Laura Wells

Last updated
Laura Wells
LauraWellsSacramento3.jpg
Born
Laura Wells

(1948-01-02) January 2, 1948 (age 76)
Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
Alma mater Wayne State University,
Antioch University
Occupation(s)former financial and business analyst
Political party Green
SpouseCharles Goodwin (engaged)
Children1

Laura Wells (born January 2, 1948) is an American political activist, perennial candidate, and financial and business analyst. She is a former candidate for U.S. Representative for California's 13th congressional district in the November 2018 election and the Green Party in the 2010 governor's race in California. She supports making significant changes to Proposition 13 and to the current super-majority voting rule in the Sacramento legislature. In 2002 she garnered nearly a half million votes in her run for California state controller. [1] At the last 2010 gubernatorial debate in California, which excluded all third party candidates, Wells was arrested upon attempting to enter the building to watch the debate. [2]

Contents

Background and education

Laura Wells was born and raised in Michigan. She earned her BA from Wayne State University in 1969, where she was a scholarship student, majored in foreign languages, and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society. Wells earned a Masters of Education at Antioch University, and later worked in finance, business analysis and computer programming.

Wells has resided in California for more than 30 years. She has one daughter, Natalia, born in Oakland, now a musician and graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz. Wells is engaged to Charles Goodwin, a former probation counselor in the juvenile division.

Politics and public service

Wells has served in numerous county and state-level leadership positions in the Green Party of California since she registered with the Green Party in 1992. [3] She was a founding member of the Green Party County Council in Alameda County (1992–94; 2002–04) and co-founder and managing editor of the national Green Party newspaper, Green Focus (2002–2004).

In 2006, Wells served on the executive committee of the "IRV for Oakland" (Instant Runoff Voting) campaign while running for state controller. [4] IRV is a voting system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, rather than selecting only one candidate, a method which eliminates the so-called spoiler effect in elections. Wells helped garner support for IRV from U.S. Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland and other local representatives of most political parties in Oakland, including Greens, Libertarians, Peace and Freedom, Republicans, and Democrats. In November 2006, IRV achieved 69% voter approval. On January 5, 2010, the Oakland City Council voted to adopt IRV for its mayoral and council elections. [5]

In 2002 and 2006, Wells ran campaigns for state controller, [3] [6] receiving 419,873 votes in 2002, the most ever for a Green Party candidate in a statewide partisan race in California. [7] In 2009, [7] Wells appeared on the Fox News program "Your World" several times to discuss tax fairness in California. [8] [9]

Wells has also participated in ten international delegations to Canada and South America to study innovations in participatory democracy and new constitutions, and has broadly worked in a range of volunteer and professional capacities for community and labor organizations, including Pesticide Action Network (North America), Women's Economic Agenda Project, and SEIU United Healthcare Workers (West). [10] She co-founded Green Focus, a party newspaper. [7]

2010 campaign for California governor

In January 2010, Laura Wells announced her candidacy for governor of California in the 2010 election. [11] Wells won the Green Party primary on June 8, 2010 with over 78% of the votes. [12]

Wells' campaign emphasized the California budget and tax issues, particularly Proposition 13, passed during Jerry Brown's tenure as governor, which she says must be changed, in part because it primarily benefits corporations over individuals. In a position paper on Proposition 13, Wells wrote:

Prop. 13, in 1978, was promoted to California voters as a way to reduce taxes and to stop fixed-income seniors and others from losing their homes due to escalating property taxes. Since then, the bulk of the "tax relief" goes places the voters never intended--giant corporations. Corporate properties are rarely re-assessed since corporations don't die and seldom sell. [13]

Wells also favored lowering the margin needed to pass a budget and raise taxes in the state from two-thirds to a simple majority. She supported increasing funding for education, and the use of a 'split-roll tax' to keep cap residential property taxes while allowing higher property taxes for businesses. In a January 2010 interview with The Sacramento Bee discussing her views on taxes and the budget in California, Wells stated:

The two parties, the Democrat and Republican parties, do not address the root causes of the problem," Wells said. "That's off the table for them. ... To get what we want and to have the revenue that pays for it we need to have a budget that makes sense. [11]

Wells has also addressed the difficulty that third parties have in running candidates for state elections:

... she says [the difficulty for third parties] is a result of the "locked-down" system the Democrats and Republicans have put in place. As a case in point, she said she had to pay $6,000 for a 300-word ballot statement when she ran for state controller in 2006, a fee she said blocks minor-party candidates from running. [14]

Wells supports a Single Payer Universal Health Care solution for California, and if given the opportunity, says that she would gladly sign SB 840 (the Single Payer bill introduced by State Senator Sheila Kuehl) into law. [15] Wells also supports the use of clean, sustainable, local energy, including publicly owned utilities, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) and localized (distributed) electricity generation, instead of nuclear power or carbon sequestration. [16] Wells also opposes government bailouts of large corporations and banks and proposes the creation of a State Bank for California which could partner with local banks and credit unions, and potentially improve their ability to lend. [17] Other Green Party candidates, such as the 2010 Illinois gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney, also support a State Bank proposal.

Wells has been endorsed by San Francisco for Democracy [18] and numerous elected officials, described at her campaign website.

Arrested at debates

On October 12, 2010, Laura Wells was given a ticket to watch the California gubernatorial debate at Dominican University in San Rafael by a friend of hers and used it to enter the building. Wells was initially allowed in, but upon being recognized as the Green Party gubernatorial candidate, she was approached by security and asked to surrender the ticket on the grounds that it was not issued to her, but to her friend. When she refused to surrender the ticket, she was handcuffed and taken from the building and put into a police car, and arrested for "trespassing at a private party". She was later released. [2] Wells stated:

Republicans and Democrats will go to any lengths, even arresting candidates, to keep the truth from California voters. There are solutions, but voters aren't being allowed to hear from independent candidates.

Electoral history

California State Controller Green primary, 2002
CandidateVotes %
Laura Wells29,45784.12
David Delano Blanco5,56115.88
Total votes35,018 100.00
California State Controller election, 2002 [19] [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Steve Westly 3,289,839 45.32
Republican Tom McClintock 3,273,02845.09
Green Laura Wells419,8735.78
Natural Law J. Carlos Aguirre179,9992.48
American Independent Ernest F. Vance96,0191.32
Invalid or blank votes480,0636.20
Total votes7,258,758 100.00
Turnout  36.05
Democratic hold
California State Controller election, 2006 [21] [22]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic John Chiang 4,232,313 50.62
Republican Tony Strickland 3,360,61140.19
Green Laura Wells260,0473.11
Peace and Freedom Elizabeth Cervantes Barron 212,3832.54
Libertarian Donna Tello188,9342.26
American Independent Warren Campbell106,7611.28
Invalid or blank votes538,0106.05
Total votes8,361,049 100.00
Turnout  39.29
Democratic hold
California gubernatorial election, 2010 [23]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jerry Brown 5,428,458 53.77
Republican Meg Whitman 4,127,37140.89
American Independent Chelene Nightingale166,3081.7
Libertarian Dale Ogden150,8981.5
Green Laura Wells129,2311.2
Peace and Freedom Carlos Alvarez92,8560.9
Independent Other (write-ins)3630.0
Total votes10,095,485 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican
2014 California State Controller primary [24]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ashley Swearengin 1,001,473 24.79
Democratic Betty Yee 878,195 21.74
Democratic John Pérez 877,71421.73
Republican David Evans850,10921.05
Green Laura Wells231,3525.73
Democratic Tammy D. Blair200,5324.96
Turnout 4,039,37513.68
California's 13th congressional district election, 2018 [25] [26]
Primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Barbara Lee (incumbent)159,75199.3
Green Laura Wells (write-in)8320.5
Republican Jeanne Marie Solnordal (write-in)1780.1
Libertarian James M. Eyer (write-in)390.0
No party preference Lanenna Joiner (write-in)260.0
American Independent Vincent May (write-in)30.0
Total votes160,829 100.0
General election
Democratic Barbara Lee (incumbent) 260,580 88.4
GreenLaura Wells34,25711.6
Total votes294,837 100.0
Democratic hold
Controller election
Primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Lanhee Chen 2,533,30537.2
Democratic Malia Cohen 1,542,39722.7
Democratic Yvonne Yiu1,024,70715.1
Democratic Steve Glazer 756,51811.1
Democratic Ron Galperin 690,48410.1
Green Laura Wells258,0533.8
Total votes6,805,464 100.0
General election
Democratic Malia Cohen
Republican Lanhee Chen
Total votes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor of California</span> Head of government of California

The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Brown</span> Governor of California (1975–1983; 2011–2019)

Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of State of California in 1970; Brown later served as Mayor of Oakland from 1999 to 2007 and Attorney General of California from 2007 to 2011. He was both the oldest and sixth-youngest governor of California due to the 28-year gap between his second and third terms. Upon completing his fourth term in office, Brown became the fourth longest-serving governor in U.S. history, serving 16 years and 5 days in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace and Freedom Party</span> American left-wing political party

The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a left-wing political party with ballot status in California. Its first candidates appeared on the 1966 New York ballot. The Peace and Freedom Party of California was organized in early 1967, gathering over 103,000 registrants which qualified its ballot status in January 1968 under the California Secretary of State Report of Registration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 California gubernatorial recall election</span>

The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003. Seven of the nine previous governors, including Davis, had faced unsuccessful recall attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Angelides</span> American politician

Phillip Nicholas Angelides is an American politician who was California State Treasurer and the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Governor of California in the 2006 elections. Angelides served as the chair of the Apollo Alliance and of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 2006 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6, 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won re-election for his first and only full term. His main opponent was California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, the California Democratic Party nominee. Peter Camejo was the California Green Party nominee, Janice Jordan was the Peace and Freedom Party nominee, Art Olivier was the California Libertarian Party nominee, and Edward C. Noonan was the California American Independent Party nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Party of California</span> California affiliate of the Green Party

The Green Party of California (GPCA) is a California political party. The party is led by a coordinating committee, and decisions are ultimately made by general assemblies. The GPCA is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States (GPUS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in California</span> Overview of the procedure of elections in the U.S. state of California

Elections in California are held to fill various local, state and federal seats. In California, regular elections are held every even year ; however, some seats have terms of office that are longer than two years, so not every seat is on the ballot in every election. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Recall elections can also be held. Additionally, statewide initiatives, legislative referrals and referendums may be on the ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Johnson</span> American politician (born 1955)

Ruth Johnson is an American businesswoman and politician currently serving as a member of the Michigan Senate since 2019. She was the 42nd Secretary of State of Michigan from 2011 to 2019 and a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005. She is a Republican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 California gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of California

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 than two terms in the same office since November 6, 1990, incumbent Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was term-limited and thus was ineligible to run for re-election to a third term. Former Governor Jerry Brown, to whom the term limits did not apply due to a grandfather clause, defeated Meg Whitman in the general election and was sworn into office on January 3, 2011. As of 2023, this is the last time the Governor’s office in California changed partisan control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 California elections</span>

The California state elections, November 2010 were held on November 2, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Yee</span> American politician (born 1957)

Betty T. Yee is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as California State Controller from 2015 to 2023. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2004 to 2015. She won the open seat for Controller in the 2014 election, with 54% of the vote. Yee won reelection in 2018, defeating Republican Konstantinos Roditis in a landslide, and she served as Controller until January 2, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 California Proposition 19</span> Failed measure to legalize marijuana

California Proposition 19 was a ballot initiative on the November 2, 2010, statewide ballot. It was defeated, with 53.5% of California voters voting "No" and 46.5% voting "Yes." If passed, it would have legalized various marijuana-related activities, allowed local governments to regulate these activities, permitted local governments to impose and collect marijuana-related fees and taxes, and authorized various criminal and civil penalties. In March 2010, it qualified to be on the November statewide ballot. The proposition required a simple majority in order to pass, and would have taken effect the day after the election. Yes on 19 was the official advocacy group for the initiative and California Public Safety Institute: No On Proposition 19 was the official opposition group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 California gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of California

The 2014 California gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of California, concurrently with elections for the rest of California's executive branch, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Allen</span> American politician

Travis Ethan Allen is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the California State Assembly. Allen was first elected in November 2012 to represent California's 72nd State Assembly district, which includes the cities of Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, and Westminster, most of Garden Grove, portions of Huntington Beach and of Santa Ana, and the unincorporated communities of Midway and Rossmoor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 California State Controller election</span>

The 2014 California State Controller election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the State Controller of California. Incumbent Democratic State Controller John Chiang was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election to a third term in office and instead ran successfully for California State Treasurer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 United States gubernatorial elections</span>

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 2021, in two states, New Jersey and Virginia, and a recall election was held in California on September 14. These elections form part of the 2021 United States elections. The last gubernatorial elections for New Jersey and Virginia were in 2017, and the last regular gubernatorial election for California was in 2018. Going into the elections, all three seats were held by Democrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 California gubernatorial election</span> Re-election of Gavin Newsom as Governor of California

The 2022 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of California, with the statewide top-two primary election taking place on June 7, 2022. Incumbent Democratic Party Governor Gavin Newsom was re-elected to a second term after surviving a recall election in 2021, during his first term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 California gubernatorial recall election</span> 2021 attempt to remove Governor Gavin Newsom from office

The 2021 California gubernatorial recall election was a special recall election that began in August 2021 and concluded on September 14, 2021, when California voters chose not to recall incumbent Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, elected for the term January 2019 to January 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 California elections</span>

The 2022 California elections took place on November 8, 2022. The statewide direct primary election was held on June 7, 2022.

References

  1. Chang, Jack. "Green Party's California gubernatorial candidate steps up" . Retrieved 2010-02-03. "The Sacramento Bee", Saturday January 16, 2010
  2. 1 2 "Gubernatorial candidate arrested outside debate Tuesday night" . Retrieved 2010-10-13. "The San Jose Mercury News", Wednesday October 13, 2010
  3. 1 2 "Laura Wells, Candidate for State Controller; State of California, November 5, 2002 Election". Smartvoter.org. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  4. Wells, Laura (Winter 2007). "Instant runoff voting wins big in Oakland". Green Pages. 11 (1).
  5. Rayburn, Kelly (January 6, 2010). "Instant-runoff voting a go for Oakland". The Oakland Tribune .
  6. "Laura Wells, Candidate for State Controller; State of California, November 7, 2006 Election" . Retrieved 2010-02-03. Smartvoter.org
  7. 1 2 3 "Green Party Speakers Bureau: Laura Wells" . Retrieved 2010-02-03. Greenparty.org
  8. Cavuto, Neil (April 1, 2009). "Green Party: Tax the Rich". Your World. Fox Business News . Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  9. Cavuto, Neil (November 18, 2009). "Have the Rich Pay for Health Care". Your World. Fox Business News . Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  10. "Candidate Biographical Statement for GPCA State Coordinating Committee". greeningca.org. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  11. 1 2 Chang, Jack. "Green Party's California gubernatorial candidate steps up" . Retrieved 2010-02-03. "The Sacramento Bee" Saturday January 16, 2010
  12. "California Semi-Official Election Results: Governor - Statewide Results". Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-09. California Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, Tuesday June 8th, 2010 Semi-official Election Results
  13. Wells, Laura "Prop 13 means bad luck for California" . Retrieved 2010-02-03. Smartvoter.org, Position Paper, 2002 Candidate for Controller; State of California
  14. Chang, Jack. "Are frustrated Californians ready to go Green?" . Retrieved 2010-02-03. "The Sacramento Bee" Capitol Alert, Friday January 15, 2010
  15. "Laura Wells for Governor, Platform: Healthcare – Key Themes" . Retrieved 2010-02-03. LauraWells.org, Platform
  16. "Laura Wells for Governor, Platform: Energy and Climate – Key Themes" . Retrieved 2010-02-03. LauraWells.org, Platform
  17. "FAQs: STATE BANK FOR CALIFORNIA" . Retrieved 2010-03-08. LauraWells.org, Platform
  18. "San Francisco for Democracy: Endorsements" . Retrieved 2010-05-08. sf4democracy.org
  19. "Secretary of State" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. December 16, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  20. "Registration and Participation" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. December 18, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  21. "Secretary of State" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. 2006-12-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  22. "Registration and Participation" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. 2006-12-18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  23. "Statement of Vote November 2, 2010, General Election" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  24. "Statement of Vote June 3, 2014, Statewide Direct Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-04. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  25. "2018 California primary election results" (PDF). Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  26. "2018 California general election results" (PDF). Retrieved 10 June 2019.