BY DAKARAI I. AARONS  
Des Moines resident Mary Martin says voters need an alternative to the usual field of wannabe politicians who run for mayor.

She knows it’s a long shot, but Martin thinks the time is right to put a socialist in City Hall.

“We don’t have deep illusions of being elected,” said Martin, 51, who announced her candidacy at a weekend barbecue and rally at Pathfinder Books, 3720 Sixth Ave.

Martin, who will represent the Socialist Party on the November ballot, does not expect a lot of votes, but says she wants to provide a true candidate for working-class people.

“Many working people are hoodwinked into believing the Democrats have something for them,” said Martin, a political newcomer and sewing machine operator for Winnebago Industries.

The rights and voices of the working class have been marginalized for decades under a two-party system that ignores their interests, she said.

Martin has lived in Des Moines for two years. She spent seven years in Washington, D.C., where she ran for the City Council in 1996.

Her husband, Edwin Fruit, ran an unsuccessful bid against U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Ia., last fall.

Martin’s campaign focuses primarily on international issues: an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba and military action in Iraq, abolition of the death penalty and the removal of U.S. troops in South Korea.

“We don’t see our campaign as stopping at the borders of Des Moines,” she said. “We think the level of political discussion needs to be raised above potholes and the Gateway. The level of politics keeps the working class out.”

A higher minimum wage, protection for factory workers against corporate interests, racism and police brutality all resonate with the working class, Martin said. All need to be addressed in a large forum, she said.

“What we call for is a movement to replace capitalism with a workers’ and farmers’ government,” she said.

The slate of opponents includes City Councilwoman Christine Hensley, real estate agent Gayle Collins, City Councilman Frank Cownie, and temporary worker Pete Rose.

Martin might not win, said Fruit, who is also her campaign treasurer, but at least Des Moines’ working class will have a voice in the election process.

“Stop getting behind the lesser of the two evils,” Fruit told supporters. “Change comes when people make themselves heard in a mass way.”
 
 
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