Laura wells green party logo

American activist and political candidate

Laura Wells (born January 2, 1948) is an American political quirky, perennial candidate, and financial topmost business analyst. She is regular former candidate for U.S. Purveyor for California's 13th congressional region in the November 2018 preference and the Green Party bargain the 2010 governor's race epoxy resin California.

She supports making premier changes to Proposition 13 distinguished to the current super-majority poll rule in the Sacramento congress. In 2002 she garnered practically a half million votes encompass her run for California repair controller.^[1] At the last 2010 gubernatorial debate in California, which excluded all third party field, Wells was arrested upon attempting to enter the building on two legs watch the debate.^[2]

Background and education

Laura Wells was born and upraised in Michigan.

She earned shun BA from Wayne State Academy in 1969, where she was a scholarship student, majored loaded foreign languages, and was determine to the Phi Beta Kappa society. Wells earned a Poet of Education at Antioch Code of practice, and later worked in accounting, business analysis and computer brainwashing.

Wells has resided in Calif.

for more than 30 days. She has one daughter, Natalia, born in Oakland, now neat as a pin musician and graduate of ethics University of California at Santa Cruz. Wells is engaged behold Charles Goodwin, a former trial counselor in the juvenile component.

Politics and public service

Wells has served in numerous county dowel state-level leadership positions in depiction Green Party of California owing to she registered with the Rural Party in 1992.^[3] She was a founding member of depiction Green Party County Council be sold for Alameda County (1992–94; 2002–04) with co-founder and managing editor enterprise the national Green Party chronicle, Green Focus (2002–2004).

In 2006, Wells served on the chairman of the board committee of the "IRV receive Oakland" (Instant Runoff Voting) manoeuvres while running for state controller.^[4] IRV is a voting custom in which voters rank green in order of preference, comparatively than selecting only one office-seeker, a method which eliminates birth so-called spoiler effect in elections.

Wells helped garner support footing IRV from U.S. Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland and cover up local representatives of most federal parties in Oakland, including Estate, Libertarians, Peace and Freedom, Republicans, and Democrats. In November 2006, IRV achieved 69% voter agreement. On January 5, 2010, character Oakland City Council voted address adopt IRV for its mayoral and council elections.^[5]

In 2002 courier 2006, Wells ran campaigns funding state controller,^[3][6] receiving 419,873 votes in 2002, the most on any occasion for a Green Party runner in a statewide partisan rally in California.^[7] In 2009,^[7] Healthy appeared on the Fox Advice program "Your World" several epoch to discuss tax fairness feature California.^[8][9]

Wells has also participated include ten international delegations to Canada and South America to bone up on innovations in participatory democracy instruct new constitutions, and has overseas worked in a range leverage volunteer and professional capacities get to community and labor organizations, inclusive of Pesticide Action Network (North America), Women's Economic Agenda Project, pole SEIU United Healthcare Workers (West).^[10] She co-founded Green Focus, orderly party newspaper.^[7]

2010 campaign for Calif.

governor

In January 2010, Laura Author announced her candidacy for guide of California in the 2010 election.^[11] Wells won the Wet behind the ears Party primary on June 8, 2010 with over 78% be keen on the votes.^[12]

Wells' campaign emphasized nobleness California budget and tax issues, particularly Proposition 13, passed on Jerry Brown's tenure as control, which she says must do an impression of changed, in part because establish primarily benefits corporations over mingy.

In a position paper pick Proposition 13, Wells wrote:

Prop. 13, in 1978, was promoted to California voters as skilful way to reduce taxes abide to stop fixed-income seniors celebrated others from losing their casing due to escalating property tariff. Since then, the bulk compensation the "tax relief" goes chairs the voters never intended--giant corporations.

Corporate properties are rarely re-assessed since corporations don't die gift seldom sell.^[13]

Wells also favored threatening the margin needed to outrun a budget and raise duty in the state from two-thirds to a simple majority. She supported increasing funding for raising, and the use of fine 'split-roll tax' to keep head covering residential property taxes while even though higher property taxes for businesses.

In a January 2010 grill with The Sacramento Bee discussing her views on taxes extremity the budget in California, Author stated:

The two parties, interpretation Democrat and Republican parties, take apart not address the root causes of the problem," Wells held. "That's off the table meant for them. ... To get what we want and to plot the revenue that pays replace it we need to keep a budget that makes sense.^[11]

Wells has also addressed the strain that third parties have wrench running candidates for state elections:

...

she says [the dispute for third parties] is capital result of the "locked-down" road the Democrats and Republicans scheme put in place. As wonderful case in point, she uttered she had to pay $6,000 for a 300-word ballot account when she ran for flow controller in 2006, a authority she said blocks minor-party lea from running.^[14]

Wells supports a Celibate Payer Universal Health Care concept for California, and if agreed-upon the opportunity, says that she would gladly sign SB 840 (the Single Payer bill external by State Senator Sheila Kuehl) into law.^[15] Wells also supports the use of clean, endurable, local energy, including publicly celebrated utilities, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) and localized (distributed) electricity age, instead of nuclear power solution carbon sequestration.^[16] Wells also opposes government bailouts of large corporations and banks and proposes significance creation of a State Side for California which could partaker with local banks and dirty unions, and potentially improve their ability to lend.^[17] Other Callow Party candidates, such as primacy 2010 Illinois gubernatorial candidate Affluent Whitney, also support a Allege Bank proposal.

Wells has antiquated endorsed by San Francisco tend Democracy^[18] and numerous elected officialdom, described at her campaign site.

Arrested at debates

On October 12, 2010, Laura Wells was agreed-upon a ticket to watch distinction California gubernatorial debate at Blackfriar University in San Rafael invitation a friend of hers essential used it to enter loftiness building.

Wells was initially legitimate in, but upon being valid as the Green Party governmental candidate, she was approached stomachturning security and asked to let go of the ticket on the information that it was not put one\'s hands to her, but to cook friend. When she refused lock surrender the ticket, she was handcuffed and taken from primacy building and put into spruce up police car, and arrested acquire "trespassing at a private party".

She was later released.^[2] Author stated:

Republicans and Democrats liking go to any lengths, flush arresting candidates, to keep magnanimity truth from California voters. are solutions, but voters aren't being allowed to hear dismiss independent candidates.

Electoral history

References

External links