Statement from the Rodriguez for Governor of California campaign

Dear People’s Tribune:
For forty years I’ve been fighting for social justice, a clean and green environment, and a cooperative equitable and peaceful world without want or exploitation. I’m now making these issues the essence of a far-reaching and imaginative campaign for California Governor.
The Luis J. Rodriguez for California Governor campaign has obtained the endorsement of the Green Party of California as well as Chicano Unidos of Orange County, PODER (Power) of Santa Barbara, and Corazon del Pueblo of Boyle Heights/East L.A., among others. We are seeking the support of the Justice Party and other progressives. Our slogan is “Imagine a New California.”
My program is to eliminate poverty, to get rid of the prison system as we know it, to create clean and green communities everywhere, provide free quality education and health care for everyone, and to revitalize every neighborhood with arts education, murals, cultural expression, festivals, and song.
The realities of capitalism continue to prove despairing, daunting and finite, governed by assumptions of scarcity that have led to wars, competitive economic disruptions and a growing disparity between those who have and those who don’t. Along with the increasing material poverty, however, is an increase in the poverty of ideas, hope and the imagination. We need a larger and more powerful voice for justice, for revolutionary change, for a new and vibrant politics in the midst of the growing disenchantment and disgust with the country’s two-party system.
We have embarked on a signature-gathering phase—state candidates must now obtain 10,000 signatures of registered voters during eight weeks, ending February 20, to be on the June 3 primary ballot.
After this phase, we aim to be the second highest vote getter in the primary to challenge Governor Jerry Brown and the status quo during the November elections. Despite having a balanced budget, despite being the world’s eighth largest economy, California continues to create more poverty—we now have 8.7 million poor with 2.7 million added since Brown has been governor.
My campaign is an uphill battle, but to me these are the ones worth fighting. The climate is ripe for the politics of the unexpected. But it will also require we are good at the art of the possible.
Please take part. We will not seek big corporate donations. We will not make deals with the big institutions responsible for the economic crisis. We are a grassroots campaign that is also creating a movement to go beyond this election for the short and long haul. For more information, go to www.rodriguezforgovernor.org. Or you can write us at Luis J. Rodriguez Campaign, PO Box 328, San Fernando CA 91341.
Every person counts, every giving matters in this potentially historic campaign.
With revolutionary determination,
Luis J. Rodriguez