BY ELLEN WHITT

NEWARK, New Jersey - With the deadline extended to July 1 to raise $90,000 for the 1996 Socialist Workers campaign, supporters of James Harris for president and Laura Garza for vice president are reviewing their pledges and considering raising their goals.

Supporters of the campaign in Newark expect to go beyond their initial goal of $5,000 in pledges this week through building public campaign events in the area featuring Harris this weekend. Luis Madrid explained, "We recognize that with little effort we already have pledges of nearly $5000. We know that by reaching out broadly to co-workers, youth, and other supporters in New Jersey we should be able to go well beyond our original expectations."

Harris will be speaking on Sunday in Newark. The platform will include a long-time anti-police brutality activist as well as an activist involved in the Irish freedom struggle. The Young Socialists along with other campaign supporters are making a special effort to invite recent youth endorsers of the campaign to this event.

On the heels of collecting 1,600 signatures to place Harris and Garza on the ballot in New Jersey - double the state requirement - Newark supporters raised $200 last week at a Militant Labor Forum that discussed the opportunities of campaigning for socialism in 1996.

Through campaign tours around the country, both Harris and Garza continue to meet youth who welcome the opportunity to support a campaign which offers an alternative to the capitalist parties of war, racism, and economic depression. One youth, Andrew, learned of the campaign when Harris joined protests at Yale University in support of union workers fighting for a contract. A few days later, he and a member of the Young Socialists in New York, Joshua Caroll, joined a petitioning team in Alabama to introduce other youth and workers to the socialist campaign. More volunteers of all ages are needed to help get the socialists on the ballot in Alabama this month and in New York and Washington, D.C., in July. Efforts will be carried out in 12 states to put the socialist ticket on the ballot.

The campaign fund lags behind in its overall goal of $90,000 pledged and in its collection. With just 4 weeks remaining, the campaign needs to collect over $65,000.

Stepped up efforts need to be made this week in order to put the fund over the top. Campaign events should be planned with special attention in advance to organizing the collection of current pledges and expanding the number of new pledges. These funds make it possible to continue to keep Harris, Garza, and Young Socialist supporters on the road campaigning.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home