Nader/Gonzalez Campaign To Gain Ohio Ballot Line, Recording Artist And Activist To Speak
News Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org;
(Ohio) Justin Jeffre, 917-881-9882
NADER/GONZALEZ CAMPAIGN TO GAIN OHIO BALLOT LINE, RECORDING ARTIST AND ACTIVIST TO SPEAK
On Thursday, Aug. 21, Justin Jeffre, Nader/Gonzalez Ohio state coordinator and former member of the band "98 Degrees," will submit petitions to the Ohio Secretary of State, Elections Office, to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 election ballot.
Ohio will be the 35th state in which the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign has filed for a ballot line since Mr. Nader announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press". To qualify to appear on Ohio's ballot, state law requires submission of the signatures of 5,000 registered voters. The Nader/Gonzalez Campaign will submit the legal limit of 15,000 signatures.
Multi-Platinum recording artist and activist Justin Jeffre will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. to discuss the many issues Ohio residents face.
Housing foreclosures have hit Ohio hard, which is compounded by the impending loss of 5,000 jobs with the DHL shutdown. The Nader/Gonzalez campaign has also taken a hard stance on the issue of mountaintop removal mining, which would destroy vast amounts of land and forests, and pollute waterways. Mr. Nader is the first presidential candidate to pledge banning the destructive practice by executive order, in addition to signing the Clean Water Protection Act, which would reverse recent Bush Administration changes to the 1977 Clean Water Act allowing mining waste to be dumped into wetlands and streams. Mr. Nader was instrumental in passing the original act, so his pledge to restore water safety is both meaningful and fitting.
WHO: Justin Jeffre and Ohio supporters of Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Campaign
WHAT: News Conference and nominating petitions submission
WHEN: 11 a.m., Thurs. Aug. 21, 2008
WHERE: Ohio Secretary of State, Elections Office, 15th floor (outside the door to the SOS office), 180 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio 43215
About Ralph Nader
Attorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.
About Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.
About the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign
According to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.
For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
