Cancer Treatment For Camejo, Once 'Dangerous' To Reagan

Green Party candidate Peter Camejo - who ran for California governor in 2002, 2003 and 2006 - underwent his first chemotherapy treatment Thursday for lymphoma. The cause of the cancer likely was environmental, doctors told Camejo, who does not drink or smoke.

"We have 200 chemicals in our body that we didn't have 100 years ago," Camejo, 67, told the Associated Press after he was diagnosed. "So many millions of Americans get cancer and to have to deal with it, it is a humbling experience."

Camejo attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and U.C. Berkeley, where he was suspended once for "using an unauthorized microphone" in a protest against the Vietnam War, according to his Wiki profile. Then-Gov. Ronald Reagan listed Camejo as one of California's 10 most dangerous citizens.

Camejo co-founded an Oakland brokerage firm, Progressive Asset Management. He ran for president as the Socialist Workers Party nominee in 1976, and was Ralph Nader's vice presidential running mate in 2004. Last year, Camejo received about 206,000 votes in the race for governor, or 2.3% of the total.

(Photo: Ben Margot / AP)

Jumping Ship

"The race for governor is over. Once again the Democrats have handed the governorship to the Republicans. You are now free to vote for whoever you want."
   —Green Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Camejo, in a new radio ad encouraging Democrats to vote for him