Education
Lafayette College.
Lafayette College.
Born Martin Jezer and raised in the Bronx, he earned a history degree from Lafayette College. He was involved in state and local politics, as a campaign worker for Bernie Sanders, Vermont"s Independent Congressional Representative, and as a columnist and Town Representative. Jezer had been an influential figure in progressive politics from the 1960s to the time of his death.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
More recently he was active in progressive causes in Vermont, including the universal health care movement. In 1968 Jezer co-founded, with Verandah Porche, Richard Wizansky, and Ray Mungo, “Total Loss (Packer Corners) Farm” in Guilford, Vermont.
His main political outlet from 1998 to 2005 was as a writer of a weekly column for the Brattleboro Reformer that often appeared on the web sites Common Dreams and TomPaine.com. His columns were frequently reprinted in the periodical The Progressive Populist.
Jezer was a lifetime stutterer and wrote a memoir about his condition.
X Stuttering: A Life Bound Up In Words (1997. Small Pond Press, 2003). (website with six downloadable chapter excerpts plus an article about stuttering, authorized by Jezer) X.
He was a co-founding member of the Working Group on Electoral Democracy, and co-authored influential model legislation on campaign finance reform that has so far been adopted by Maine and Arizona. He was also an active member of Speak Easy, based in New Jersey.