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| - | '''James Matthew Branum''' (b. June 1976; [[Chickasha, Oklahoma]], United States) is the state secretary of the [[Green Party of Oklahoma]] and a former co-chair of the party. He also was a candidate for public office in both Texas and Oklahoma.
| + | There used to be an article here (which you can still find via the "history" of this wiki page. I pulled it down because well-meaning activists were jumping to crazy conclusions based on my past political history. |
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| - | ==Political career==
| + | Yes, I used to be a conservative (political and religious). Big whoop. I grew up in Oklahoma. Most folks here are conservative. |
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| - | Branum's political career began in the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in the mid-1990s when he served as president of the [[College Republicans]] at [[Southwestern Oklahoma State University]], secretary of the Oklahoma Federation of College Republicans, and delegate to the Oklahoma state Republican convention.
| + | But, I changed. Over time it was my faith in Jesus that pointed me in the direction of pacifism (because Jesus' teachings were clearly opposed to violence and war) and later in the direction of cooperative/community-based economic models. And of course living in the liberal-mecca of Austin and having good liberal-leaning friends helped too. |
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| - | He later moved to [[Austin, Texas]] where he continued in politics as Republican Party chair for Precinct 147.
| + | If you want to know more about what I believe '''today''' (and not 8+ years ago), read my blog www.jmbzine.com or the website of my law practice, www.girightslawyercom. |
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| - | In 1999, Branum left the Republican Party to join the Libertarians, and in 2000 ran for Constable, Pct. 5 in [[Travis County, Texas]] on the [[Libertarian]] ticket, where he debated his opponents on issues such as ethnic profiling, employing St. Augustine's "Just War" theory to set the boundaries of justified profiling. He received 5,611 votes, or 17.82% of the votes cast in a two-way race against incumbent Democrat [[Bruce Elfant]].
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| - | In 2001, Branum made his third political affiliation change, joining the Green Party in [[Hays County, Texas]], and later was a founding member of the [[Green Party of Oklahoma]] and the Rural Greens chapter of the Oklahoma Greens. He served as state executive committee member-at-large from 2002-2004, and as state co-chair from 2004-2005. He also was one of Oklahoma's delegates to the [[Green Party of the United States]] national convention in [[Milwaukee, WI]] in 2004, and was an alternate delegate to the party's annual national meeting in [[Tulsa, OK]] in 2005.
| + | (also for those wondering, editthis.info/oklahoma is a blog I created for all things Oklahoma-related. I was vain to write an article about myself, but I guess this whole episode has reminded me of one of the side benefits of humility) |
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| - | In 2006, Branum ran for Oklahoma State House District #99 as an Independent (but endorsed by the Green Party). He received 306 votes or 4.81% of the votes cast in the three way race.
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| - | ==Education and work==
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| - | In addition to his political work, Branum is a [[Mennonite]] lay [[minister of religion|minister]], a peace activist, and the author of the [[blog]] JMBzine. He works as an [[attorney]].
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| - | Branum graduated from [[Austin Graduate School of Theology]] (then the Institute for Christian Studies) in Austin, Texas, in May 2000 with a B.A. in Biblical Studies (Christian Ministry emphasis), and completed a [[Juris Doctor]] from [[Oklahoma City University]] School of Law in December 2005. He is also currently pursuing a degree in Religious Studies from [[Tulsa Community College]].
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| - | He is a member of the [[National Lawyers Guild]] and the [[Industrial Workers of the World]] and is also involved with the [[Oklahoma Independent Media Center]] and Oklahoma City [[Critical Mass]], and the Spacing Guild.
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| - | '''Sources:'''
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| - | [http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=MOK93451 Project Vote-Smart Biography]
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| - | [http://okinsider.com/electioncentral02.oki?cnd=0TI0PO37Z OkInsider.com Profile]
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| - | [[Category:1976 births|Branum, James M.]]
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| - | [[Category:Living people|Branum, James M.]]
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| - | [[Category:American politicians|Branum, James M.]]
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| - | [[Category:Green politicians|Branum, James M.]]
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| - | [[Category:People from Oklahoma|Branum, James M.]]
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| - | [[de:James M. Branum]]
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There used to be an article here (which you can still find via the "history" of this wiki page. I pulled it down because well-meaning activists were jumping to crazy conclusions based on my past political history.
Yes, I used to be a conservative (political and religious). Big whoop. I grew up in Oklahoma. Most folks here are conservative.
But, I changed. Over time it was my faith in Jesus that pointed me in the direction of pacifism (because Jesus' teachings were clearly opposed to violence and war) and later in the direction of cooperative/community-based economic models. And of course living in the liberal-mecca of Austin and having good liberal-leaning friends helped too.
