Political structure is a term frequently used in political science.

The term political structure, used in a general sense, refers to institutions or groups and their relations to each other, their patterns of interaction within political systems and to political regulations, laws and the norms present in political systems in such a way that they constitute the political landscape of the political entity. In the social domain its counterpart is Social structure.

External links[link]

• Law Library of Congress website with links to Political structure articles
• Avalon project at Yale Law School on the Athenian Constitution by Aristotle (in English) Sir Frederic G. kenyon's translation of Aristotle on the political structure (or constitution) of the ancient city-state of Athens, which is usually considered a prime inspiration for the form of government chosen for the United States
• Provincial political structure of Ontario, Canada
• Political structure of Canada

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Kshama Sawant is economics professor at Seattle University and Seattle Central Community College in Seattle, Washington. She is also a candidate, for the Socialist Alternative party, for the 43rd District of the Washington House of Representatives, representing Seattle. In that race she is challenging the junior incumbent legislator, Democrat Jamie Pedersen.

The alternative newspaper, The Seattle Stranger endorsed her state house candidacy.^[1] The city's local 587 of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), union of the city's bus and transit workers, endorsed her.^[2]

Her campaign has opposed Seattle's SWAT team's early morning raid of anarchist Occupy Wall Street activists' homes.^[3][4] She has also advocated on LGBT issues, women's issues, people of color issues and cuts to education and other social programs.^[5] She gave a teach-in course at an all-night course at Seattle Central Community College.^[6]

She graduated with a B.S in computer science from the University of Mumbai. She received her PhD in economics from North Carolina State University.^[7]

Notes[link]

External sites[link]

• Entry at VoteSmart
• campaign website
• King County government voters pamphlet

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Jill Stein (born 1950) is an American physician and candidate for President of the United States in 2012 with the Green Party of the United States.^[1][2] Stein was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in the 2002 and the 2010 gubernatorial elections.^[3][4][5] Stein is a resident of Lexington, Massachusetts and a 1979 graduate of Harvard Medical School.^[6] She serves on the boards of Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and MassVoters for Fair Elections, and has been active with the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities.^[7]

In October 2011, Stein announced her candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Green Party in the 2012 general election.

Politics[link]

Positions[link]

Stein advocates for the creation of a "Green New Deal", the objective of which would be to employ "every American willing and able to work" to address "climate change...[and the] converging water, soil, fisheries, forest, and fossil fuel crises" by working towards "sustainable energy, transportation and production infrastructure: clean renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, intra-city mass transit and inter-city railroads, “complete streets” that safely encourage bike and pedestrian traffic, regional food systems based on sustainable organic agriculture, and clean manufacturing of the goods needed to support this sustainable economy".^[8] The initial cost of the Green New Deal would be funded by various mechanisms, including "taxing Wall Street speculation, off shore tax havens, millionaires and multimillion dollar estates" as well as a 30% reduction in the U.S. military budget.^[8] She cites a study of the economic effects of the 1930s New Deal projects by Dr. Phillip Harvey, Professor of Law & Economics at Rutgers School of Law as academic evidence for the Green New Deal.^[8]

Activities[link]

In October 2011, Stein began participating in the Occupy protests at the Occupy Boston peaceful protest.^[9] Speaking to the protesters, Stein said "The Occupy movement is a cry for change from workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas and young people whose future is being stolen from them by politicians intent on serving Wall Street rather than the people...People are being forced from their homes by big banks that defrauded consumers. The planet is being sacrificed to protect profits of polluters."^[10]

Electoral campaign history[link]

Governor, 2002[link]

Stein at a protest against coal.

Stein was the Green-Rainbow Party candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and finished third in a field of five candidates, with 76,530 votes and about 3.5% of the vote.^[11]

Massachusetts House of Representatives, 2004[link]

Following her third place results in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, Stein ran for state representative in 2004 for the Lexington District.^[12] She received 3,911 votes for 21.3 percent of the vote in a three-way race but lost to incumbent Thomas M. Stanley, who received 59.6 percent.^[13]

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2006[link]

Stein was nominated for Secretary of the Commonwealth on March 4, 2006, at the Green-Rainbow Party state-wide nominating convention. In a two-way race with three-term incumbent Democrat Bill Galvin, Stein received 353,551 votes for 18% of the total vote.^[14] Stein's 18% marked the best finish for a Green Party candidate running for Secretary of State in any state to date.^{[citation needed]}

Jill Stein announcing her candidacy for governor in February 2010

Town of Lexington Town Meeting Representative, 2005 and 2008[link]

Stein was elected to the Town Meeting Seat, Precinct 2 (Lexington, Massachusetts) in March 2005 local elections.^{[citation needed]} She finished first of 16 candidates running for 7 seats receiving 539 votes, for 20.6% of the total vote.^{[citation needed]} Stein was re-elected in 2008 finishing second of thirteen vying for eight seats.^[15]

Gubernatorial election, 2010[link]

On February 8, 2010, Stein announced her entrance into the gubernatorial race on the steps of the Masscahusetts State House in Boston.^[16] She was joined in the race by candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Richard P. Purcell, a surgery clerk and ergonomics assessor, of Holyoke.^[17] In May, Stein opened her campaign office in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, near the Fields Corner MBTA station.^[18] Stein received 32,816 votes out of 2,287,407 in the November 2, 2010 general election.

Presidential campaign, 2012[link]

In August 2011, Stein gave indication that she was considering running for President of the United States with the Green Party in the 2012 national election. She indicated in a published questionnaire that she had been asked to run by a number of Green activists and felt compelled to consider the possibility after the U.S. debt-ceiling crisis which she called "the President’s astounding attack on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – a betrayal of the public interest...". In the survey, she suggested that she would announce her intentions by the end of September 2011.^[2] Stein later stated that she would announce her intentions on October 24.^[9]

On October 24, 2011 Stein launched her campaign at a press conference in Massachusetts, saying "We are all realizing that we, the people, have to take charge because the political parties that are serving the top 1 percent are not going to solve the problems that the rest of us face, we need people in Washington who will refuse to be bought by lobbyists and for whom change is not just a slogan".^[1]

In December 2011, Wisconsin Green Party leader Ben Manski was announced as Stein's campaign manager.^[19]

Principle position, 4-Point "Green New Deal"[link]

Stein's principles are directed towards voters of every political party and independents:

1. The right to a job at a living wage.
2. The transition to a sustainable, green economy.
3. A financial sector serving Americans.
4. Citizen empowerment.

In Stein's words: "We don't need to run America like a business or like the military. We need to run America like a democracy." ^[20]

[edit] Fundraising and position on super PACs

The Green Party's position is to know and follow both the laws and regulations of the area.^[21]

Stein relies on ordinary people and not super PACs financed by billionaires or wealthy firms.^[22] Her campaign donations are accepted within the legal limit on her website or by mail. ^[23] As a result of her independence from super PACs and their associated monies, Stein stated she is not beholden to special interest groups. Additionally, she is not vulnerable should the Federal court ruling of January 31, 2012 prove to pose serious problems to those that do receive massive donations. ^[24]

Personal[link]

Stein was born in Chicago and raised in Highland Park, Illinois. She lives in Lexington, Massachusetts with her husband, fellow physician Richard Rohrer. The couple have two adult sons.^[25]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jill Stein for President campaign site
• Green Party Platform
• Jill Stein on Facebook