Gloria LaRiva and Sunil Freeman are the Liberty Union Candidates for the US Presidency on the Vermont Ballot.
Below is Liberty Union Party’s statement introducing Gloria La Riva on September 16th when she spoke at the Battery Park Encampment, organized by The Black Perspective, in Burlington, before joining the daily march to Burlington City Hall.
“It is essential to a functioning democracy that the voices of multiple parties be heard. The Liberty Union Party was founded in Vermont in 1970 after a ten year effort on the part of a vocal anti-war candidate to gain re-admission to the Democrat party. William Meyer of Rupert had served two-years as Vermont’s representative to the U.S. Congress. He was then barred from the Democrat party due to his anti-military positions. In June 1970 he convened a small group of individuals who shared his progressive values and formed the Liberty Union Party. Our organizing that year put us on the ballot as the first alternative party to challenge the two behemoth corporate parties in Vermont.
“This year we recognize our 50th anniversary. We have had a slate of statewide candidates in every election since 1970 and have cleared the path for many other alternative parties to participate in Vermont’s elections.
“Liberty Union is an unapologetically socialist party, committed to non-violence. We stand on a socialist platform consistent with the platform of the Party for Peace and Liberation. We endorsed Gloria La Riva as our candidate for U.S. President in 2016 and are grateful for the opportunity to put our full support behind her again in this election.
“Gloria La Riva has dedicated her life to promoting the right of all working people to own the profit from their labor, advocating that the basic human rights to decent housing, medical care, education, and secure income be provided for all people.
“On behalf of the Liberty Union Party, we thank you for joining us today. In case you imagine you will be wasting your vote by not voting for a corporate party candidate, Gloria La Riva offers the opportunity to vote FOR a candidate we can support in good conscience, as opposed to voting AGAINST a candidate on a mission to destroy democracy in this country.”
La Riva & Freeman are also on the ballot in 14 other states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington state. She is an official write-in candidate in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas, W. Virginia, and more to come.