Supporters of the socialist ticket of Róger Calero for president and Arrin Hawkins for vice president collected 1,575 signatures over the June 26-27 weekend. Twenty campaigners collected substantially more than the state’s requirement of 1,000 signatures to put the socialists on the ballot. An additional 170 people signed the petition June 27 at a farmers market in Salt Lake City to bring the total number of signers to 1,745.

Some 250 people signed to put the socialists on the ballot in Magna, a community adjacent to the giant Kennecott Copper Mine just outside of Salt Lake City. Another 90 signed petitions in Price, a town in the heart of the coal mining region of Utah. A coal miner at the nearby Dugout mine, who recently subscribed to the socialist campaign newspaper, the Militant, was approached by petitioners at a local grocery store in Price. “Socialist candidates, I’ve got no problem with that, where do I sign?” he said.

Many working people were eager to discuss the socialists’ stand on the war against Iraq, even if they did not agree with the demand that imperialist troops should be withdrawn immediately. “I was in Afghanistan, and I agree we should get out of Iraq, but we can’t get out right away,” said one young former soldier who signed the petition and bought a copy of the Militant. He and his wife said they would read the paper and consider the socialists’ views.

In Salt Lake, campaign supporters helped to coordinate the successful effort, providing campaigners with a place to stay, hosting a barbeque, and contributing funds to print flyers, petitions, and to meet the $500 filing fee that the state requires. Volunteers from throughout the West helped campaign over the June 26-27 weekend.
 

Over the June 19-20 weekend and the following Saturday, supporters of the Socialist Workers presidential ticket from Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey collected 1,645 signatures, well over their goal of 1,500 and more than 50 percent higher than the requirement of 1,000. Supporters petitioned in the towns of Burlington, Montpelier, and Brattleboro.

On June 26, petitioners attended a Burlington protest against the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Earlier that day, petitioners met up with a dairy farmer in the north of the state to hear how the cost-price squeeze has placed family operations like his in an impossible position. The recent rise in returns to farmers has relieved some of the pressure, he said. At the same time, he was at pains to explain that dairy farmers do not benefit directly from the rises in the price of milk paid by consumers.
 
 
Related articles:
Socialist Workers launch New York campaign
SWP presidential candidate tours Iowa  
 
 
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