Interviewer
Jack Rowan
Files
Description
Community organizer and feminist activist Judy Smith describes the founding of the Missoula New Party in the early 1990s. Smith asserts that the novelty of the New Party was in its focus on electoral politics rather than policy politics, the latter being the primary sphere for progressive expression at the time. She describes the benefits—volunteers, organization—that a New Party candidate received compared to candidates from other parties. Smith talks about the importance of selecting electable candidates and mentions Jim McGrath and the Living Wage campaign. Smith reflects on the dissolution of the New Party in 2001 and points to two causes: the first, a slacking enthusiasm for electoral politics compounded by an inability to recruit new members; the second, a more organized political opposition. She discusses the social aspect of the party and the lasting relationships that came from it.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
New Party, United States; New Party, Missoula, Montana; Political parties, Montana; Political parties, United States; Living Wage Campaign (1990s), Montana; Living Wage Campaign (1990s), United States
Original Date
4-30-2006
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Missoula New Party Oral History Project, OH 400, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula
Digital Publisher
University of Montana--Missoula. Mansfield Library
Rights
Copyright to this collection is held by the interview participants and by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Permission may be required for use. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections: (406) 243-2053 / library.archives@umontana.edu
Oral History Number
OH 400-003
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (19 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:59:14 minutes
Local Filename
OH_400_003.mp3; OH_400_003.pdf
Citation
Smith, Judy, "Judy Smith Interview, April 30, 2006" (2006). Missoula New Party Oral History Project. 3.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/missoulanewparty_oralhistory/3