Mary Cal Hollis, the Socialist Party's 1996 presidential candidate, was in Salt Lake Friday seeking support to be on the Utah presidential ballot.
Hollis and her supporters were petitioning for the 300 signatures necessary for Utah's presidential ballot.The Socialists were also seeking campaign funds. "We are very ambitiously trying to raise $100,000. We need $5,000 from 20 states to get matching funds," Hollis said.
For Hollis, one of the greatest parts of campaigning across the U.S. is networking. "People come up with wonderful ideas, and I am able to take those ideas and share them with other people. One of those very good ideas is making corporations responsible. If we're giving them a lot of money and giving them corporate welfare, then they need to be responsible," she said.
The Socialist Party 1996 platform is universal health care, a living wage, public education, workers' rights, a safe environment, an end to privatization, a sustainable economy, and people before profits. Their campaign is titled, "The Socialist Party's 1996 Campaign of Compassion and Reason."
Matthew Campbell, a campaign organizer for Hollis, said campaigning for the Socialist Party is an opportunity to get involved and to see a person's work and vote count. People can work for what they believe. For him, it is nice to see his one vote coming across the television screen on election night.
Unlike many running for office this year, Hollis is not a career politician. Actually, she is a special education teacher at middle school in Boulder, Colo., with a strong interest in politics, reading and children. She grew up in Pine Bluff, Ark., and graduated from the University of Arkansas.
Her interest in socialism did not start until she started studying the works of Martin Luther King Jr. "I starting thinking about Democratic Socialism when I heard Martin Luther King Jr. had mentioned our country needs to consider some form of socialism," she said.
"The more I thought about that, the more I realized I have been a socialist all my life. We need to give everyone a chance to develop to his or her potential, which does not mean we have to give them money, a car or a house. We should give them jobs and health care when they need it."
Hollis considers herself to be a "bleeding-hearted liberal." She is fully aware of it, too.
"I care about people and care about children. I always have. That's my bottom line. Our government is run by lawyers and businessmen (who) have totally for-gotten that."
Information about the Hollis campaign can be obtained by writing to Hollis 1996, 40 Washington St., Suite C-10, E. Orange, NJ, 07017.