Politics & Government

Murrieta Man Seeks Oval Office

Stewart Alexander of Murrieta is a Peace and Freedom Party candidate for the office of president of the United States.

A Murrieta man has thrown his hat into the 2012 presidential race.

Stewart Alexander, 60, is a Peace and Freedom Party candidate. He is listed alongside names such as Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and Roseanne Barr on the latest presidential candidate list provided by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters Office.

Alexander is no stranger to politics. He said he has been involved politically for 25 years. In a telephone interview, Alexander told Patch he ran for lieutenant governor of California in 2006. In that race he said he garnered 43,000 votes. He also ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 1989, he said, and was a vice presidential candidate for the Socialist Party USA in 2008.

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I have been very much involved in the fight to make sure small parties have ballot access," Alexander said.

Alexander believes he offers a knowledge of the working class. That includes warehousing, sales, small business and big business, he said.

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Most of the people in Washington haven't worked," he said.

He said he wants to fight for the rights of the working class.

"We have seen an exodus of good paying jobs," he said, of California. "Many of the technology companies have gone overseas."

To balance the federal budget, Alexander said "tremendous" cuts need to be made in military spending.

"We need to make 50 percent in cuts."

Alexander said he does not support U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, Libya or in escalating talks of sanctions on Iran.

"We are just moving toward another war."

What he does advocate is a single-payer health care system and investing in public education.

"Right now we have 49 million people without adequate health care coverage. On the national level we have seen a tax on Social Security and Medicaid.

"We have also seen a tax on our youth. We have a responsibility to make sure our youth receive an education."

In addition, he said more needs to be done to protect the environment. There has been a cover-up of the Gulf spill by the Obama Administration, he said.

"The mess is still there; it hasn't been cleaned up."

Alexander, who presently works in auto sales, has lived in Murrieta since 1999. Together with his wife of 12 years, the couple has four children and seven grandchildren.

He has never held public office, but said his track record of political involvement qualifies him for the job of president. His running mate, Alex Mendoza, of Texas, would serve as vice president.

To get the word out, Alexander said they have been using the Internet and independent media.

"We have been contacted by a movie producer that wants to create a movie on the challenges for third parties in the U.S. and third party candidates. Hopefully the movie will be out before the election in November."

Find out more about Alexander's campaign by visiting Stewartalexanderforpresident2012.org.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here