Alter, 23, is a packinghouse worker and a member of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1149.

A national leader of the Young Socialists, Alter was part of the Iowa delegation to the World Festival of Youth in Havana, Cuba, last month. Blandford, 42, is an assembly worker and a member of the United Auto Workers Local 270.

The Des Moines Register reported on the Socialist Workers campaign August 28, taking particular note of the fact that Alter's entry into the race means there will be a mayoral primary prior to the general election in November. Alter was also interviewed by Channel 5 television, which aired him speaking out against police brutality.

On September 2, the lead editorial in the Des Moines Register suggested, "It's worth asking whether 688 signatures should be enough to get on the ballot," referring to the Socialist Workers campaign.

"The truth is that current petitioning requirements serve to restrict the free exchange of views in the Des Moines elections," responded Alter in a letter to the Register editors that day.

"Around the country there have been moves to make ballot status more difficult through astronomical signature counts, monetary fees, and often, efforts by election boards to disqualify or miscount signatures on petitions once turned in. The democratic rights of working people in Des Moines are attacked by any attempt to do the same here.

"My campaign brings a working-class alternative to the discussions and debates in the mayoral election," Alter continued.

He noted that the Socialist Workers candidates were the only ones who joined the Teamster picket lines at UPS, call for the prosecution of the police who killed Charles Dudley in June, and stand for equal rights for immigrants.

As of September 6, the Register had not published this response.

Alter, Blandford, and their supporters spent Labor Day campaigning among unionists participating in a march and rally in Des Moines. They marched with workers from the Wiese Corp. in Perry, Iowa, who won the right to be represented by the UAW in May 1996. A September 13 rally will support the Wiese unionists' efforts to get a contract and fight off a decertification petition that is being circulated.

During the five weeks gathering signatures to get on the ballot, socialists participated in an educational conference, campaigned at the Iowa State Fair, at a reggae concert, and at the weekly farmers market.

They sold 71 books and pamphlets during the petitioning drive, and Young Socialist members who support the campaign recruited three new members to the YS.

Maggie Trowe is a member of UFCW Local 1149 in Marshalltown, Iowa.  
 
 
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