Jill Stein
Encyclopedia
Jill Stein is an American physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, activist, co-chair of the Green-Rainbow Party
Green-Rainbow Party
The Green-Rainbow Party is a political party in Massachusetts. It is the Massachusetts state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States.-Establishment of official party status:...

 and candidate for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 in 2012. Stein was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...

 in the 2002
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002
The Massachusetts gubernatorial election of 2002 was held on November 5, 2002. Businessman Mitt Romney was elected to a four-year term, to be served from January 2, 2003 until January 4, 2007. Every four years, Massachusetts holds state-wide elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney...

 and the 2010 gubernatorial elections
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2010
The Massachusetts gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Deval Patrick was re-elected to a second term. Also competing were the Republican Party nominee, businessman Charlie Baker; independent candidate and State Treasurer Tim Cahill; and...

. Stein is a resident of Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...

 and a 1979 graduate of Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....

. She serves on the boards of Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility is the largest physician-led organization in the USA working to protect the public from the what they consider threats of nuclear proliferation, climate change, and environmental toxins...

 and MassVoters for Fair Elections, and has been active with the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities.

In October 2011, Stein announced her candidacy for the presidential nomination of Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...

 in the 2012 general election.

Positions

Stein advocates for the creation of a "Green New Deal
Green New Deal
A Green New Deal is a report released on July 21, 2008 by the Green New Deal Group and published by the New Economics Foundation, which outlines a series of policy proposals to tackle global warming, the current financial crisis, and peak oil. The report calls for the re-regulation of finance and...

", the objective of which would be to employ "every American willing and able to work" to address "climate change...[and the] converging water, soil, fisheries, forest, and fossil fuel crises" by working towards "sustainable energy, transportation and production infrastructure: clean renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, intra-city mass transit and inter-city railroads, “complete streets” that safely encourage bike and pedestrian traffic, regional food systems based on sustainable organic agriculture, and clean manufacturing of the goods needed to support this sustainable economy". The initial cost of the Green New Deal would be funded by various mechanisms, including "taxing Wall Street speculation, off shore tax havens, millionaires and multimillion dollar estates" as well as a 30% reduction in the U.S. military budget.
She cites a study of the economic effects of the 1930s New Deal projects by Dr. Phillip Harvey, Professor of Law & Economics at Rutgers School of Law as academic evidence for the Green New Deal.

Activities

In October 2011, Stein began participating in the "Occupy" protests at the Occupy Boston
Occupy Boston
Occupy Boston is a protest that began on September 30, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dewey Square in the Financial District opposite the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston...

 peaceful protest. Speaking to the protesters, Stein said "The Occupy movement is a cry for change from workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas and young people whose future is being stolen from them by politicians intent on serving Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...

 rather than the people...People are being forced from their homes by big banks that defrauded consumers. The planet is being sacrificed to protect profits of polluters."

Governor, 2002

Stein was the Green-Rainbow Party
Green-Rainbow Party
The Green-Rainbow Party is a political party in Massachusetts. It is the Massachusetts state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States.-Establishment of official party status:...

 candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002
The Massachusetts gubernatorial election of 2002 was held on November 5, 2002. Businessman Mitt Romney was elected to a four-year term, to be served from January 2, 2003 until January 4, 2007. Every four years, Massachusetts holds state-wide elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney...

 and finished third in a field of five candidates, with 76,530 votes and about 3.5% of the vote.

Massachusetts House of Representatives, 2004

Following her third place results in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, Stein ran for state representative in 2004 for the Lexington District. She received 3,911 votes for 21.3 percent of the vote in a three-way race but lost incumbent Thomas M. Stanley, who received 59.6 percent.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2006

Stein was nominated for Secretary of the Commonwealth
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth is the principal public information officer of the state government of the U.S...

 on March 4, 2006, at the Green-Rainbow Party
Green-Rainbow Party
The Green-Rainbow Party is a political party in Massachusetts. It is the Massachusetts state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States.-Establishment of official party status:...

 state-wide nominating convention
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...

. In a two-way race with three-term incumbent Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Bill Galvin, Stein received 353,551 votes for 18% of the total vote. Stein's 18% marked the best finish for a Green Party candidate running for Secretary of State in any state to date.

Town of Lexington Town Meeting Representative, 2005 and 2008

Stein was elected to the Town Meeting Seat, Precinct 2 (Lexington, Massachusetts) in March 2005 local elections. She finished first of 16 candidates running for 7 seats receiving 539 votes, for 20.6% of the total vote. Stein was re-elected in 2008 finishing second of thirteen vying for eight seats.

Governor, 2010

On February 8, 2010, Stein announced her entrance into the gubernatorial race
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2010
The Massachusetts gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Deval Patrick was re-elected to a second term. Also competing were the Republican Party nominee, businessman Charlie Baker; independent candidate and State Treasurer Tim Cahill; and...

 on the steps of the Masscahusetts State House in Boston. She was joined in the race by candiate for Lieutenant Governor, Richard P. Purcell, a surgery clerk and ergonomics assessor, of Holyoke. In May, Stein opened her campaign office in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...

, near the Fields Corner MBTA station
Fields Corner (MBTA station)
Fields Corner is a station on the rapid transit Red Line at Fields Corner in Dorchester, Massachusetts. It opened on November 5, 1927, serving as the south end of the line for about a year...

. Stein received 32,816 votes out of 2,287,407 in the November 2, 2010 general election.

Presidential campaign, 2012

In August 2011, Stein gave indication that she was considering running for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 with the Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...

 in the 2012 national election
United States presidential election, 2012
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...

. She indicated in a published questionnaire that she had been asked to run by a number of Green activists and felt compelled to consider the possibility after the U.S. debt-ceiling crisis
United States debt-ceiling crisis
The United States debt-ceiling crisis was a financial crisis in 2011 that started as a debate in the United States Congress about increasing the debt ceiling. The immediate crisis ended when a complex deal was reached that raised the debt ceiling and reduced future government spending...

 which she called "the President’s astounding attack on Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...

, Medicare
Medicare
Medicare may refer to any of several publicly funded health insurance programs:*Medicare *Medicare *Medicare - See also :*Medicaid*Medicare Australia*Medicare Resources - China*Medicare Rights Center - United States...

 and Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...

 – a betrayal of the public interest...". In the survey, she suggested that she would announce her intentions by the end of September 2011. Stein later stated that she would announce her intentions on October 24.

On October 24, 2011 Stein launched her campaign at a press conference in Massachusetts, saying "We are all realizing that we, the people, have to take charge because the political parties that are serving the top 1 percent are not going to solve the problems that the rest of us face, we need people in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 who will refuse to be bought by lobbyists and for whom change is not just a slogan".

Personal

Stein was born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and raised in Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park is a suburban municipality in Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. As of 2009, the population is 33,492. Highland Park is one of several municipalities located on the North Shore of the Chicago Metropolitan Area.-Overview:Highland Park was founded...

. She lives in Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...

with her husband and fellow physician Richard Rohrer. The couple have two adult sons.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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