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National Secretary of the Reform Party |
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Compiled by GayToday
He has raised millions of dollars for community-based charities, and has published books on subjects as diverse as civil rights, independent politics, building bridges between diverse constituencies in American politics, and eradicating poverty. Three times an independent Candidate himself "California Lieutenant Governor in '98, San Francisco Board of Supervisors`90 and U.S. Congress in '86" Mangia received over 75,000 votes statewide as the Reform Party's candidate for Lt. Governor in 1998. He has worked tirelessly to build a major third party in California, and nationally, since the early 80's and was a leader in the drive to register thousands of new voters across California into the Reform Party in order to retain a permanent line on the ballot for the independent party in 1999. At the founding meeting of the National Reform Party held in Nashville, Tennessee on January 25, 1997, Mangia was elected Interim National Secretary, one of four national officers. At the Founding Inaugural Convention of the Reform Party held on November 1 & 2, 1997 in Kansas City Missouri, Mangia was elected overwhelmingly to a full two-year term as National Secretary. In July of 1999, Mangia was re-elected as National Secretary to serve through the 2000 presidential elections.
Jim Mangia was the Program Director for the AIDS Project of the East Bay in Oakland from 1988-1992. Mangia was elected as a delegate to the LIFE Lobby (Lobby for Individual Freedom and Equality) in California in 1996. He was appointed to the West Hollywood Election Reform Task Force in September 1998, a commission chartered with reforming West Hollywood's election process to ensure greater participation by the voters. He is currently the Executive Director of St, John's Well Child Center, a network of community-based free medical and dental clinics for children in Los Angeles and Compton. The clinics provide free medical and dental services to over 15,000 children each year from birth to 18 years of age, in downtown, south and central Los Angeles County. He is a professional grantwriter who raises millions of dollars each year for non-profit organizations and charities. He is currently the Development Director for the community service programs of St. John's Episcopal Church in South Central Los Angeles, which includes a food bank for poor families, and after-school program, and a housing program for the mentally ill. Mangia was elected at last week's Reform Party convention to stop the much publicized take-over by the anti-gay extremist, and former Republican far-right strategist, Patrick Buchanan. Buchanan's allies turned their homophobic guns on Mangia, berating him for being gay. |
A seasoned community and political activist, Jim Mangia has been involved in some 25 electoral campaigns on behalf of independent candidates running for every level of office; from City Council to County Commissioner, from Governor to President of the United States.
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