Alyson Kennedy

Who is Alyson Kennedy?

Alyson Kennedy is an American politician, a member of the Socialist Workers Party and was the party's candidate for vice president in the 2008 United States presidential election. The ticket campaigned for young voters especially. At the head of the ticket were two different candidates, Roger Calero and James Harris; Harris was an alternate in some states because Calero was Constitutionally ineligible because he is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, and not a US Citizen. They were the first pair to qualify for the ballot in Louisiana Calero/Kennedy won 5,127 votes and Harris/Kennedy 2,424.

Originally from Indianapolis, Kennedy joined the socialist movement in 1973 in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked in coal mines in Alabama, Colorado, Utah, and West Virginia. In 1977 she ran as the SWP candidate for mayor of Cleveland, Ohio against incumbent Republican Ralph Perk, garnering 1,225 votes and losing by a wide margin to Dennis Kucinich. She first joined the United Mine Workers of America in 1981, and was one of the leaders of a strike in Utah 2004, also being involved in litigation. In 2000, she ran for United States Senate as a certified write-in candidate in a race prompted by the death of candidate and former Governor of Missouri Mel Carnahan. Kennedy is currently employed as a garment worker.