Native American Green candidate for Lieutenant Governor in California

(9AM EST – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)

While perusing my California Sample Ballot to decide between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, I was suddenly shocked.  What to my wondering eyes should appear but this listing of occupation for a candidate for Lieutenant Governor:

Cultural Spiritual Advisor

What the???   Right there under the name of James “Jimi” Castillo, the Sample Ballot read

Cultural Spiritual Advisor

No shit?  Is this for real?  Jimi’s party affiliation was listed as Green, so I went to my Green Voter Guide to check.  Sure enough, we Californians have the opportunity to vote for a “Cultural Spiritual Advisor” for Lieutenant Governor rather than Democrat Gavin Newson or Republican Abel Maldonado.

Here’s a snip:

While Gavin Newsom is a multi-millionaire businessman

funded by a multi-billionaire oil heir, Green Party Lt.

Governor Candidate Jimi Castillo is a Native American

spiritual leader of Tongva/Acjachemen ancestry, the first Native

American to run for the office of Lieutenant Governor

in California. A Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, as well as

a member of the statewide Bear Clan Society, Castillo has

a lifetime of hands-on experience working directly with

people and communities, particularly in counseling youth

at correctional facilities (he was a counselor and Board

member for the Southeast Area Counseling Center in Santa

Fe Springs), defending and educating on Native American

culture in ceremonial and prayer events, and speaking at

conferences and classes at UCLA’s American Indian Studies

Center and the UCLA Native American Student Association.

More below the fold from green voter guide (pdf)

In contrast, Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco from 2003-2010,

has built a career off of news headlines,

appealing to hot-button emotional issues while the majority

of key reforms and innovations occurring in the City

were conceived by others working behind the scenes

…snip…

Ultimately, Newsom’s efforts are primarily

for headlines toward the next political position he seeks.

For example, Newsom’s recent ridiculous proposal to

criminalize sitting or lying on public sidewalks (“Sit-lie”)

serves little purpose except as a political tool.

…snip…

he gets to run his statewide campaign as someone who’s cracking

down on the homeless.”

While Gavin Newsom has made millions off business

and real estate deals in Hawaii and California-initially

funded by Gordon Getty, the Republican multi-billionaire

son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, and lead investor in 10 of

Newsom’s 11 businesses-Jimi Castillo has long been a

spiritual leader in Native American events throughout California.

In 1998, Castillo helped organize a walk for peace

with 25 others, trekking from San Diego to Sacramento to

speak with then-Governor Pete Wilson over his decision to

award gambling pacts to a small number of tribes, creating

divisions among them. In 2004, Castillo helped return a

herd of buffalo-used in Hollywood productions decades

ago, left on Catalina Island-to their native terrain on Lakota

Reservations in South Dakota. Castillo has conducted

numerous prayer and pilgrimage events on sacred Native

American sites in California, in one instance halting construction

of a mini-mall in Long Beach with the help of the

ACLU and the Sierra Club. His independent documentation

of the removals of ancient bones from sacred sites in Long

Beach-by reviewing coroner records-refuted claims

by developers that only small amounts of remains were

removed.

…snip…

Bay Guardian reported in July, the issues Castillo addresses in his Lt. Governor

Platform, the top three that he examines in detail

are education, the environment, and reform of the broken

criminal justice system. Castillo has a wealth of experience

in these areas.

  bolding mine

What an opportunity.  

I’m going to vote Green Native American Cultural Spiritual Advisor.  

I’m voting for Jimi Castillo for Lt. Governor in California.

For more information, see his web site.

I’m going to vote for “Jimi” Castillo.  I hope you’ll join me.