Stewart Alexander facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stewart Alexander
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Alexander in Los Angeles, 2011
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| Personal details | |
| Born | October 1, 1951 Newport News, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Socialist |
| Other political affiliations |
Liberty Union (affiliated non-member) Peace and Freedom (1998–2012) Green (2010–2011) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | California State University, Dominguez Hills |
| Occupation | Political writer, activist, automobile salesperson |
Stewart Alexis Alexander, born on October 1, 1951, is an American politician. He believes in a type of government called democratic socialism. He was the main candidate for President for the Socialist Party USA in the 2012 election. Before that, he was the candidate for Vice President for the same party in the 2008 election.
Stewart Alexander lives in California. He has also run for other important jobs. For example, in 2006, he ran to be the lieutenant governor of California for the Peace and Freedom Party. He received a small number of votes, but he kept working in politics.
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Stewart Alexander's Early Life
Stewart Alexis Alexander was born in Newport News, Virginia. His father was a brick mason and a minister. His mother was a nurse and a housewife. He was born in Mary Immaculate Hospital, which was a segregated hospital at the time. This meant that Black and white people were kept separate. Young Stewart and his mother were moved to a basement room.
Education and Early Jobs
While he was in the Air Force Reserve, Stewart worked at Safeway Stores. He then started going to college at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He worked extra hours at Safeway to pay for his schooling. During this time, he married his first wife, Freda Alexander, and they had one son.
He left the Air Force Reserve in October 1976. He got married a second time. In 1978, he stopped working at Safeway. For a short time, he worked as a licensed contractor. In 1980, he started working for Lockheed Aircraft, but he left the next year.
Community Involvement
After returning to Los Angeles, Stewart got involved in many community groups. One important group was the NAACP. He became the chairman for labor and industry for the Inglewood South Bay Branch of the NAACP.
In 1986, he hosted a weekly talk show on KTYM Radio. This show lasted until 1989. On the show, he talked about important issues in Los Angeles. These included topics like gangs and city redevelopment. He interviewed government officials and community leaders. He also worked with Delores Daniels from the NAACP on the radio and in the community.
Running for Mayor of Los Angeles
In 1987, Stewart met Norton Halper, a community activist. Norton convinced Stewart to run for mayor of Los Angeles.
The Campaign for Mayor
Stewart Alexander started his campaign for mayor of Los Angeles in 1988. He visited over 14,000 homes himself. He did this to get the 1,000 signatures he needed to be on the ballot. Many of his ideas came from a meeting he led with over 200 community activists. They talked about the city's problems.
His campaign focused on the issue of redevelopment. Stewart believed that billions of tax dollars were being spent on redevelopment. He felt this money mostly helped rich contractors and companies. He thought this was unfair to the people who needed social programs and jobs. His campaign also talked about preventing crime and creating social programs. Stewart believed these issues led to the Los Angeles riots of 1992.
Tom Bradley won the election. Stewart Alexander finished seventh, getting 2,691 votes.
Other Political Campaigns
After the mayoral election, Stewart Alexander became an automobile sales consultant. He started looking at political groups other than the main Democratic and Republican parties. He saw that independent candidates like H. Ross Perot were popular in the 1990s. This showed him that Americans might want more choices.
Running for Lieutenant Governor
In 2006, he ran for lieutenant governor of California again. He was the candidate for the Peace and Freedom party. He received 0.5% of the votes.
Vice Presidential and Presidential Runs
In 2008, the Socialist Party USA chose him to be their candidate for Vice President of the United States.
Then, on October 15, 2011, the Socialist Party USA chose him to be their candidate for President of the United States. This happened at their meeting in Los Angeles.
He also tried to get the nomination for governor from the Peace and Freedom Party in 2010, but he was not successful.
Stewart Alexander's Presidential Campaign
At the 2011 Socialist Party USA national meeting in Los Angeles, Stewart Alexander was chosen as the party's candidate for President. He won the nomination in the first round of voting. His running mate for Vice President was Alejandro Mendoza from Texas.
In August 2012, Alexander also tried to get the nomination from the Peace and Freedom Party. This is a socialist party in California that is on the ballot. However, Alexander and Mendoza lost the nomination to comedian Roseanne Barr and activist Cindy Sheehan. Soon after, Alexander left the Steering Committee of the Peace and Freedom Party. He said it was because the party did not support socialist candidates enough.
See also
- Brian Moore, who was the Socialist Party's candidate for president in the 2008 election.
