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PRESIDENCY 2004:
INDEPENDENT & WRITE-IN CANDIDATES
Candidates with Ballot Status:
Stanford E. "Andy" Andress (Colorado) for President
and
Irene M. Deasy (Colorado) for Vice PresidentRetiree and military veteran Stanford Andress -- who was previously a 2002 write-in candidate for Congress (6th place - 109 votes) -- qualified for a spot on the Presidential ballot in Colorado. His wife Irene Deasy (aka: Irene Andress) is his runningmate. An internet search indicated that Andress and his wife co-wrote a self-published non-fiction paperback book in 1996 (now out-of-print) entitled The Civil War: The Sound of Thunder. His entire 2002 congressional campaign consisted of spending around $450 for small campaign placards that carried his simple slogan of "Andress for Congress: Honesty." Nothing else is known about this Independent ticket.
Thomas J. Harens (Christian Freedom Party-Minnesota) for President
and
Jennifer A. Ryan (Christian Freedom Party-Minnesota) for Vice PresidentTom Harens, 50, is a liberal former Democratic state legislator (1981-83) and environmental activist. He is also a Harvard grad, was a 1997 candidate for St. Paul Mayor, and works as a public relations executive. Harens and his VP runningmate, Jennifer Ryan, qualified for a spot on the Minnesota ballot under the label of a new entity entitled the "Christian Freedom Party." Republicans quickly complained, saying that Harens is running simply to help Kerry in that key battleground state by attempting to draw Religious Right votes away from President Bush (much like the Dems complain about Ralph Nader's candidacy). Harens denies the claims, saying he is entirely independent of the Kerry campaign and that he left the Democratic Party several years ago to join former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura's Independence Party. In fact, Harens was the IP's candidate in his 1997 mayoral race and is still a registered member of that party. He collected his ballot petition signatures almost entirely by targeting 50 socially liberal churches, many with predominantly black congregations. Harens -- a self-described "progressive Christian [and] forever-practicing Catholic" -- agrees his party "technically" doesn't have any members, and that he is likely to draw votes from Bush ("If that’s the practical effect, I can’t do anything about it"). Harens argues today that both major parties are "morally bankrupted" and that "a true Christian" cannot vote for either Kerry or Bush. On his website, Harens notes that voting for Kerry could be viewed as a "venial sin" (of ignorance and rationalization) but voting for Bush could be a much more serious "mortal sin" (of greed, intolerance, and indifference to the plight of the poor). Harens explains: "Republicanism cares about one thing only -- taking care of Big Money family and friends ... the Christian Right Wing and their allies of Republicanism are the new Pharisees, the ones Jesus chased out of the temple." Harens -- who describes his Presidential campaign as a "Politics of Love" effort to "Send Christ's Love to the 'Christian Right'" -- is pro-living wage, pro-gay rights, pro-life, against the Iraq war, and pro-environmental protection laws.
Write-In Candidates:
A.J. "Victor" Albritton (Alabama)
A.J. Albritton touts himself as the nominee of the "American Republican Party" -- an unknown entity for which it appears he is the only party member. A frequent write-in candidate, Albritton is making his fourth consecutive run for President in 2004. He was also a write-in candidate for Congress in 1988 ... and for Governor in 2002. Albritton describes the purpose of his campaign as follows: "The American candidate who is also the Victorian Candidate. The Victorian Era to be the New Model Victorian Era -- from the male point of view." Huh? He promises a "new model Star Spangled Banner" and relocation of the federal capitol. A prodigious emailer, it seems like Albritton sends out at least one or two notes to his list each day!
Sterling Allan jumped into the Libertarian Presidential contest in October 2003. One month later, he exited the LP contest and entered the race for the Constitution Party nomination. Then -- realizing that the CP had more or less already settled on a nominee of its own -- Allan announced three weeks later that he would be the nominee of a new party he was founding named the New Awakening Party (but he'd still welcome the CP nomination). Then again, he doesn't seem entirely settled on the party's ultimate name, as the header of the web page for that entity read for a while: "New Awakening Party (or whatever name we end up choosing for it)." Well, the new name became the Providential Party. It remains to be seen, however, whether Allan will: (1) obtain ballot status anywhere; and (2) obtain ballot status as an Independent or under the party banner. Allan -- a former activist in Independent American Party of Utah (and an IAP nominee for State House in 1990) -- could essentially be described as a theocratic candidate. Of course, that would be within his own vision of what God is mandating as a self-described "Davidic Servant." From his various campaign websites (linked above and below), Allan is dedicated to establishing "Zion", which he defines as "the gospel and government of God working in harmony for the improvement and sanctification of all things. The kingdom of heaven on earth." As for his political views, he explains: "I agree with most of the Republican platform, to which the party gives but lip service, while their actions bespeak more of a move toward a cradle-to-grave socialist state." Where he gets a bit ... umm ... different is when he wrote that his own 2004 candidacy was "foretold in Alphabetics Bible Code." Born and raised as a Mormon, the LDS Church excommunicated Allan for "apostasy" (extremist beliefs related to his religious writings) in 1993. Since then, he has devoted nearly all his time to working to create his vision of God's Kingdom on Earth (and he also sells survivalist emergency supplies online). He also maintains that his election is essential to avoid the coming of World War III. See his various sites for more information: SterlingDAllan.com (personal site), Patriot Saints for the Kingdom of God on Earth (Allan's organization), GreaterThings.com (another Allan organization), RemnantSaints.com (another Allan organization), the Remnant Saints Inter-Continental Congress (another Allan organization), the International Patriot Alliance (another Allan organization), JosephPrep.com (Allan's company), and many, many more. FYI: He wrote that the reason he quit the Libertarian contest was because of the LP's "stance on social issues and lack of acknowledgement that a group of people willfully united takes on a life of its own and has rights." Allan also intends to seek the Presidential "endorsement" of the the US Independent American Party, Constitution Party, and other conservative parties in order to run as a "fusion" candidate. Amusingly, Allan's campaign chairman sent us an email explaining that we should recognize Allan as a real party nominee and not as an Independent candidate: "Please don't treat his campaign like the campaign of Joe Bellis, Da Vid, and Bob Dorn (independents who make-up a party) and group him with those weirdos. Please give him and his VP the same treatment" as other nominees of established parties. We'll respond to that note with a polite: "No comment." Allan's VP runningmate is dairy farmer Harry Dschaak of Idaho.
Kenneth M. Bonnell (Mississippi)
Except for the fact that Bonnell filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
Lawson Mitchell Bone (Tennesee)
L. Mitchell Bone is one of the most invisible candidates in the 2004 race for President. He qualified as a formal write-in candidate for President in Georgia, Indiana and Maryland. Beyond that, Bone is flying entirely under the radar: no web site, no email address, no news articles, nothing at all.
Except for the fact that Boyle qualified as a formal write-in candidate for President in Maryland, nothing else is known about him.
Energy analyst Harry Braun is running for President to gain support for his Phoenix Project plan to "make America energy independent and pollution free" through the construction and use of "windship hydrogen production systems." Further, he vowed to implement these changes in "wartime speed." Braun is the owner of a systems integration company involved in a number of renewable energy projects. After earning his undergraduate degree in the liberal arts, his post graduate research has focused on energy technologies and resources. Braun was the Democratic nominee for Congress in 1984 -- but lost by a wide margin against GOP incumbent John McCain. Braun was able to secure ballot status and competed in 2004 Democratic primaries in New Hampshire (21st place - 13 votes) and DC (9th place - 83 votes). His campaign site -- linked above -- has position pages on lots of topics like "Exponential Icebergs," radioactive waste, Iraqi oil, "E4 Policy Outline" and more. After the Democratic primary season, Braun announced he would continue his candidacy as an Independent candidate.
Theodis "Ted" Brown Sr. (Missouri)
Ted Brown is a busy man in 2004. Not only is he running as a formal write-in candidate for President in Maryland, he is also the Libertarian candidate for St. Louis County Executive on the same day back in his home state. Brown, 55, is a retired police officer, who rose from patrolman to Chief of Police of a small community. Since his retirement, he's worked as a private investigator and writer. He's also served on various boards in Castlepoint, the St. Louis subdivision where he resides. He is a frequent candidate for various local offices in the St. Louis County area in recent years.
After briefly contemplating a run for Congress, retired school teacher Fred Cook decided to instead make a write-in bid for President in 2000 after "nearly 50 people showed up at my front door ... [and] urged me to run for political office." By March 2000, Cook boasted that he was going to "steal the election away" because a "national online poll" had him at 34%. Of course, the poll he referenced was the one he himself conducted on his own web site! Needless to say, his 2000 campaign fizzled (he claims he won 4,217 write-in votes -- but official election statistics compiled by the FEC and others reflect that he won only a handful of write-in votes). Undaunted, he's back for a second White House bid in 2004. Although he moves in and out of the Republican Party, Cook seems to now be a Religious Right candidate running as an Independent (although he also expressed ties to the past to the little-known Christian Alliance Party). As for issues, Cook supports tax cuts, an end to Affirmative Action programs, federal term limits, educational system improvements and increased military spending. Considering that the guy was a teacher, it was a bit sad that his 2000 site contained numerous spelling errors -- including the instruction for voters to "right his name in on the ballot." Cook is upset that we mentioned this (and the vote total correction) -- as his site now has a "Fred Cook speaks out against Politics1.com" under the Breaking News header on Cook's homepage.
Except for the fact that Davis filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
Except for the fact that DiGiulio filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President as the candidate of the Children's Party, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
All we know about Dorn came from an email he sent Politics1 in April 2003: "Please include my name on your list of Presidential candidates for the 2004
election ... I am an Independant from Washington ... I am a musician band leader by trade ... My band's name is Melchi. I am a Christian by faith, led by the Holy Spirit, and founded upon the New King James Bible. I attend Alderwood Manor Community Church in Lynnwood."
Except for the fact that Frank filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
Ronald "John Galt Jr." Gascon (Pennsylvania)
Ronald Gascon is a writer who explains that he assumed the identity "John Galt Jr." several years ago after being deeply influenced by the John Galt character in Ayn Rand's classic libertarian novel Atlas Shrugged. Gascon/Galt is waging a write-in campaign for President in 2004, just as he did in 2000. As for views, he supports drug legalization, "direct democracy, that is to say [having] the people voting on what should and shouldn't be laws." Gascon advocates environmentalist views, supports drug legalization -- and, surprisingly, is also rather hostile towards corporations ("We need new laws to limit the powers and scopes of corporate involvement in community and politics"). Gascon's 2000 VP runningmate was Kay Lee, a drug legalization activist from Florida.
Jack Grimes -- who previously ran for President as a write-in candidate in 2000 -- bills himself as the "Leader and Director of the United Fascist Union." As for his use of the word "Fascist," Grimes explains he wants to restore a New World Order based upon the governmental style of Imperial Rome "to institute a military dictatorship form of government over the Earth." Grimes believes that "the psychic is the next great step in the evolution of humankind on this planet." And it gets more weird: Grimes wants to address "the dilemmas now facing America and the whole of Western civilization: Democracy, Christianity, International Capitalism, Earth Changes, U.F.O.'s, government cover-ups, and others." Citing to Cayce and Nostradamus, Grimes predicts that "the United States will be reduced from its present size to a small triangular-shaped land mass through the loss of many of its coastal states." While those quotes come from his old 2000 campaign site, his 2004 is equally entertaining. Be sure to visit the "Pictures" page to view Grimes and his girlfriend (presumably) posing in their homemade black uniforms ... and to view pictures of them eating at different local restaurants. Or visit the "Speeches" page to read Grimes' 1998 remarks delivered to the "Flying Saucer Society of Dover, DE." Best of all is the Discussion Boards section of his site, in which Grimes exalts his followers to worship Satan -- plus you can read about the problem he was having getting to a campaign event in another state (because Mom's car was broken, etc.). While Grimes failed to achieve ballot status in any states in 2000, he falsely boasts on his site that he was on the ballot in 45 states and placed 6th in the race.
Michael J. "Mike" Halpin (New York)
Mike Halpin, 60, is a NYC public school teacher and Vietnam War Army infantry veteran who is making his first run for office in 2004 as a write-in candidate for President. Before attending college in the 1990s and earning his B.A. and Master's degrees, Halpin worked for nearly two decades as a UPS deliveryman. He is also Catholic, married, and the father of four children. As for issues, Halpin would cut defense spending for new weaponry but sharply increase pay for soldiers. He supports tax cuts for the poorest Americans, but large tax hikes for those in the highest income brackets -- and wants to increase federal spending on job training programs. Halpin also is a centrist on abortion, supports gay marriage and gun control, is pro-labor union rights, and supports environmental protection laws and additional campaign finance reform restrictions.
Larry Hines -- briefly sought the Libertarian Party's Presidential nomination in 2000 as "The Openly Gay Candidate for U.S. President." A former US Marine Corps NCO and legal secretary, Hines is also active in numerous gay community organizations. The main goal of his 2000 campaign was "to introduce to society the idea that one day there will be an openly gay President." Hines' platform was largely libertarian, including a call for the legalization of drugs and prostitution. After waging an energetic effort within the Libertarian Party and qualifying to appear on the primary ballot in a few states, Hines withdrew from the LP race in February 2000 and announced he instead intended to seek the Presidential nomination of Jesse Ventura's new Independence Party. The IP never got off the ground in 2000 -- and now Hines is back making another run in 2004 as an Independent.
Georgia Hough is a high school teacher making her first run for elective office. Hough -- who has bachelor's and master's degrees in history -- has been teaching classes for over 26 years. In fact, teaching is a family tradition as she notes her mother and both grandmothers were also teachers. Hough says that teaching social studies classes has given her "a good understanding of the underlying issues driving our government and our economy." She also stated that she "comes from a family with a strong Methodist heritage ... [that] has led to an active roll in the church" by teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, etc. Her write-in bid for President seems mainly inspired to get students interested in the political process.
Judd, who described himself as a bongo drums "musician" when he last ran for office, was a write-in candidate for Albuquerque Mayor in 1993. Judd attempted to qualify as a write-in candidate for New Mexico Governor in 1994, but abandoned that race. In 2000, he filed paperwork to run as a write-in candidate -- but showed no signs of waging any campaign. Judd -- who has since moved to a new state -- filed paperwork in Florida to again run as a write-in candidate for President in 2004.
Except for the fact that he's from Rhode Island and filed paperwork in Florida to run as a write-in candidate for President in 2004, no other info is known about this hopeful.
USAF veteran Darren Karr wanted to create a new entity called "Party X" -- as in Generation X -- but he now seems to be running as an independent. Karr supports abolition of income taxes, an end to political correctness, an end to federal government involvement in schools, an increase to at least 30-days of paid vacation time for workers, and "eventually see a four-day work week without a reduction in pay." Here's how he describes himself: "I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a politician, I'm not a corporate CEO. I have no allegiance with anyone except the American people. I've not been corrupted by the system. No political party or other organization owns me or dictates my beliefs or my direction. I'm a middle class man who came from a middle class family. Nothing has ever been given to me. I work every day with people just like you. I live in your neighborhood, not in an exclusive, gated community high atop a hill, or on a ranch the size of Texas. I impose campaign finance reform upon myself and will never accept corporate money or favors. I'll never make a promise I don't intend to keep. I'm the first presidential candidate from the next generation of leaders." He's also still trying to build Party X.
John Joseph Kennedy is a registered write-in candidate for President in Georgia, Indiana and Texas. On his campaign website, he describes himself as "an outstanding community leader, humanitarian, champion of children's rights, environmentalist, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and a man of extraordinary vision." Kennedy is a freelance writer, marketing executive and former model. He explains his motives for running on his campaign site: "I have now been called to serve God and my country as the TRUE DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE for the Presidency, to right the wrongs of America!" Kennedy sees the 9/11 attacks as an "inside job" directed by the Bush Administration as a pretext for launching the war on terrorism ("It's an inside job! At the highest level on down, I will see that those who are really responsible for the insidious acts of terrorism in our country, and around the world, be prosecuted to the fullest extent of all domestic and international laws."). He even goes so far as to blame Bush policies for hurricanes and other natural disasters. "I will stop the Bush family's manipulation of the elements of nature (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes) which have wrecked insurmountable havoc on our environment and disturbed the natural-flow of all life on this planet. They (especially Bush Sr.) have done this for personal, political and financial gain and greed," explained Kennedy. His Vice Presidential runningmate is Army National Guard veteran and investment advisor Daniel R. "Dan" Rezac of Texas.
Joseph "Joe" Martyniuk Jr. (Illinois)
Joe Martyniuk -- a frequent candidate for various offices over the years ranging from town council to the US Senate -- holds an MBA degree from the University of Chicago. He describes himself as an "inventor, investor, computer guru, and entrepreneur [who] owns JoeyDots.com, PracticeComputers.com, JoeyInternet.com, and CheapNursingHomes.com." From that description, it almost seems his candidacy exists to promote his business ventures. Martyniuk isn't accepting campaign contributions, because he intends to run an Internet-based campaign. "Don't send me any money. The internet is a cheap way to campaign for president," he wrote. While Martyniuk is running as an Independent in 2004, he typically ran as a Democrat while seeking offices in the past. "I Don't Want To Be President I'm a short dumpy guy, who stutters and stammers when I talk. All the mud they'll sling at me, all the bad things you'll hear, are true. But what does that have to do with building a better tomarrow? Cheer up! We can get what we need long before election day," he wrote.
David Mevis, 43, is the son of a career Air Force serviceman. "I have worked in several different industries and know first hand what it means to look for a job, suffer through periods of unemployment, and struggle to support a family," writes Mevis. "I have been through a divorce and know the loss and suffering that divided families endure." Mevis also currently co-hosts a -- sometimes profane -- netcast news and commentary show. He would like to move the US to a purely defensive military posture, repeal some of the post 9-11 homeland security laws, end US weapon sales to aggressor nations, eliminate PAC contributions and spending in campaigns, end the "War on Drugs", reform Social Security, and simplify the tax code. Mevis also wants to place a cap on maximum corporate officer compensation at an amount no more than 200 than the amount earned by the lowest paid employee in the corporation. Finally, he wants to call for a new Constitutional Convention "to overhaul the Constitution and to provide adequate checks and balances for today’s technological changes." Mevis -- who was another of those candidates who wanted to appear on FX's proposed Presidential candidate game show -- describes himself as a "grassroots Independent" candidate. Staunchly anti-Bush, he refers to the Bush Administration as a "fascist junta."
Muadin -- yup, he just uses one name -- is an announced write-in candidate for President. His slogan is a New Age-sounding mantra of "One People, One Planet, One Awareness." Muadin writes he is the candidate of the "E-Democratic Party" -- an unknown entity which he apparently created. What does he stand for? Here are his own words: "The people of earth must use the Internet to network and organize at the grassroots level, outside of the corporate global power structure, in a leaderless revolution of awareness and ideas, a second enlightenment, aimed at establishing e-democracy at every level of human government and in every aspect of human society and affairs. The e-democratic spirit of this leaderless cyber-revolution must culminate in a planetary e-democratic federal government through which all executive, legislative, judicial, and economic power ultimately rests directly in the hands of the people of earth." This focus includes is a requirement that Congressmen and US Senators must vote based upon e-votes on each issue cast by their constitutuents -- and that the federal government be changed from three branches into five branches (don't ask!). Other positions in his platform include a 10% flat tax, abolition of the death penalty, a constitutional ban on political parties (so all candidates must run as Independents), federal term limits, separate national election of the Vice President, repeal of the Second Amendment (gun rights) ... in fact, when we last checked, Muadin was proposing 18 constitutional amendments. If you dig through Muadin's off-beat campaign site, you can also find pix of Muadin badly cropped into poses in the White House ... and a picture of "future First Lady" Jessica Muadin (who, unlike her husband, has a full name). Muadin describes himself as a motivational speaker and President of the Planet Pilgrims Center for E-Democracy and Planetary Awareness.
Famed consumer activist Ralph Nader is making his fourth run for President in 2004. As he qualified for ballot status in multiple states, we created an in-depth Nader profile page (linked above).
Jeffrey B. Peters (New Hampshire)
A businessman with a degree from Harvard, Jeffrey Peters formerly served two terms on the Greenwich Town Council in Connecticut. His one-issue campaign is based entirely upon a demand for major campaign finance reform to the current "corrupt system." In 2000, Peters ran for President as the nominee the "We The People, American People's Party" (an unknown new third party) -- and actually campaigned in the general election as a write-in hopeful. Peters also competed in the 2000 New Hampshire Democratic primary and captured 156 votes (9th place). He had hoped his 2000 New Hampshire bid would capture media attention for his effort -- but instead ended up bitterly complaining that the media ignored him and labeled him a "fringe candidate." Peters grabbed a few headlines in October 2000 with his "Boston TV Party" -- when he vowed to dump some TV sets into Boston harbor to protest the exclusion of third party candidates (like himself) from the first Bush-Gore Presidential Debate in Boston. From text on his website, he's planning to make a second run for the White House in 2004 -- although some have emailed that Peters may now be thinking of abandoning his planned 2004 run.
It's hard to take a Presidential candidate seriously when his campaign site is peppered with comments like "When I die, I want my remains scattered in a nice wooded area. The only catch is that I don't want to be cremated first" and "One of my resolutions for this year my resolution is to do something useful around the house each day, like flush." Rotramel readily admits he has no chance of winning. Instead, he wants to "make my positions on various issues known. I hope to influence some to a more enlightened way of seeing the world." His liberal platform includes abolishing the death penalty, legalizing prostitution and narcotic drugs, and amending the constitutional Bill of Rights to guarantee a right to food, shelter and health care. He also wants to make anarchist professor Noam Chomsky -- who recently called the US the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism" -- the National Security Advisor.
Joe C. "Average Joe" Schriner (Ohio)
"Average Joe" Schriner, the director of an "Independent Catholic Ministry" and a former substance abuse counselor, made his first White House run in 2000. A former newspaper reporter, he also works these days as a freelance journalist. Schriner's campaign slogan: "The common Joe for the common good." As for issues, he is pro-life, pro-nuclear disarmament, pro-solar energy and wants to find ways to reduce America's high divorce rate. Although he began his 2000 campaign as a Republican, Schriner became a write-in Independent candidate in mid-2000 in order to continue his campaign. Traveling by recreation vehicle, he logged more than 13,000 driving miles on the road during the 2000 race. Schriner is making a second Presidential run -- as an Independent -- in 2004.
Dan Snow is waging an Independent write-in campaign for President in 2004. Snow is a US Marine Corps veteran and an insurance agent. He is also very active in groups related to bass fishing. He was the two-time President of the Kentucky Bass Federation, a Founding Board Member of the Bass Research Foundation, and the first Chairman of the Angler's Advisory Committee to the Bass Research Foundation. When President Carter loosened travel restrictions to Cuba, Snow was the first to organize a group trip there (and, yes, it was a bass fishing group). If elected, he promises to "restore the 'freedom to travel' for the American people." As for foreign policy, he condemned the Iraq war against Saddam Hussein as "an illegal and immoral war." He also supports abolishing the IRS, establishing a system of universal health care, the election of federal judges, legalization of prostitution and drugs, ending the tax-exempt status for churches, passage of the livable wage, and "an end to vulgar and profane music being played on public TV and radio."
Brian B. Springfield (Virginia)
Except for the fact that Springfield filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
Larry Topham -- who declares on his campaign site that his "favorite food" is "wheat" -- is the quintessential perennial candidate. Over the past 28 years, Topham has run for Salt Lake City Mayor (1995, 1999, 2003), US Senate (1994), Salt Lake City Council (1993), Utah Governor (1992, 1988), Congress (1990), and President (1976, 1996, 2000) -- and there are probably more that we missed, as he sometimes runs as a write-in candidate. And, over those years, he has run as both an Independent and as a nominee of various third parties. Topham is also a bit eccentric. A 68-year-old retiree, he is a zealous advocate of returning the US to the gold standard -- and he refuses to recognize the validity of the dollars (Federal Reserve Notes) currently in use as they are backed by neither silver nor gold. In a 1998 incident, he entered the closed Utah Capitol building near midnight by falsely telling a guard that he worked there. When police officers later found him in the rest room, Topham claimed to be the Secretary of State and declared he was there to seize the Capitol. He was arrested by use of pepper spray, according to court documents. At other times, Topham has declared various officeholders illegitimate, claiming they either didn't properly file their oath of office certificates or didn't pay their filing fees with gold or silver. Topham still persists with these claims, as his 2004 Presidential site declares Topham is currently the "Secretary of State of the State of Utah and Acting Governor during martial law." In fact, Topham apparently declared martial law in Utah in November 1997 because everyone is using that "fake" money not backed by gold/silver -- which, he declared, now makes him the Governor of Utah. Further, "Governor" Topham has decreed that anyone who works to elect any candidate he deems an unauthorized candidate (i.e., just about every candidate who qualifies for the ballot) is "participating in an unofficial election to overthrow the constitutional government of the State of Utah and its counties and is forbidden by law, and may well be an act of treason." Amusingly, "Secretary of State" Topham even regularly issues his own certificate of official election results (note: candidates named Topham won 4 out the top 8 ballot offices in his 2002 certificate). In addition to the above-linked campaign site, other Topham sites include: Topham for Governor 2004, About Truth, Freedom, Zion, and the The Constition, Topham for President Blog, Topham for President Blog #2, Official Office of Lawrence Rey Topham, Acting Utah Governor, State of Utah, Secretary of State Lawrence Rey Topham, 2002 A.D., and The Constitution: Sound. A related link: Salt Lake City Weekly: Larry Topham's Patriot Games.
Lemuel Tucker was a candidate for Michigan Governor in 2002 -- but failed to qualify for the ballot. Now he's filed his FEC paperwork to make a run for President. Beyond that, we have no information on this candidate.
Da Vid is the nominee of "The Light Party" -- which is a political entity entirely controlled by party founder "Da Vid, M.D., Wholistic Physician, Human Ecologist & Artist." He ran as a write-in candidate for President in 1996 and 2000 with little result -- and is again running as a write-in candidate for President in the 2004 election. He describes his ideology as "a synthesis of the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, and Green Parties ... to create a new reality with health, peace & freedom for all." Vid's platform promotes holistic medicine, national health insurance, organic foods, solar energy, nuclear disarmament and a flat tax. When you join the Light Party (cost: a $33 donation), Vid will send you a CD of New Age music and a music video" designed to inspire, delight, heal & enlighten" ... but, wait, there's more. If you join now, he'll throw in a "Wholistic Health Maintenance and Rejuvenation Manual" and other groovy stuff ... operators are waiting for your call. He says that he is not running to win votes, but rather to focus attention on some issues he really cares about -- and says that "millions of people" support the goals of his political movement.
Tom Wells -- the founder of the Family Values Party and a self-described "Messiahian Jew" -- is a frequent write-in candidate for Congress. He also ran for President as a write-in Candidate in 2000. Now Wells is running for President again in 2004 for the same reason that he founded the ultra-conservative, theocratic party: because -- explains Wells on his site -- God directly spoke to him in his bedroom on December 25, 1994 at 2:00 a.m. and commanded him to do so. Wells' political platform is largely derived from religious fundamentalism -- including numerous citations to Biblical passages -- with an ultimate goal of banning all abortions ("the premeditated murdering of GOD'S innocent children"). He is also opposed to homosexuality, tobacco products, tattoos, alcohol, drugs and gambling -- and supports all of the Ten Commandments. If you disagree with any of these views, Wells writes on his site you are not allowed to contribute any money to his campaign. Wells is listed here as an Independent because the FVP appears to merely be an alter-ego of the candidate.
Andrew J. "A.J." Wildman (Virginia)
A.J. Wildman has a lot of ideas, and that's why he's running for President. In fact, he details them on his very lengthy website. The site "is laid out the very much like a book. Not that I'm encouraging everyone to read it from the first selection through to the last, but to please review these first few items to obtain an introduction and general overview," wrote Wildman. As for his background, Wildman worked 34 years in the information technology field, working his way up from computer operation to programmer to project manager to business manager. He became interested in politics two decade ago as he began to think of better ways to address to "War on Drugs." He wants to legalize the growing of hemp for commercial purposes (one part of his large "NDR" -- National Drug Reform -- proposals), ensure that jobs are reserved first for American-born US citizens ("We do not owe anyone born outside of this country a job"), crackdown on illegal immigrants, increase physical education requirements for pre-K to 12 students (possibly the "Windsor/Pilate personal exercise program"), etc. He says his platform designed to make "a real appeal to moderates and swing voters." He also explains that he wants to collect the signatures needed to win ballot status nationwide. If you'd like to get involved, all campaign meetings are held at the public library near his house.
| HELP MAKE THIS LIST COMPLETE!! IF YOU KNOW OF A CANDIDATE OR SITE MISSING FROM THIS LIST, PLEASE EMAIL US TODAY. |
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