| Jonathan Carter | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Environmentalist; Educator, Scientist |
| Spouse | Dorothy Carter |
| Children | Two |
Jonathan Carter is an American politician, environmentalist, teacher and scientist who has run twice for governor of Maine as a Green Independent. In 1992, Carter ran for Congress in Maine's 2nd congressional district. This campaign was not designed to educate the public and to establish a green network of social, economic, and ecological activists. He was able to get 27,526 votes for 8.8% of the vote[1] with an expenditure of less than $20,000 and no paid media.
Carter moved to Maine in 1978 and lives on a farm in Lexington, Maine, which is located in the unorganized territory of Central Somerset, Maine. His farm grows organic food as well as maintaining a woodlot.[2] He earned a B.A. from Williams College, an M.S. in Botany and Forest Pathology from the University of New Hampshire, and begun work on a doctorate at the University of Maine and Antioch College.[2]
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Carter is best known in Maine for his work on forestry issues. He directed the 1996 ban clear cutting campaign, 'No on the Compact' (1997) and the 'Forest for the Future Campaign' (2000). In spite of the fifteen million dollars spent by the paper corporations to defeat his efforts, the under funded campaigns kept it close. Unfortunately for Carter, both referendum campaigns were unsuccessful [8]. He currently serves as director of the Forest Ecology Network,[3] the largest grassroots forest activist network in Maine.
In 1994, Carter made his first run for governor of Maine. Carter's campaign received 32,695 votes for 6.4% of the vote,[4] which was enough for the Maine Green Party to achieve ballot status in eyes of the state.[5]
In 2002, Carter again ran for governor. In that campaign, he was the first Green statewide candidate in the United States,[6] receiving 46,903 votes for 9.3% of the vote.[7] Carter's campaign was deemed significant enough that the Library of Congress recorded and stored a web archive of his campaigns website.[8] His campaign also retained and extended the ballot status of the Maine Green Independent Party through 2006.[5]