Mary Alice Herbert
Encyclopedia
Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing...
in 2004. She and her running-mate, Walt Brown
Walt Brown
Walter Frederick Brown is an American politician and was the presidential candidate of the Socialist Party USA in the 2004 elections. Brown became a socialist in 1948. He served as Democratic member of the Oregon State Senate from 1975 to 1987. Brown also served as a Socialist Party of Oregon...
, pulled in 10,837 votes, the highest total for the Socialist Party since 1952.
She is a retired teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. She was married to her husband Fred Herbert until his death in October 2002.
Political career
Originally a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, she became a socialist by the 1960s. Herbert was a frequent candidate for state office in the 1980s and 1990s under the banner of the Liberty Union Party
Liberty Union Party
The Liberty Union Party of Vermont, founded in 1970 by former Congressman William H. Meyer, Peter Diamondstone and others, originated in the anti-war and People's Party movements of the late 1960s and defines itself as a nonviolent socialist party.-History:...
, a nonviolent socialist party active only in the state of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.http://www.libertyunionparty.org/?page_id=5 In 1996 she was the Liberty Union nominee for Governor of Vermont.
She originally entered the 2004 race as the running mate of Eric Chester
Eric Chester
Eric Thomas Chester is an American author, socialist political activist, and former economics professor.Born in New York City, he is the son of Harry and Alice Chester...
, one of Brown's leftist rivals for the Presidential nomination. Chester lost the nomination to Brown, but Herbert won the VP nomination at the SP national convention. She ran on a platform on democratic socialism
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
and socialist feminism
Socialist feminism
Socialist feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses upon both the public and private spheres of a woman's life and argues that liberation can only be achieved by working to end both the economic and cultural sources of women's oppression...
. A recall effort within the party attempted to have Herbert become the SP's Presidential candidate, after a major rift arose over Brown's position on abortion. Despite all of the challenges surrounding the campaign, the Brown-Herbert ticket went on to earn more votes than any Socialist Party presidential ticket since 1952.
In 2007, she ran for the Vice Presidential nomination of the Socialist Party for the 2008 ticket. However, her candidacy was conditional upon Eric Chester winning the Presidential Nomination. Chester narrowly lost the presidential nomination to Brian P. Moore.