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It seems Nick Slater has hit a nerve with a petition drive claiming that a George W. Bush presidency would be illegitimate.  

Since an interview Tuesday on KPFA radio, Slater, a Berkeley resident, has gotten dozens of e-mails and calls for petitions, three offers to set up Web sites and several calls for interviews by other media. 

As far as he knows, the petition is being circulated in San Diego and as far away as Pennsylvania, in addition to northern California. 

“I’m trying to ensure the integrity of the election process,” Slater said, explaining the petition as a way for people to express their frustration with the recent electoral process. “I put the petition together because I did not want to remain silent,” he said. The petition argues that a democratic government’s authority rests on “the freely given consent of its citizens” and that consent is given through elections. 

“Since democracy has not been seen to be done and the true and final result of the Florida vote in the recent presidential election is not yet known, as the Supreme Court acknowledges, we feel that we, as citizens of these United States, are unable to grant our authority and consent to the appointment of candidate George Bush as president,” the petition says. 

It further argues that two of the Supreme Court Justices, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, have conflicts of interest and should be removed for having participated in the process. 

“Justice Scalia had two sons working for the law firm representing Bush. Justice Thomas’ wife worked for the Heritage Foundation which is helping to choose the Bush cabinet,” says a letter by Slater accompanying the petition. 

Slater, who works in business services at UC Berkeley and comes originally from Great Briton, said he was shocked at the lack of outrage following the Supreme Court decision, even among those who call themselves progressive. 

“People feel powerless,” he said, arguing that citizens don’t care who is president “as long as they’ve got full bellies and SUVs.” 

He said that attitude sends a negative message to the entire world. “There are thousands of people who fought and died for the right to vote,” he said. 

Slater says, though an active shop steward at UC Berkeley, he’s never done anything like this before. He has no staff to answer phones and e-mails or funds to send out endless petitions, but he said he’s trying. “I’m making it up as I go along,” he said. “I don’t represent anybody or any organization.” 

The petitions, which call for a thorough re-count by hand in Florida, will be delivered to congressional representatives before the Bush inauguration, with copies back to Slater so he can tally the response. 

Calls for comment to the Republican Party offices in San Leandro and Walnut Creek were not returned. 

Slater can be contacted at P.O. Box 13466 Berkeley, 94712-4466 and e-mailed at: medieval@e-mail.com.