Jill Stein
Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010.
This article is about the physician and Green Party activist. For the British restaurateur, see Jill Stein (restaurateur).
Jill Stein
Her campaigns for president have focused heavily on the proposal of a Green New Deal, which includes a number of reforms to address climate change and income inequality, as well as civil and political rights reform. In 2012, Stein received 469,015 votes, which accounted for .36% of the popular vote; in 2016, she received 1.45 million votes or 1.07% of the popular vote.
In 2023, it was announced that Stein would help run Cornel West's 2024 Green Party campaign for president.[1][2][3] After West withdrew from the Green Party to continue his campaign as an independent, Stein launched her campaign for the Green Party's 2024 presidential nomination.[4]
Early activism and political career
As a physician, Stein became increasingly concerned about the connection between people's health and the quality of their local environment. She subsequently turned to activism. In 1998, she began protesting the "Filthy Five" coal plants in Massachusetts.[9][10] Since 1998, she has served on the board of the Greater Boston chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.[7] She received Clean Water Action's "Not in Anyone's Backyard Award" in 1998 and its "Children's Health Hero Award" in 2000, Toxic Action Center's "Citizen Award" in 1999, and Salem State College's "Friend of the Earth Award" in 2004.[11][12][13]
Stein coauthored two reports by the Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development (2000), and Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging (2009).[14][15] In Harm's Way report republished in the peer-reviewed Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics in 2002.[16]
Stein has said that she left the Democratic Party and joined the Green Party when "the Democratic Party killed campaign finance reform in my state".[9]
Political positions
Economy
In her various political campaigns, Stein supported industry nationalization and guaranteed employment.[109]
In 2015, Stein was critical of official employment numbers, saying that unemployment figures were "designed to essentially cover up unemployment," and that the real unemployment rate for that year was around 12–13%.[110][111] In February 2016, she said that "real unemployment is nearly 10%, 2x as high as the official rate."[112]
Personal life
Stein is married to Richard Rohrer, who is also a physician. They live in Lexington, Massachusetts, and have two sons.[7][202][203]