Stewart Alexis Alexander (born October 1, 1951) is an American

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...

politician, presidential nominee for the

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...

in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, and former SPUSA nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 election. A resident of California, Alexander was the

Peace and Freedom Party The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a left-wing political party with affiliates and former members in more than a dozen American states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana and Utah, but none now have ballot status besides C ...

candidate for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 2006. He received 43,319 votes, 0.5% of the total. In August 2010, Alexander declared his candidacy for the President of the United States with the Socialist Party and

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

. In January 2011, Alexander also declared his candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party.

Early life

Stewart Alexis Alexander was born to Stewart Alexander, a brick mason and minister, and Ann E. McClenney, a nurse and housewife, in the Mary Immaculate Hospital on the banks of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

, near the Newport News Ship Building and Dry Dock Company, in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

. Because the facility was then a segregated hospital, young Stewart and his mother were quickly relocated to a basement room. While in the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

, Alexander worked as a full-time retail clerk at Safeway Stores and then began attending college at

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

. Stewart began working overtime as a stocking clerk with Safeway to support himself through school. During this period he was married to Freda Alexander, his first wife. They had one son. He was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

in October 1976 and married for the second time. He left Safeway in 1978 and for a brief period worked as a licensed general contractor. In 1980, he went to work for Lockheed Aircraft but quit the following year. Returning to Los Angeles, he became involved in several civic organizations, including most notably the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

(he became the Labor and Industry Chairman for the Inglewood South Bay Branch of the NAACP). In 1986 he moved back to Los Angeles and hosted a weekly talk show on

KTYM KTYM (1460 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish language Catholic radio format from ESNE Radio. Licensed to Inglewood, California, United States, the station serves the Los Angeles area. KTYM is owned by El Sembrador Ministries of Chats ...

Radio until 1989. The show dealt with social issues affecting Los Angeles such as

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

s, drugs, and

redevelopment Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space. Description Variations on redevelopment include: ...

, interviewing government officials from all levels of government and community leaders throughout California. He also worked with Delores Daniels of the NAACP on the radio and in the street.

Los Angeles mayoral election of 1989

In 1987 he met Norton Halper, a community activist, who convinced him to run for mayor of Los Angeles.Biography
at ''stewartalexandercares.com''. Retrieved March 8, 2008. Alexander launched his campaign for mayor of Los Angeles in 1988, personally visiting over 14,000 doors to get the necessary 1,000 signatures to appear on the ballot. Many of his ideas for the campaign came from a hearing of over 200 community activists in Los Angeles, about the city's problems, which he moderated. His campaign focused on the issue of redevelopment. Stewart felt that the billions of tax dollars spent on redevelopment were wasted on helping wealthy contractors and corporations earn more profits at the expense of the residents who he felt were in need of social programs and employment. Furthermore, his campaign dealt with the issues of crime prevention and the aforementioned social programs. Stewart believes that these social conditions led to the

Los Angeles riots of 1992 The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, in April ...

. Tom Bradley won the election against major opponent

Nate Holden Nathaniel N. "Nate" Holden (born June 19, 1929) is a Los Angeles County politician who served four years in the California State Senate and 16 years on the Los Angeles City Council. Biography Upbringing, education and family Holden was born in ...

. Alexander finished seventh with 2,691 votes (0.84%).

Later campaigns

Alexander became an automobile sales consultant and began looking at other political groups outside of the Democratic and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

parties. He saw the popularity of independent

H. Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...

in 1992 and 1996 as proof that America was interested in more as well. He was the

Peace and Freedom party The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a left-wing political party with affiliates and former members in more than a dozen American states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana and Utah, but none now have ballot status besides C ...

candidate for

in California in 2006, receiving 0.5% of the vote. In 2008 he was nominated for Vice President of the United States by the

. On October 15, 2011, he was nominated for President of the United States by the

at the party's convention in Los Angeles. He also unsuccessfully ran for the

nomination for governor in the

California gubernatorial election, 2010 The 2010 California gubernatorial election was held November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of California. The primary elections were held on June 8, 2010. Because constitutional office holders in California have been prohibited from serving more ...

Presidential campaign

At the 2011

national convention in Los Angeles, California, Alexander was elected as the party's nominee for President of the United States. He won the nomination in the first round of voting, against former SPUSA co-chair Jerry Levy. Alexander's running-mate for Vice President of the United States was

Alejandro Mendoza Alejandro "Alex" Mendoza (born April 25, 1977) is an American former Marine, owner of a lawn care business and democratic socialist politician from Dallas, Texas, who was the vice presidential nominee of Socialist Party USA in the 2012 elec ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In August 2012, Alexander sought the nomination of the

, a ballot qualified socialist party in California. Alexander/Mendoza lost the nomination to a ticket of comedian

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...

and anti-war activist

Cindy Sheehan Cindy Lee Sheehan ( Miller; born July 10, 1957) is an American anti-war activist,Geraghty, Jim (2011-05-02)Cindy Sheehan: ‘If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid.’''National Review''. Retrieved May 2, 2011. whose son, U.S. Arm ...

. Shortly thereafter, Alexander resigned from the Steering Committee of the Peace and Freedom Party, citing a lack of support for socialist candidates by the PFP.

References

Sources

* Ballot-Access.org.
www.ballot-access.org
Richard Winger. * Brian Moore Official Campaign Website.
www.votebrianmoore.com
* StewartAlexanderCares.com.
www.stewartalexandercares.com
Stewart Alexander. * Tash, Stephen. "Socialist Party USA Picks its Presidential Ticket for 2008". ''The Michigan Socialist''
End of Year Issue 2007
Accessed March 8, 2008.
Political profile of Steward Alexander
Accessed November 20, 2011.

External links

*
Socialist Party USA website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Stewart 1951 births Living people African-American candidates for President of the United States African-American candidates for Vice President of the United States American political activists California State University, Dominguez Hills alumni Liberty Union Party politicians Peace and Freedom Party politicians Politicians from Los Angeles Socialist Party USA presidential nominees Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election 21st-century American politicians 2008 United States vice-presidential candidates Socialist Party USA vice presidential nominees People from Murrieta, California Socialist Party USA politicians from California Activists from California Politicians from Newport News, Virginia 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people Candidates in the 1989 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections