By Ann Garrison

August 3, 2013

David Curtis kicked off his campaign for California Secretary of State at a July 11 event in North Hollywood. Curtis is “in it to win it,” and to secure the California Green Party’s ballot access, despite the top two primary created by California’s Proposition 14.*

Speakers at the event included peace activist Cindy Sheehan and Christina Tobin, the 2010 Libertarian candidate for CA Secretary of State and founder and chair of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. Tobin endorsed Curtis that evening. Curtis is also seeking endorsements from the Green, Libertarian and Peace and Freedom parties.

“The Secretary of State is not a high profile office, but if you want fair and open elections, it’s an important office,” Curtis said. “As the state’s chief elections officer, the Secretary of State maintains the voter database, enforces campaign finance reporting statutes, posts and certifies election results, and sets the rules for special elections. All the same rights protected by the Voting Rights Act, are protected by the Secretary of State.”

“The Secretary also maintains business filings. A purpose of government is to protect the environment and public health. I will not rubber stamp businesses that are damaging our environment.”

Last week Curtis met with Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s Chief Deputy Evan Goldberg and asked whether the Secretary has discretion to cancel or withhold business licenses, such as Monsanto’s.

“Goldberg told me the Secretary would have to make a compelling case to the Attorney General,” Curtis said. “As the Secretary of State, I would make every effort to make the case that we should revoke the licenses of companies that engage in GMO food production, fracking, and other forms of planetary destruction.”

He also has a team of lawyers studying the Secretary of State’s own authority and discretion with regard to business licensing.

Curtis is a dad and a licensed designer who has worked in the architecture industry for over two decades. He was a project architect on two Guggenheim museums and the Nevada State Museum. He moved from Nevada, to San Rafael, California, in 2011 to join his partner Marnie Glickman, a lawyer.

The David Curtis campaign website is http://www.votedavidcurtis.org/.

*To continue to see its name printed on California ballots, a political party must maintain voter registration of at least 1/15 of 1% (.00067%) of the total state registration, and, win at least 1% of ballots cast in the state’s last gubernatorial election or 2% of ballots cast in the last general election for any statewide office. With the “top two primary” created by Prop 14, only the top two vote getters in statewide races advance from an open primary to the general election. So, if only Republicans and Democrats advance, neither the Green Party nor any other smaller party has a chance to qualify for the ballot in the general election.