John Burton, the Socialist Equality Party candidate for the 29th Congressional District in California, will be speaking at a public meeting in Pasadena, California, on April 26. The 29th District includes Pasadena, Burbank and surrounding areas. At the meeting, Burton will outline the perspective of the SEP in the 2006 elections and address the issues confronting working people in his district, as well as throughout the US and internationally.

Burton will speak about the ongoing war in Iraq and the threat of war with Iran, the attack on democratic rights and the growth of social inequality in the United States, including in his district. He will also explain the SEP’s call for open borders and equal rights for all immigrants, an issue that has received national attention following a wave of massive demonstrations of immigrants and other workers. Many of the workers in the 29th District participated in these demonstrations. (See “SEP candidate in California: Extend full rights to all immigrants!”)

Burton’s main opponent in the race is Democratic incumbent Adam Schiff, a pro-war Democrat who personifies the complicity of the so-called opposition party in the crimes of the Bush administration. The SEP is intervening in the California elections and in other elections across the country to fight for a new political perspective for working people, based on a socialist program and a rejection of the two-party system.

The meeting will be held on the eve of the petition-gathering period for candidates in California. Due to the extremely antidemocratic ballot-access requirements in the state, Burton and his supporters will have to gather 9,000 signatures of registered voters in a highly gerrymandered district. The period begins April 28 and lasts through August 11. Allowing for a sufficient number of signatures in excess of the requirement, the SEP estimates that it will need to gather signatures at a rate of 1,000 signatures per week for the next three-and-a-half months. The success of this effort depends on the participation of readers of the WSWS and supporters in California.

We warmly welcome all readers of the WSWS to attend the meeting and learn more about Burton’s campaign. The meeting details are as follows:

Wednesday, April 26, 7:00 p.m.
Neighborhood Unitarian Church
301 North Orange Grove Blvd.
Pasadena, California

For directions to the meeting, click here.

To participate in the SEP election campaign, click here.