The Peace and Freedom Party of California officially nominated Claudia De la Cruz for President and Karina Garcia for Vice President at its August 3, 2024 convention. They were overwhelmingly chosen by 99 delegates from 17 counties across the state. Those delegates were elected by registered voters in the party.
The convention was held in two locations, in Oakland and in Los Angeles, and was also available to delegates virtually in order to maximize participation.
On April 22, 2024, The Peace and Freedom Party State Executive Committee had voted to recognize Claudia De la Cruz as the Party’s “presumptive nominee.” The SEC made this decision because the results of the March primary indicated that Claudia De la Cruz would almost certainly be nominated. De la Cruz got more votes (47%) than any other candidate. But the determining factor was who was elected to the Peace and Freedom Party State Central Committee in its March election. Those elected members became delegates to the August 3 convention.
De la Cruz and Garcia are on the ballot in 19 states, running on a socialist platform. In three more states, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, they completed the requirements but are being unfairly kept off the ballot. They are running as qualified write-ins in most other states. Here are some of their positions:
Peace
- Cut the military budget by 90%
- End all aid to apartheid Israel, end the genocide, and Free Palestine
- Close U.S. military bases in other countries
- Abolish NATO, AFRICOM, and other military alliances
- Peace, not war, with Russia and China
- End U.S. sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and everywhere else
Freedom
- Reparations to Black Americans
- Full rights for all immigrants
- Prosecute and jail killer cops
- Recognize Native sovereignty and honor treaty rights
- Free abortion on demand nationwide
- Full equality for LGBTQ people, ban discrimination
- Disband the CIA, FBI, and NSA
- End mass incarceration and promote rehabilitation
Economic Justice
- Create a new economy for the people, lower the price of key goods
- Public ownership of the 100 largest corporations
- Free quality healthcare, education, and childcare
- Housing for all: ban evictions, cap rent at 10% of income
- Living wages and unions for all workers
- Cancel student, medical, bail, and utility debt
Environment
- Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy
- Sustainable farming led by farmers, not agribusiness
- Expand public transportation
- Preserve and restore the natural world
Peace and Freedom Party positions on November 2024 Ballot Measures
The convention delegates also voted to make the following recommendations on the propositions:
NO - Proposition 2 would authorize the state to borrow $10 billion for K-12 school and community college construction and modernization. Interest on these bonds goes to wealthy investors.
YES - Proposition 3 affirms marriage equality in California by enshrining a fundamental right to marry and removing language in the California Constitution that states marriage is between a man and a woman.
NO - Proposition 4 is another $10 billion bond to respond to the effects climate change. It does not provide for public transportation or other measures to address the causes of climate change.
NO - Proposition 5 makes it easier for local governments to approve bonds by reducing the threshold from 2/3 to 55% of the vote. Under pressure from the California Association of Realtors, it includes a ban on local governments using the money to buy existing single-family homes to convert into affordable units.
YES - Proposition 6 abolishes all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude in California. Forced labor, even in prison, could no longer be used as a punishment This measure would prohibit disciplining any incarcerated person for refusing a work assignment.
YES - Proposition 32 would increase the minimum wage in stages until it reaches $18 an hour and then adjust it annually for inflation.
YES - Proposition 33 would repeal the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act. This Act has severely weakened local rent control ordinances in three ways: It exempts all single-family homes and condos from rent control. It exempts all units built since 1997 from rent control. It forbids regulation of new rents for vacant units. To undo all of that and allow effective local rent control, vote YES.
NO - Proposition 34 appears to be about healthcare, but it's not. It was written to target the AIDS Healthcare Foundation as a means of retribution for sponsoring the repeal of the Contra Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
YES - Proposition 35 would make permanent a tax, which is set to expire in 2026, on managed healthcare organizations. It guarantees more money for Medi-Cal so that patients will not be turned away.
NO - Proposition 36 would upgrade some drug and theft misdemeanors to felonies and creates a new class of crime called treatment-mandated felony. Increasing incarceration does not lead to rehabilitation and does not make us safer.
