James Hedges
| James Hedges | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Tax Assessor for Thompson Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania | |
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In office 2002–2007 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 10, 1938 Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Prohibition |
| Spouse(s) | Carolyn |
| Residence | Fulton County, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater |
University of Iowa (B.A.) University of Maryland (M.A.) |
James "Jim" Hedges (born May 10, 1938) is an American politician who is a Prohibition activist and the former Tax Assessor for Thompson Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania. He holds the distinction as the only individual to be elected to public office from the Prohibition Party in the 21st century, and the first since 1959. Hedges was the Prohibition Party's 2016 presidential nominee.
Hedges earned a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Performance from the University of Iowa and holds a Master's degree in Geography from the University of Maryland. He served in the United States Marine Band as a tuba performer and worked as editor of The National Speleological Society Bulletin.
In high school, Hedges (whose parents were teetotallers for religious reasons) became interested in the Prohibition Party after reading an article in a newspaper. By the 1980s, he had become active in the party, and rose to the position of Executive Secretary in 2003. In 2005, he was selected as the Secretary of the Partisan Prohibition Historical Society. Hedges also publishes the party's printed newsletter.
Prior to the 2004 presidential election, Hedges was involved in a schism within the party stemming from alleged misuse of funds and mismanagement by Earl Dodge, the party's long-time face. Notably, Hedges and others claimed that Dodge sold the party's headquarters for $119,500 in 1999 with intent to build on his own property, but that Dodge instead kept the money for himself and moved the headquarters to a tool shed. Dodge countered by saying that he placed the funds in a separate party account, and argued that Hedges and others who had put forth the allegations were simply disgruntled with their position in the party. Nevertheless, Hedges and his faction formed the Concerns of the People (Prohibition) Party to counter Dodge, and nominated Washington anti-alcohol activist and preacher Gene Amondson for President. Both Dodge and Hedges claimed their parties were the authentic Prohibition Party. The split abruptly came to an end in 2007 after Dodge's death, and the reunified party again nominated Amondson for president for the 2008 election.
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