Co-founder of political party that launched Sanders dies
August 31 at 7:05 PM
DUMMERSTON, Vt. — The man who helped found the Vermont political party that first launched Bernie Sanders for political office in the 1970s has died. Peter Diamondstone was 82.
His daughter says the co-founder of the Liberty Union Party and perennial political candidate died Wednesday in Dummerston.
His family says he dedicated his life to a vision of a fair society, “where all people have equal access to the resources necessary to actualize their full potential.”
Sanders ran for U.S. senator and Vermont governor twice each in the 1970s under the Liberty Union banner, before becoming an independent and being elected Burlington’s mayor in 1981.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/co-founder-of-political-party-that-launched-sanders-dies/2017/08/31/db69b0ce-8ea0-11e7-9c53-6a169beb0953_story.html
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http://digital.vpr.net/post/peter-diamondstone-longtime-vermont-political-figure-dies-82#stream/0
Peter Diamondstone was a founding member of the Liberty Union Party and ran for statewide office in every election cycle between 1970 and 2016.
Whenever Diamondstone announced his candidacy, he always insisted that he wasn't "running for the office." Instead, he said he was "offering" his ideas to the voters of Vermont.
Diamondstone was born in New York City in 1934 and received a law degree from the University of Chicago. He came to Vermont in the late 1960s.
In a 2014 gubernatorial debate, Diamondstone said the issue of climate change was the greatest threat facing the country.
"We are on the verge of a disaster beyond belief,” said Diamondstone. “Unless we stop the carbonization of the atmosphere we are dead. Dead, get it?"
