In Memorium: Peter Miguel Camejo, 1939-2008

Created by eli_beckerman. Last modified on 2008-09-14 14:54:44

Green Party activist Peter Camejo dies at 68
By JUDY LIN

SACRAMENTO (AP) Peter Camejo, a Green Party leader who was a third-party candidate in three California gubernatorial elections before becoming Ralph Nader's running mate in the 2004 presidential race, has died. He was 68.

Camejo, who had been battling lymphoma, died Saturday at his home in Folsom, outside Sacramento.

"Peter was a friend, colleague and politically courageous champion of the downtrodden and mistreated of the entire Western Hemisphere," Nader wrote in a statement released Saturday."Everyone who met Peter, talked to Peter, worked with Peter, or argued with Peter, will miss the passing of a great American."

Camejo ran for the state's top office in 2002, 2003 and 2006, supporting abortion rights, universal health care and a moratorium on the death penalty. Before joining the Green Party, he also ran for president as the Socialist Workers Party nominee in 1976.

In 2004, Camejo was independent Nader's vice presidential pick.

Camejo, a first-generation Venezuelan-American, was also active against the Vietnam War and a vocal advocate for migrant worker rights. He marched in Selma, Ala. with Martin Luther King, Jr.

His activism also got him expelled from the University of California at Berkeley in 1967 for using a school microphone during a demonstration. A year later, then-governor Ronald Reagan put him on his list of the 10 most dangerous people in California because he was "present at all anti-war demonstrations."

Last month, Camejo, who lost his hair from chemotherapy, attended the Peace and Freedom Party convention in Sacramento to endorse Nader's current bid for the presidency with running mate Matt Gonzalez.

"Ralph Nader is more than a candidate, he's an issue," Camejo said in his Aug. 2 speech, adding that Nader brought true reform, offering an independent choice to the "ruling party."

Nader said Camejo passed away a few days after completing his autobiography, which has a working title of "Northstar."

According to a statement put out by Camejo's family on a blog that had been updating his condition, Camejo voluntarily returned home Friday after undergoing treatment at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento for a recurrence of lymphoma.

"Peter's health had declined rapidly over the last two days due to the aggressiveness of his cancer and the strength of the drugs used to combat his disease," according to the family statement. "His wife was at his side when he passed peacefully this morning."

The family is planning private funeral services, and a public memorial will be arranged later.

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News Advisory
Saturday, September 13, 2008
THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
http://www.cagreens.org

Contact: Cres Vellucci, GPCA press secretary, 916.996-9170, cvellucci@cagreens.org

Peter Camejo, social justice activist and Green Party gubernatorial candidate, dies at his Folsom home Saturday after long bout with cancer

• Videos of Peter Camejo in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall campaign
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTktNX0EbCA
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6aO4MiH3H8
  
• Pictures of Peter Camejo for Governor
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/30416867@N07/sets/72157607232338914/

FOLSOM, CA - Peter Camejo, three-time Green Party candidate for Governor and 2004 running mate with Ralph Nader in his independent run for President, died Saturday morning here at his home, just a few miles from the State Capitol. Mr. Camejo was 68.

Mr. Camejo died after a long bout with an especially virulent form of lymphoma. He had recently returned home after his health had declined rapidly over the last few days because of the "aggressiveness of his cancer and strength of the drugs used to combat the disease," according to a statement issued by his family.

The following statement was issued on behalf of the Green Party of California by Mike Wyman, 2006 Green Party candidate for Attorney General:

"The Green Party of California is honored to have had Peter carry our standard in the recall and two gubernatorial elections, and to work with him as a national progressive candidate for the vice presidency with Ralph Nader. We join with the Camejo family in their grief and mourn for the passing of a truly unique and exemplary individual. He will be sorely missed by us all. Peter Camejo was a man of great passion and boundless compassion for the poor, uninsured workers and for immigrant workers in their struggle for justice and legalization. He became a leader in the environmental justice movement and helped organized communities of color around environmental issues that affected them directly."

Mr. Camejo was the Green Party candidate for Governor in 2002, 2003 (the recall) and 2006. He received 5.3 percent of the vote in 2002 and in 2003's recall election finished fourth of the 135 candidates. He was also the Socialist Workers Party presidential candidate in 1967. Mr. Camejo was also a leader in the Free Speech Movement in the 1960s at UC Berkeley, and fought for social justice on a number of fronts.

Mr. Camejo was born in the U.S. and raised in Venezuela. He was on the 1960 Venezuelan Olympics team, and was a socially responsible investment planner. Mr. Camejo is survived by his wife Morella, daughter Alexandra, son Victor, three brothers Antonio, Daniel and Danny and three grandchildren Andrew, Daniel and Oliver.

Arrangements and memorial services are pending.

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