Election day in California is just around the corner. While the battle reigns high between the two major parties, there are several smaller third parties who could affect the final results with their proposed alternative solutions. Most of these third party campaigns are chiefly related to the current budgetary crisis but don’t think that it does not go beyond that.

The final list of third party contenders for the 2010 California gubernatorial elections include candidates like Chelene Nightingale, Dale F. Ogden, Carlos Alvarez, and Laura Wells, each bringing with them the essence of their parties. 

Chelene Nightingale is a constitutionalist belonging to the American Independent Party, who loudly addresses polarizing issues like states' rights, gun rights, over-taxation, privacy rights, illegal immigration, joblessness, and the strict interpretation of the Constitution.  She is a proponent of business with an agenda to lower corporate taxes, loosen regulatory hurdles, and create a state bank for low interest small business loans. Nightingale wants to reign in illegal immigration by tightening the border and denying public services to illegals such as allowing their children to attend public schools.  Nightingale also want to turn the state legislature into a part-time institution as a way to force the legislature to act more quickly and avoid gridlock.  She recently embarked on a walk from Fresno to Sacramento this past September to bring attention to the current water crisis and the problem of unemployment in the state.   www.nightingaleforgovernor.com

Dale F. Ogden is a Libertarian candidate who believes in minimal taxes and total freedom for the individual. It is interesting to note that he offers a completely different take on the issues that California is facing presently, which according to him cannot be solved by the traditional methods being offered. Ogden is heavily pushing for ways to cut state spending.  His proposals include rolling back state spending to levels to that seen in the late 1990s, reducing pensions for all state employees, raising the retirement age for state employees to 65, legalizing most drugs, and pardoning all prisoners convicted of minor offenses such as drug possession.  Along with Nightingale, he too wants to turn the state legislature into a part-time institution as way to create efficiency in the legislative process.  www.daleogden.org

Carlos Alvarez is from the Peace and Freedom Party and believes in supporting worker rights as well as other oppressed citizens. Socialism is the basic tenet of his campaign, which he feels will ensure that the voice of every worker or marginalized person is heard. Justice or the need for it is the core component of this campaign.   Alvarez's socialist proposals call for placing a moratorium on all foreclosures and evictions in the state, reimburse state employees for lost wages due to imposed furloughs, end most corporate tax breaks, and provide more funding for social services. Alvarez is also in favor of an open border policy for California where immigrants from anywhere can freely come to the state to find work.  www.alvarezforgovernor.com

Laura Wells belongs to the Green Party. Though taxation and the budget crisis are at the heart of her campaign, she also addresses areas like education, health, and the environment. The major thrust of her campaign is to set majority voter approval before allowing the state to raise any taxes.  Wells' educational goals include K-12  class sizes reduction to achieve a 1 to 15 teacher student  ratio, increased community and state college funding, and more vocational oriented electives at the high school level.  Wells' other objectives include building more municipally owned power plants, legalization of marijuana, and public health insurance options for all residents.  Finally, Wells supports a progressive election system where voters can select their top their candidates by assigning first, second, and third place votes.  www.laurawells.org

Come Tuesday most of the California electorate will be voting for candidates from the Democratic or Republican party.  However there are certainly options for those who are looking for something different or out of the mainstream.  It may be a while before anyone from a third party can claim an election victory, but their name recognition and party agenda can gradually alter the trajectory of public policy in the state.