Unity Party of America
Encyclopedia
The Unity Party of America is a centrist political party founded on November 4, 2004 which has a membership in 33 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin) listed on its website. The party has been recognized in the state of Colorado since July 2008 as a Qualified Political Organization, and became recognized as a direct result of the petition of Unity Party Congressional candidate
Bill Hammons
onto the 2008 General Election ballot with 899 valid signatures. As a QPO, the Unity Party was designated on the Colorado voter registration form as a voter affiliation option, and 179 voters had affiliated with the Unity Party as of October 22, 2008, an increase of 92% over the party's voter registration numbers just three weeks before. 407 Colorado voters had affiliated with the Unity Party as of June 1, 2011, before the party was removed from state voter registration form as a result of its failure to place a candidate on the general election ballot in the 2010 election cycle.
In June 2010, the Unity Party of Utah launched the first state Unity Party website, unityutah.com, and announced its intention to petition, as a party, onto Utah's 2012 ballot. On April 27, 2011, Jim Pirtle of Colorado Springs declared as the Unity Party's first candidate of the 2012 election cycle, for Colorado's 5th Congressional District.
, even though both now live in Colorado. On July 15, 2010, Hammons announced his withdrawal from the 2nd CD race, citing challenges in obtaining the required number of petition signatures to appear on the ballot a second time. His fellow three Unity Party Colorado candidates had withdrawn as well.
On January 11, 2010, Navy veteran and Pueblo, Colorado resident Ray Roman declared as the Unity Party's first candidate for US Senate, running against incumbent Senator Michael Bennet. That same month, Hammons appeared on Denver 9 News' Your Show to make the case for changing Colorado election law and allowing the Unity Party's more recently affiliated candidates to petition onto the General Election ballot as Unity Party candidates, along with himself. On May 27, 2010, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed House Bill 10-1271, which will allow Colorado's unaffiliated candidates for public office (including, technically, Unity Party candidates) to run for office if their voter registration has not changed during the year of the election in question, beginning in 2012.
An April 9, 2010 Colorado Statesman article highlighted the fact that the Unity Party of Colorado had fielded twice as many candidates in 2010 as the Green Party of Colorado, and four times as many candidates as the Constitution Party of Colorado.
. Bill Hammons has been the party's national chairman since its inception.
Bill Hammons
Bill Hammons
Bill Hammons is the current chairman of the Unity Party of America.He was born in Germany during the early 1970s to a career army officer during his father's tour of duty there. He was raised in Odessa, Texas from the age of five, and graduated from Permian High School of...
onto the 2008 General Election ballot with 899 valid signatures. As a QPO, the Unity Party was designated on the Colorado voter registration form as a voter affiliation option, and 179 voters had affiliated with the Unity Party as of October 22, 2008, an increase of 92% over the party's voter registration numbers just three weeks before. 407 Colorado voters had affiliated with the Unity Party as of June 1, 2011, before the party was removed from state voter registration form as a result of its failure to place a candidate on the general election ballot in the 2010 election cycle.
In June 2010, the Unity Party of Utah launched the first state Unity Party website, unityutah.com, and announced its intention to petition, as a party, onto Utah's 2012 ballot. On April 27, 2011, Jim Pirtle of Colorado Springs declared as the Unity Party's first candidate of the 2012 election cycle, for Colorado's 5th Congressional District.
Recent history
Eric Bodenstab is described on the Unity Party website as having been the first Unity Party candidate, declaring in May 2007 for Boulder, Colorado City Council, even though that is a non-partisan election. The Unity Party fielded two Congressional candidates in the 2008 election cycle (Bill Hammons in Colorado's 2nd District (0.6%) and Terry Ronzio in Pennsylvania's 12th District (did not qualify for the ballot). Sherman Reickart declared for Brant, New York Town Council with the Unity Party, Bill Hammons declared for Colorado's 2nd District again on June 22, 2009, Energy Drilling Consultant Levi Hancock declared as the first Unity Party candidate for Colorado Governor in 2009, and Oilfield Drilling Engineer Mike Nelson has declared as a Unity Party candidate for Colorado's 4th Congressional District. Hammons and Nelson are both former residents of Odessa, TexasOdessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...
, even though both now live in Colorado. On July 15, 2010, Hammons announced his withdrawal from the 2nd CD race, citing challenges in obtaining the required number of petition signatures to appear on the ballot a second time. His fellow three Unity Party Colorado candidates had withdrawn as well.
On January 11, 2010, Navy veteran and Pueblo, Colorado resident Ray Roman declared as the Unity Party's first candidate for US Senate, running against incumbent Senator Michael Bennet. That same month, Hammons appeared on Denver 9 News' Your Show to make the case for changing Colorado election law and allowing the Unity Party's more recently affiliated candidates to petition onto the General Election ballot as Unity Party candidates, along with himself. On May 27, 2010, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed House Bill 10-1271, which will allow Colorado's unaffiliated candidates for public office (including, technically, Unity Party candidates) to run for office if their voter registration has not changed during the year of the election in question, beginning in 2012.
An April 9, 2010 Colorado Statesman article highlighted the fact that the Unity Party of Colorado had fielded twice as many candidates in 2010 as the Green Party of Colorado, and four times as many candidates as the Constitution Party of Colorado.
Platform
The Unity Party supports a Balanced Budget Amendment, a shift of Federal taxes from income to carbon emissions, a full health care tax deduction for those "forced" to pay for their own health coverage, a "Tithe Pool" to guarantee entitlements on a year-by-year basis, term limits of two terms for US Senators and four terms for US Representatives, outlawing the drawing of legislative districts along partisan lines (i.e., gerrymandering), and appointing panels of retired judges to oversee the drawing of legislative districts. The party's motto is "Not right, not left, but forward."United National Committee
The United National Committee, the governing body of the Unity Party of America per the Unity Party Constitution adopted on April 17, 2010, was formed on the same day. As of January 2011, the UNC consists of seven members.Origins
The Unity Party began in an online discussion forum in November 2004 and grew out of the Unity Runners organization; as the Unity Party website puts it, "The Unity Party of America movement had its beginnings in the concept of running marathons to raise campaign contributions for political candidates." Unity Runners, in turn, had its origins in Runners for Clark, an antecedent organization which supported the Presidential candidacy of General Wesley ClarkWesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
. Bill Hammons has been the party's national chairman since its inception.