James Hedges

James Hedges
Tax Assessor for Thompson Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania
In office
2002–2007
Personal details
Political party Prohibition Party

James (Jim) Hedges (born 1939) is a Prohibition activist and the former Tax Assessor for Thompson Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania. He holds the distinction as the only individual to be elected to public office from the Prohibition Party in the 21st century, and the first since 1959. He vied for the Prohibition Party's 2012 presidential nomination, but lost to Jack Fellure.

Background

Hedges earned a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Performance from the University of Iowa and holds a Master's degree in Geography from the University of Maryland. He served in the United States Marine Band[1] as a tuba performer[2] and worked as editor of The National Speleological Society Bulletin.[1]

Prohibition Party activities

In high school, Hedges became interested in the Prohibition Party after reading an article in a newspaper.[1] By the 1980s, he became active in the party,[3] and rose to the position of Executive Secretary in 2003.[4] In 2005, he was selected as the Secretary of the Partisan Prohibition Historical Society.[5]

Prior to the 2004 presidential election, Hedges was involved in a schism within the party stemming from alleged misuse of funds and mismanagement by Earl Dodge, the party's long-time face. Notably, Hedges and others claimed that Dodge sold the party's headquarters for $119,500 in 1999 with intent to build on his own property, but that he instead kept the money for himself and moved the headquarters to a tool shed. Dodge countered that Hedges and others were simply disgruntled with their position in the party, and that he placed the funds in a separate party account. Nevertheless, Hedges and his faction formed the Concerns of the People (Prohibition) Party to counter Dodge, and nominated Washington anti-alcohol activist and preacher Gene Amondson for President. Both Dodge and Hedges claimed their parties were the authentic Prohibition Party.[2][6] The split abruptly came to an end in 2007 after Dodge's death, and the reunified party again nominated Amondson for president for the 2008 election.[7]

Thompson Township Assessor

In 2001, Hedges secured the nominations of the Republican, Democratic and Prohibition Parties through write-in ballots to appear as the only candidate for Tax Assessor in Thompson Township. He won the election,[8] and was sworn-in in 2002 by District Justice Carol Jean Johnson. He became the first official elected in a partisan election from the Prohibition Party since two members of the Winona Lake, Indiana, city council were elected in 1959.[4] Hedges was re-elected in 2005,[9] and served until the office was abolished by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2007.[4]

2012 presidential campaign

Wikinews has related news: Wikinews interviews Jim Hedges, U.S. Prohibition Party presidential candidate

After Gene Amondson's death in 2009, a vacancy opened for the Prohibition Party's 2012 presidential nomination. Hedges announced on February 18, 2010, that he intended to run for the nomination.[10] In preparation, he established a campaign website, sent out a series of postcards through the party's mailing list and contacted members of the nominating committee.[3] However, at the Cullman, Alabama Prohibition Party National Convention on June 22,[11] Hedges lost the nomination to retired engineer Jack Fellure.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Jim Hedges". Prohibitionists.org. Partisan Prohibition Historical Society. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Warner, Joel (2004). "Want real change? Vote Prohibition". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Wikinews interviews Jim Hedges, U.S. Prohibition Party presidential candidate". Wikinews. January 29, 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Prohhibition Party History...1872 to 2009". Prohibitionists.org. Partisan Prohibition Historical Society. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "Society". Prohibitionists.org. Partisan Prohibition Historical Society. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Kelly, David (September 19, 2004). "The Worst Year for Prohibition Since 1933?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  7. ↑ Ahren, Raphael (February 19, 2008). "Prohibitionists abstain from alcohol, not elections". Columbia News Service. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Many Minor Parties Win Elections". Ballot Access News. Richard Winger. December 1, 2001. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Two Additional Parties Won Partisan Elections on Nov. 8". Ballot Access News. Richard Winger. November 25, 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "James Hedges Seeks Prohibition Party Presidential Nomination in 2012". Ballot Access News. Richard Winger. February 20, 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  11. ↑ "Convention". Prohibition Party. February 21, 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  12. ↑ "Prohibition Party Nomines Jack Fellure for President". Ballot Access News. Richard Winger. June 22, 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.

External links