Bill Shearer

In 1967, Shearer was hired by the George Wallace 1968 presidential campaign to help establish the American Independent Party (AIP) as a vehicle for Wallace's political ambitions.^[7] Shearer went on to co-found the AIP that year in California with his wife, Eileen Knowland Shearer, with the party rapidly consolidating minor parties in other states under the umbrella of a National Committee of Autonomous State Parties to provide Wallace with cross-country ballot lines.^[8][9][a] The decision by Wallace to start organizing his campaign in California has never been entirely explained.^[10][b] Because the Wallace campaign had no West Coast contacts, Wallace aide Seymore Trammell called Bill Simmons – a leader of the Citizens' Council of Jackson, Mississippi – for a recommendation for someone in California.^[10] Simmons advised the campaign to retain Shearer.^[10] Wallace went on to win 46 votes in the United States Electoral College; as of 2023, he was the last minor party candidate to win electoral votes in a U.S. presidential election.^[12][c]

After the 1968 election, Shearer continued to lead the American Independent Party and was its candidate for Governor of California in 1970.^[14] A long-simmering dispute between Wallace and Shearer led to a 1973 split in the party, with it bifurcating into the American Independent Party and the American Party, Shearer continuing to lead the former.^[15] In 1976, the New York Times characterized the AIP as "a party that is practically his [Shearer's] own".^[16]

Shearer subsequently led the AIP into becoming the California state affiliate of the Populist Party, from which it later withdrew, and then the Constitution Party.^[17]

En 1951, siendo estudiante universitario, Shearer fue objeto de un perfil en el semanario de noticias de San Diego Point Magazine , que describía su apoyo a la readopción del patrón oro y su oposición a la política exterior de Estados Unidos como poseedoras de "todas las características de un fanático". ^{[ 18 ]} Abordando el tema de la segregación, en 1967 Shearer declaró que "no era un segregacionista declarado, pero sí favorecía un estilo de vida que incluyera cierto grado de segregación". ^{[ 19 ]} En 1970, Shearer pidió que la doctrina de la equidad se extendiera a los periódicos y que se impusieran límites al gasto en campañas políticas. ^{[ 14 ]} Durante su vida, Shearer abogó por el acceso a las urnas para partidos minoritarios y candidatos de diversas orientaciones políticas. ^{[ 17 ]} En 1973, por ejemplo, presentó una declaración jurada en apoyo del Partido Socialista de los Trabajadores en el caso Socialist Workers Party v Eu . ^{[ 17 ]}

Shearer conservaba fotografías enmarcadas del revolucionario mexicano Emiliano Zapata tanto en su oficina como en su casa. ^{[ 5 ]} Según Eileen Shearer, Zapata era uno de los héroes de Bill Shearer. ^{[ 5 ]}