Modern-day Nazi party members who believe in "a breakaway white nation" and who celebrate Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party are among the candidates on Tuesday's ballots in the Inland Empire, according to an AP report on CBS2.
Candidates Jeff Hall and Dan Schruender might be open about their Neo-Nazi sympathies and beliefs, but that isn't listed next to their names on the ballot. "The two candidates have emerged in low-profile races in the recession-battered region east of Los Angeles, which has seen a rise in hate group activity as minorities moved from the cities to the spacious suburbs that were once farmland."
Hall, 31, is running for a seat on the board for the Western Municipal Water District in Riverside. The plumber wants the group "to use more recycled water and create incentives for conservation," which sounds like a great platform. What might be less appealing is that Hall, who serves as southwest regional leader of the Nationalist Socialist Movement, "said voters who cast a ballot for him Tuesday are also accepting his views on race. He advocates the creation and secession of an all-white section of the United States."
In Rialto, former teacher Schruender has been out of the classroom since 2005 when he "became disgusted with the educational system and quit teaching." Residents and election-watchers in the area think he isn't taking the election very seriously, though Shruender, a former member of Aryan Nations, sees his bid as "a first step toward gaining political power."
Hall and Schruender have run modest campaigns, however neither of them "has submitted a statement to the registrar of voters and nothing on the ballot indicates their work with neo-Nazi organizations. Nor have they attended community forums where other candidates have debated." Their sins of omission should, say opponents and watchdogs, have voters feeling skeptical of what they are hiding.
