------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the July 1, 2004 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
LEILANI DOWELL: THE PEOPLE'S CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS
By Brenda Sandburg San Francisco
Imagine having free, universal health care, a minimum wage of $15 per hour, college education accessible to all, and an end to the military occupation of Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan.
Most U.S. politicians say this is an impossible utopia. They don't fight for people to live free of poverty. They don't care that people are being laid off or forced into low-paying jobs. They do nothing for people dying because they lack health insurance.
They are indifferent to the men and women being sent to Iraq to kill and die, just as they are indifferent to the people tortured, bombed and maimed in the U.S. government's "endless wars" of colonization.
That's because they are part of the capitalist system. Democrats and Republi cans alike represent the interests of the rich, the big corporations and the banks. To expose the hypocrisy of capitalist elections and to help build a movement to change the system, Workers World Party is running a candidate for Congress in California.
LeiLani Dowell, an anti-war fighter and community activist, is campaigning against Democratic incumbent Nancy Pelosi in California's 8th Congressional District, which includes most of San Francisco. A member of Workers World Party, Dowell is running on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket.
Peace and Freedom, the only socialist party on the California ballot, regained its electoral status after losing it in 1998 for failing to meet the 2-percent threshold in that year's election. A statewide struggle by socialists, including Workers World Party, put it back on the ballot last year.
"The election provides an opportunity to offer millions of workers a genuine alternative to the whole system of exploitation and oppression," Dowell said. "We can't achieve what we need by depending on Congress or the legislature. Our real hope lies in building a powerful, united people's movement."
Since Dowell launched her campaign six months ago she has been in the forefront of struggles for same-sex marriage, women's reproductive rights and affirmative action. She has also been active in the fight against the death penalty, participating in the movement that halted the execution of Kevin Cooper in February, and in the battle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Dowell has been a leading organizer in the anti-war movement, helping to build the major demonstrations since the U.S. first announced plans to attack Iraq.
She has supported the struggle against imperialism in Latin America, traveling to Venezuela in solidarity with the masses of people backing President Hugo Chavez, and to Colombia in support of the trade union campaign against Coca-Cola. The union accuses Coca-Cola of collaborating with Colombian paramilitaries in a campaign of murder and human rights violations against union activists.
She has also spoken out to educate people about the Cuban 5 political prisoners.
A 26-year old lesbian of African American and Hawaiian descent, Dowell is a socialist who has worked as a pre-school teacher, union organizer and office worker. She knows what it's like to scrape together the rent and work to pay tuition.
The media touts Dowell's opponent Pelosi as an anti-war candidate. But since 9/11 Pelosi has consistently supported Bush's "war on terror." She is now calling for more U.S. troops in Iraq "to get the job done." She also supports Israel's occupation of Palestine and voted against easing the travel ban on Cuba.
And like most members of the House Pelosi is a millionaire. She sold one of her vineyards last year for a reported $1 million to $5 million. She owns another vineyard in St. Helena, town houses in Lake Tahoe and Norden, Calif., and real estate in Napa.
The rich have their candidates like Pelosi. Working and poor people need their own. Dowell's campaign is dedicated to building a movement to fight for a just society, before and after the elections.
"The working class--African American, Latin@, Native, Asian, Pacific Islander, Arab and white, women and men, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight, able-bodied and disabled, immigrant and U.S.- born--the vast majority who create all the wealth in society should determine how it is utilized," Dowell said.
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