Middle aged white man with short brown hair, a grayish beard and mustache wearing a blue suit standing in front of a tree

Brett R. Joseph, LL.M., Ph.D.today announced his decision to run in the Ohio 2018 mid-term election as the Green Party's candidate for Lieutenant Governor, joining on the ticket with Columbus attorney and social justice activist Constance Gadell-Newton, who announced her candidacy for Governor of Ohio in late May, 2017.  

Dr. Joseph (or Brett as he prefers to be called) is an organizational systems design consultant, attorney, community action researcher, and environmental educator.  He serves his native northeast Ohio as a sustainable agriculture program coordinator and permaculture instructor at the Lorain County Community College.

Brett is an active proponent of economic democracy and progressive social change.  He is committed to generating high quality, ecologically sustainable livelihoods through policy reforms, and administrative restructuring that encourages citizen-led initiatives that value people over profits.  His first priority is to foster Earth-friendly, neighborhood-scale development by strategically steering public and private investment towards individuals, families, community groups, and worker-owned businesses. 

“We face complex problems requiring an ‘all hands on deck’ approach where Ohioans can unify around the goals of universal medicare, tuition-free education, safe non-militarized streets, sustainable livelihoods and communities, and a vibrant, inclusive democracy that is free from the corrupting influences of corporate campaign finance.” 

Brett’s professional background reflects a life-long commitment to fostering economic democracy, decolonization, public health, and citizen-led initiatives to build climate resilience while fostering harmonious relationships between human and natural systems.  For 15 years, he served as an environmental and international attorney with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, based in Washington D.C. and Seattle. 

“After a decade and a half of government service, I came to realize that no amount of government regulation or public spending would be sufficient to reverse the combined unsustainable trends that are driving our society towards social and ecological collapse.  I realized neither legal mandates nor technological fixes would be sufficient, and that this generation’s first responsibility is to seek fundamental changes to those institutionalized ideologies and patterns of behavior that lie at the root of our present problems.” 

Before leaving government service, Brett returned to school to earn a master’s degree in psychology with a certificate in socially engaged spirituality, prior to earning a doctorate degree in Organizational Systems from Saybrook University.  Brett’s research and published writings primarily focus on inter-organizational network development, cultural revisioning, community dialogue, social systems design, and sustainability education. 

“Like so many people across our beautiful State, I thought there might be no end to the hyper-partisan, two-party standoff that perpetuates obscene wealth inequity and a slow drift towards a new Dark Age.  Certainly, I am not alone in saying ‘Enough is enough’ it is time for a non-violent revolution!  It is time to take back our State in 2018.” 

Running on the “Constance for Ohio” ticket, Joseph offers an opportunity to honor and support the courageous and determined efforts of progressives statewide.  Running with Constance Gadell-Newton and the Greens, the Party whose candidates pledge to never accept corporate money, Joseph envisions new leadership from the governor’s office to the local village councils, so that “our State will be governed by and for all Ohioans who know what democracy looks like!”

Dr. Brett Joseph lives with his wife and two daughters in Concord, Lake County, Ohio.

Website: www.ConstanceforOhio.com

Contact:
Committee to Elect Constance Gadell-Newton
1021 E. Broad Street,
Columbus, Ohio 43205
(614)307-9783 Office
elect.conniegadell@gmail.com