BY HARRY RING
LOS ANGELES - Craig Honts, the Socialist Workers Party nominee for mayor of Los Angeles, has been certified for the ballot. In less than two weeks, he and his supporters collected 1,000 signatures on nominating petitions, double the legal requirement. Similar numbers of petitions are being filed for his running mates, Virginia Garza and Eli Green. Gale Shangold is also running as a write-in candidate.

Honts is an engineer on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and a member of the United Transportation Union, Local 1-674. Garza, running for comptroller, is a health care worker. Green, candidate for community colleges board of trustees, works at the Chevron oil refinery and is a member of Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Local 1-675. Shangold, a garment worker and member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Local 482, is a candidate for city council in the 13th District.

The April election will be "nonpartisan" and party affiliation of the candidates will not be on the ballot. Among others, Honts will be running against Republican incumbent Richard Riordan and the liberal Democrat and 1960s activist, Thomas Hayden.

The opportunities offered by the campaign to build the socialist movement have been readily apparent. At the Militant Labor Forum, January 25, Honts spoke on the deepening world crisis of capitalism internationally. The key issues confronting Los Angeles voters, he explained - the antilabor drive, immigrant-bashing, homelessness, pollution, and more - cannot be effectively acted on except from the starting premise that they are rooted in the crisis that grips the country and the world.

Among those listening most intently was a half dozen people, four of them youth, who were attending the forum for the first time. Several joined readily in the discussion that followed his talk. Their essential concerns: Do socialists offer a viable alternative in the election? Concretely, what would Honts do, if elected, to deal with the social issues? The long-term socialist goals seems fine, but are they relevant to the Los Angeles elections?

A young Filipina argued for supporting Democrats as the "realistic" course, but also indicated that her own growing skepticism about this. She said she had considered Thomas Hayden "as a last hope." Honts argued that trying to reform a bankrupt capitalist system is "totally utopian" and dead- end.

The give-and-take discussion continued informally when the meeting ended. The upshot, Honts said later, was that the young woman plans to continue the political discussion with campaign supporters over dinner and attend the next forum.

Campaign activity has also been reflected in increased sales at the Pathfinder bookstore. One fellow who came to forum after signing a petition earlier in the day said he had read some socialist literature at college. After the meeting, he bought three books, by Frederick Engels, George Novack, and Georges Plekanov.

As of last count, some 40 people had signed up to receive information about campaign events. A good number indicated a specific interest in learning more about the Young Socialists organization.

Elizabeth Lariscy, a pace setter in the petition drive, told of a University of California -Los Angeles campus meeting marking the twenty-fourth anniversary of the legalization of abortion which she, Virginia Garza, and other petitioners attended.

During discussion at the meeting Garza vigorously assailed the Clinton administration for not taking meaningful action against the new outbreak of abortion clinic bombings. The socialist candidate urged the audience to join in demanding that federal troops be dispatched to defend abortion clinics. Her remarks were greeted with substantial applause.

Afterwards the campaigners talked with several people, including a student from Sri Lanka who was enthusiastic about meeting socialists in the United States. She and a friend have been leading dormitory discussions on political events and she was particularly interested in learning more about the Young Socialists.  
 
 
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