Vietnam vet is candidate for mayor of S.F
1987Carl Finamore 1987-06Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 14 →
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14 SOCIALIST ACTION JUNE 1987 Joseph Ryan is the Socialist Action candidate for mayor of San Francisco. He is a Vietnam vet, union activist, and staff writer for Socialist Action newspaper. Ryan will be challenging the Democratic Party machine which has run San Francisco for decades.
In the past, Socialist Action candidates have received over 10,000 votes in city San Francisco is considered a very liberal town. But what is going on in this city is not much different from what is going on in the rest of the country.
The strength of unions in this city has been seriously eroded by a series of broken strikes. Expensive condominiums and housing units have displaced Black and working-class families, who are being driven out of the city. Latino and Asian families, who are forced to pay high rents for substandard dwellings, often have to cramp several families into one apartment.
Almost 2000 people have died from AIDS in San Francisco. The city already has twice the per-capita concentration of AIDS victims than New York City. Medical authorities estimate that more than one-half the gay male population carries the virus. There aren't enough hospital beds to handle the crisis.
Yet, city politicians have voted to pay for the homeporting of the battleship U.S.S. Missouri. They also continue to give tax breaks to the corporations. Education, medical care, and housing take second place to the profits of the giant corporations headquartered in San Francisco.
"I support labor strikes, antiwar demon -strations, and anti-deportation picket lines as examples of the kind of independent political actions which are needed to break the grip of the rich in this city," Ryan said.
"Out of these struggles," Ryan continued, "a genuine party of working people—a labor party based on the unions and the organizations of the oppressed would emerge as an alternative to the capt -talist Democratic and Republican parties.' Supporters of the campaign will be petitioning during the summer to obtain ballot status. T-shirts and posters will be produced to help raise money. Speaking engagements are being solicited. And a campaign kick-off rally is planned for Socialist Action/May May Gong Joseph Ryan Friday, June 26, 8 p.m., at 3435 Army St, Room 308, in San Francisco.