Local voters will see fewer candidates offering
alternatives to GOP and Democrats.
January 12, 2002
By MARTIN WISCKOL
The Orange County Register
You will find fewer choices on this year's ballot than
on any since 1994.
The Republicans and Democrats will be there, vying for
your vote March 5. But the number of third-party
candidates on Orange County ballots is down 32 percent
since the 1998 gubernatorial primary.
"What we have here is political market failure," said
Jack Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont
McKenna College.
Victories by third parties are extremely rare, but
Pitney said third-party candidates help vitalize the
process and stimulate thought - particularly in the
wake of the recent redistricting, which generally
bolstered incumbents' election security.
"It would be nice if there were more of these people
to raise unorthodox issues for consideration," he
said. "It's healthy for the democratic process."
The decline is attributable to diminished campaign
activity by three parties:
The socialist Peace and Freedom Party has fielded more
candidates for statewide office than any other third
party over the past decade. But it failed to qualify
for the ballot after the 1998 election because of
insufficient registration numbers and a lack of voter
support for candidates. It is the first time since
1968 that the party has not qualified.
The Natural Law Party has put dozens of congressional
and state legislative candidates on the ballot in the
past three elections. But after the Sept. 11 tragedy,
it decided to focus energies instead on its peace
initiative. The party is, however, running a slate of
candidates for statewide
offices.
The number of Reform Party candidates is dwindling,
and many doubt the one-time party of Ross Perot can
recover from the infighting that scared off candidates
and supporters in 2000.
"I concluded in June of 2000 - when (Jesse) Ventura
left and (Donald) Trump decided he wouldn't run for
president - that it was over," said Jim Benson of
Anaheim, a former chairman of the county Reform Party
who re-registered as a Democrat after that election.
"They were the foundation of the moderate wing. A
third party is not going to be successful if it is
extremist. (Pat) Buchanan came in with this pro-life,
anti-gay rhetoric - I don't agree with that, and it's
not going to sell to the mainstream."
Green party draws the disillusioned
The only third party to post significant gains in the
number of candidates is the Green Party, which is
running an all-time high eight candidates for
statewide office - including two in the primary for
controller.
"Running high-profile candidates like Ralph Nader has
changed people's perceptions," said Green Party
activist Duane Roberts of Anaheim. "We're not just
about the environment - there's also affordable
housing, universal health care, police brutality. ...
The Greens have emerged as a contender for people
disillusioned with the two major parties."
Greens are the fourth- largest party in the state,
following the two major parties and the American
Independents. Green gains are part of the reason the
Peace and Freedom Party is losing support. Both draw
from a similar constituency, although Peace and
Freedom's socialist stance is less likely than the
Green Party to attract voters from the two major
parties.
"I think the Green Party is an easier switch," said
Miriam Clark, the south state chairwoman for Peace and
Freedom. "You're not regarded as being so radical."
Socialist party hanging by a thread
Roberts, a former member of Peace and Freedom, said
part of the reason he changed parties was that he
didn't see the socialists getting much accomplished
other than placing names on the ballot.
"I think their days are just about over," he said.
But there is still an outside chance Peace and Freedom
could end up on the ballot. The party has mounted a
legal challenge of the state's tally of Peace and
Freedom registered voters, which showed it did not
have the required total of 1 percent of all the voters
participating in the last gubernatorial election.
Natural Law, the sixth-most-popular party in the
state, decided to focus less on candidates this time
so it can better push its nonmilitary initiative for
peace. The plan calls for 40,000 "consciousness
experts" to use meditation to defuse ethnic and
religious tensions. The catalyst for the initiative
was the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
With no Reform or Natural Law members running for
congressional or state legislative office in Orange
County for the first time since 1994, the only third
party represented is the Libertarian, which has 11
such candidates.