Grace Ross

Grace Ross
Born 6 June 1961
Occupation Political activist

Grace Ross, (born June 6, 1961) is a Massachusetts activist. Ross was a Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 2010 [1] until she withdrew from the race, citing a lack of signatures.[2] Ross is also a former Green-Rainbow Party co-chair and was the 2006 Green-Rainbow Party nominee for Governor. She is from Worcester, Massachusetts.

Biography

Ross grew up in New York before coming to Massachusetts to attend Harvard University, where she obtained a BA in psychology and a master's degree in education. Afterwards, she became involved in the low-income community, and her primary activist work has been to address issues related to abolishing poverty. She has also worked on other causes from nonviolence, the environment, and international solidarity to anti-racist struggles, women's rights, union organizing and gay/lesbian civil rights.

In 2006 Ross became the first open lesbian to run for the post of Governor of Massachusetts.[3] Ross lost to Deval Patrick, receiving 43,193 votes for 1.95% of the total vote.

In December 2006, Ross was named "Person of the Year" by the New England gay-oriented magazine, IN News Weekly.[4]

Ross was an at-large candidate for the Worcester City Council in 2007. She received 6,629 votes, placing eighth out of twelve in the November election in which the top six vote-getters were elected.[5]

In 2008, Ross helped found the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending, a coalition of over 30 community organizations, housing counseling agencies, legal services groups and others who have come together to work on the sub-prime foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts.[6] She is also active in the Worcester Anti-Foreclosure Team (WAFT).

In 2010, Ross failed to secure enough signatures to challenge the incumbent Governor Deval Patrick in the Democratic primary.

Political views

Ross, as a member of the Green-Rainbow Party, holds the following political views:[7]

Controversies

Ross has been accused of antisemitism by radio talk show host Michael Graham, because of her and the Green-Rainbow Party's views on Israel, which include support for divestment.[8][10] She has responded to these charges on her website.[11]

John DePetro, a talk show host on WRKO in Boston, was fired on November 3, 2006, after calling Ross a "fat lesbian" on his talk show.[12]

She has been criticized by some Jewish Leaders as holding anti-semitic views and for her controversial stances on genocide in Darfur, Sudan.[13][14][15]

References

  1. ↑ Levenson, Michael (February 5, 2010), "Ross will challenge Patrick for governor", Boston Globe, retrieved 2010-02-09
  2. ↑ Lacking enough signatures, Ross exits governor’s race Boston Globe, May 20, 2010
  3. ↑ Kilduff, Thomas (August 30, 2006), "Grace Ross' uphill Beacon Hill run", IN News Weekly, retrieved 2007-10-27
  4. ↑ Kilduff, Thomas (28 December 2006), "Person of the Year: Grace Ross", IN News Weekly, retrieved 2007-01-12
  5. ↑ "Worcester election results", Worcester Telegram and Gazette, 8 November 2007, retrieved 2007-11-12
  6. ↑ Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending.
  7. ↑ "Grace Ross on the Issues", OnTheIssues.org, retrieved 6 November 2006
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Green-Rainbow Party Statement on Palestine (– Scholar search), retrieved 6 November 2006
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ Graham, Michael (3 November 2006), "The REAL Grace Ross Controversy", The Natural Truth weblog, retrieved 6 November 2006
  11. ↑ Ross, Grace, Grace Ross and antisemitism, retrieved 2007-10-19
  12. ↑ Pane, Lisa Marie (3 November 2006), "Radio Host Fired Over Candidate Insult", Breitbart.com, retrieved 6 November 2006
  13. ↑ Jewish leaders criticize Ross - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com
  14. ↑ FRONTPAGENEWS - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com
  15. ↑ Jewish leaders rap Ross on Darfur, Columbine comments - Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com

External links