Atlee David Yarrow (born February 8, 1967) is a socialist political activist. He is a former mayoral candidate for Auburn, Georgia in 1992 and holds the office of Secretary of the Socialist Party of Florida (SPFL), state affiliate of the Socialist Party USA (SPUSA). Currently Yarrow is a Socialist candidate for Governor of Florida.

Background

The early years of acquiring political knowledge came more towards the end of the administration of Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) while traveling from Colorado in 1979 to live with his father in Connecticut and later moves between there and Florida. He would listen to the newscast and read newspapers where ever he went. He would listen to people in public places talking about Iran and the hostages held there for 444 days, taken from The American Embassy in Tehran. Talk of oil and gas prices while worries about cars waiting in long gas station lines, some several miles long. He watched the import car Datsun starting to take over the American automotive market over three little letters, M.P.G. He wondered why Jimmy Carter could not get things done even with his vision for a more humane world and why or what stopped energy reforms from happening. He then discovered a wealth of knowledge rather then money, the public and school libraries.

This was however cut short with a lull when living in Florida with his mother between 1981 and 1982. His mother was hurt in an on the job accident. She had fallen from a ladder and a case of motor oil had injured her knee. Atlee was placed in the state custody of Florida Department of Health and Rehabiltative Services better known by its acronym H.R.S. As a ward of the state he was moved from home to home never being allowed to attend pubic school but once during this time at New River Middle School (http://www.browardschools.com/schoolsplash1/schoolsplash.asp?infoid=0881) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He never finish the sixth grade school year there nor was he allowed access to the library system. He kept up on the the world from day old newspapers and some television when he could. The state system had shut him out and all but tossed away the key like it did many children, "The state system for children's well-being is under staffed, under funded, and to this day remains so." He was denied medical attention several times after complaining about ear infections that he has had since early childhood.

While attending Westside Middle School (http://www.groton.k12.ct.us/WWW/wsms/wsm.html) in Groton, Connecticut, Atlee discovered politics during Ronald Reagan's administration. He noticed many jobs leaving the area or being cut back through the use of layoffs in Connecticut. Small business, mom and pop operations, and other family related shops with store fronts now standing empty in what once his bustling joint hometowns of East Hampton and Groton-New London municipalities. He noticed "big box stores" move into the areas he once lived in. New London, Connecticut his place of birth now the site of the recent dicision of the Surpreme Court's case of Kelo v. New London being he states, "for company profits over generations of residents" under eminent domain law. In his search for answers, he came to the realization that both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party had "sold out" the working people to corporate interests. While he has not been living in Connecticut he still follows what is happening there and visits as time allows.

Atlee's family is a blue-collar, tight knit group with conserviative values and a hard work ethic. He spent most of his teen years with friends of simialar families. He always has learned the value of a dollar and has never been on unemployment and is proud of this fact. In truth he has held down in many cases two jobs, learning early from his family that it was good to not only have learned a skill but to always have back up work for those "rainy days." "Life in the New England states tends to grow seasonal work for the most part and it is that every New Englander be ready for the unforeseen weather and down times when money is scarce," he claims. "Many workers over the years have nothing but their savings to live one from summer's work."

In 1985, seeing his father struggle to work and pay the bills, he joined the United States Navy for active duty. He was quickly discharged because of his cronic ear troubles.

While growing up in a rapidly changing political climate with historic events such as the Berlin Wall falling and the USSR becoming an oligarchic society, he noticed even more with the fall of the worker's state so fell civil rights and wages. Jobs began to move to states with Right to Work Laws. Even the American workers in Right to Work states, who had been the beneficiaries of the job losses in those states, now faced job losses to trade in China and India.

Taking notice of this trend, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he learned his trade in the printing field and married Lisa Wise. Together they had two children, Megan and Joseph. While maintaining the struggle of keeping up with bills and technology in the rapidly expanding field of printing the Gulf War with Iraq began. Jobs were reduced further and as a result he took another job which resulted in a cut in pay and loss of valuable benefits for his family. Any job was hard to come by with everyone's eyes on the new televised war.

As a member of G.C.I.U. Local 8m he walked a picket line at Foote & Davies in support of fellow union members even though he was not an employee there. He visited several print shops, offering his skills free of charge to the union, and passed out union literature trying to help organize more pressmen into the union. From time to time he would join in other picket lines such as those at Publix in favor on the cashier's union also around Atlanta. He would spend different times talking with workers and learning their basic needs and the unwillingness of management to see the human factor in daily struggles to earn a living.

In an effort to try and better life for himself, family, and friends he opened his own company trying to bring in former co-workers to create a co-op printshop. While he claimed to have some small success; he noted that many were unwilling to place trust in one another, "a common failing of the human system in todays world which is needed to bring humanity together," he says.

The City of Auburn, GA. had been growing for years, Atlee noticed that there were, in his opinion, "...were problems with controlled city growth and planning." He also happen to have bought a house on the Gwinnett County side of the city border, annexed through a dry river bed to gain tax revenue from all the new housing. With his voice and that of his neighbors not being heard during city meetings he chose to run in the mayoral election. Part of his platform was to have a new fire station built on his side of town after timing the trains which crossed through the center of town citing public safety as the main issue. Another part was to expand the local city police to add two more patrol cars to help watch both sides of a city divided by these train crossings.

The city election for Mayor was a three way race between Atlee, a former Mayor's son, and a local church deacon. The two youngest split the lowest part of the vote for the most part while the elder church deacon won a majority of the votes.

Shortly after the election and with continued slow business Atlee's wife, Lisa filed for divorce. By late 1995 it was finalized and with continued cost of living growing ever more plus the 1996 Olympic Games soon approaching he left for Florida over the winter.

He moved to Sebastian, FL. in Indian River County where he worked between jobs and took time to reflex on what had transpired over the last few years. One job took him to Pompano Beach, FL. where he continued in the even more shrinking and specialized printing field. The other and later job, working at an autoparts store.

Back in Florida he started to recalled times from his earlier teen years since the press operator's job in Pompano Beach took him into the area of his first state home. "The children lost in a half done system...no one cared because the system was too far gone and half funded or short staffed." He goes on, "They (H.R.S.) never came looking for me. I just walked away, got on a plane and flew out of state."

The autoparts store job took him near Fellsmere, FL. which has a large Mexican population, "Many are migrant workers picking fruit or performing basic labor." Atlee had noted many of the same concerns with this group as being the same as those in the Atlanta area. He spent time working together with many from the Fellsmere area even picking up a few words of Spanish to add in his service related customer service industry.

During his days off between running a printing press and working the counters at the autoparts store he would go fishing. Talking to all sorts of people along the Indian River Lagoon. In his small talk from the elderly to the young from vacationer to local he picked up on their concerns. He concluded "Most people want the same things, it is just how to go about doing this that causes friction between different groups across all spectrums."

Bring parts of the human puzzle together he and his newlywed wife, Veronica moved to Jacksonville, FL. the spring of 1997 where he continues to work less than the cost of living wage jobs while attending college as an education major.

Atlee being a more "behind the scenes" variety did not consider ever running for political office and remaind a registered Indepenent voter for many years. In 2000 the printing company he had worked for was soon to go out of business furthering jobs being cut in his skilled career field. He then made a stand and again choose the political option. After researching the many political Parties registered with the State of Florida he choose the Socialist Party of Florida for it strong stance on Rights, dignity towards others, workers' concerns, and its grass-roots movement within the state to have the everyday person be heard by big business.

He started to helped others in their campaigns. During the Boot the Bell boycott (YUM! Brands, Inc.) of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers he passed out boycott postcards, after 9/11 he spread word of the new group Wage Peace and attended several meetings when the group first became active. During the 2004 elections he worked on the Walt Brown presidential campaign around the state and gathered more socialist votes in Florida alone then the rest of the U.S. combined. Atlee also was an elector for the Socialist Party of Florida for the 2004 election.

Yarrow was elected Secretary SPFL during a state convention on June 12, 2004.

External Links

Yarrow for Governor

[700] Socialist Party of Florida

[701] Atlee Yarrow for Governor of Florida - myspace.com

[702] Atlee Yarrow - blogspot.com

[703] Jimmie Higgins - spaces.msn.com

[704] Atlee Yarrow for Governor of Florida - yahoo.com