0.1%)
2020Gloria La RivaParty for Socialism and Liberation166 (0.1%)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Liberty Union Party – Platform". libertyunionparty.org. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Respectable Showing for Liberty Union Socialists in 2014 Vermont Election". libertyunionparty.org. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  3. ↑ Will Bernie Sanders Win By Losing? – WBUR
  4. ↑ Phillips, Amber (November 19, 2015). "Bernie Sanders: A somewhat reluctant socialist". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  5. ↑ Kaczynski, Andrew; McDermott, Nathan (March 14, 2019). "Bernie Sanders in the 1970s urged nationalization of most major industries". CNN. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  6. ↑ "L.U.P. History," The Official Website Of The Liberty Union Party – Vermont
  7. ↑ Herszenhorn, David M. (1995-03-12). "The Nation; To Vermont's Voters, What's Out Is In". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  8. 1 2 Siegel, Lou. "Vermont's Third Party: No Longer Just a Fan Club". Vanguard Press. Retrieved March 1, 2016 – via Seven Days.
  9. 1 2 3 "New Look at White House Vowed". Toledo Blade. AP. 1976-08-08. p. A-3. Retrieved 2010-10-17. The Socialist-oriented People's party was founded in 1971 and is an umbrella name for such groups as ... Vermont Liberty Union.
  10. ↑ Sanders, Bernie (1998). Outsider in the House: A Political Autobiography. Verso. pp. 12–21 et seq. ISBN 978-1859841778.
  11. ↑ "Liberty Union Party Chief in Vermont Quits Position". Nashua Telegraph. AP. October 12, 1977. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Elections Results Archive". VT Elections Database.
  13. ↑ O’Connor, Kevin (September 1, 2017). "Longtime Vermont Political Figure Peter Diamondstone Dies". The Valley News. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  14. ↑ "Vermont AFL-CIO Calls on Workers to Support West Coast Work Stoppage Against War". Vermont AFL-CIO. April 16, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Valley Reporter Questions for Moretown Select Board Candidate Dave van Deusen". Valley Reporter. February 12, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Vermont Liberty Union/Progressives Win in Moretown". Independent Political Report. March 3, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Vt Towns Consider Boosting Benefits For Disabled Vets". WCAX. March 2, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Take The Day Off May 1" (PDF). David Van Deusen. Montpelier Bridge. April 23, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Liberty Union regains major party status". VTDigger. 2012-11-09. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  20. ↑ Spaceman: Of Roadkill & Governors, 2016. http://news.infoshop.org/sports/interview-bill-spaceman-lee
  21. ↑ Winger, Richard (September 14, 2020). "Liberty Union Party Has No Candidates for Vermont State Office, for First Time Since 1970 | Ballot Access News". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  22. ↑ O'Connor, Kevin (15 September 2021). "Amid right-wing flag waving, Vermont's Liberty Union Party renames itself". VTDigger.
  23. ↑ "Vermont Secretary of State Posts 2022 Candidate List | Ballot Access News". 2022-09-11. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  24. ↑ "Vermont Presidential Primaries", Ballot Access News, 21 January 2008 (accessed 22 January 2008).
  25. ↑ "Liberty Union Presidential Primary", Ballot Access News, 20 January 2008 (accessed 22 January 2008).
  26. ↑ Bernie Sanders, Outsider in the House, Verso: 1998; pp. 12-21 et seq.
  27. ↑ Eric Pace. "Benjamin Spock, World's Pediatrician, Dies at 94", The New York Times, March 17, 1998
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.