Sherman Lee Dillon is a hardworking musician and family man. He's also the first Green Party candidate for governor of Mississippi, and probably the only candidate in Mississippi history to have a cameo in a major motion picture (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Dillon believes in a Green future, and he sees his candidacy as a necessary first step toward an era when the Greens will be important players in state and local politics.

PW: The four pillars of the Green Party platform are environmental wisdom, grassroots democracy, social justice, and peace and nonviolence. It seems to me these are values most Americans would say they support. Why do you think the Green Party has faced an uphill battle in this country?

SLD: I think it's the idea of a third party itself. If I'm not mistaken [Theodore] Roosevelt tried to run on a third-party ticket and he didn't win, as popular as he was. That's a big obstacle. Our voting system is still developing. I think it needs to be tweaked a little bit to make more allowances for different opinions. Our voting system can do more to accommodate third parties. One other thing. Usually folks who promote the environment tend to be independent thinkers, so the organizational end of the party is not as developed as it could be. Money is another factor, of course.

PW: Which, of course, is one of the main issues you're trying to raise, that politics in this country has become big business.

SLD: How about this for an analogy: "I'm going to spend 10 million dollars for an office that pays $100,000 a year." That's like me taking eight trips to Japan and spending $10,000 to set up a tour that's going to pay me $1,000. It's hard for somebody whose priority is just the betterment of people to compete with that. I've been 50th my whole life. Mississippians have made it because we're tough, durable people. We're just off the farm or we're second-generation off the farm, we're that kind of people. But I don't want my children and grandchildren to have to put up with being in last place. That's why I'm in this.

PW: Where did you grow up?

SLD: Between Meadville and Liberty. I went to school at Meadville. We got our mail from Meadville. Route 3, Meadville, population 450!

PW: How old are you?

SLD: I've successfully forgotten how old I am. I was born in '51. My wife and I argue about how old that makes me. I have seven children and five grandchildren, and my mother stays with us. Every day I prepare breakfast for my mother and all the children, and then lunch, and then I gig to make a living, and I'm politicking on the side. You've got to do something with your time, anyhow. At least I can tell you where it's going!

PW: How did you get involved with the Green Party?

SLD: I was on tour in Germany, I guess it was '91. We were on our way to a show and somebody was going to throw a cigarette butt out the car window. Our driver said, "No, you don't do that here. In Germany, we don't do that. The Green Party is real strong here and you'll get in big trouble." I thought that was so interesting. Then he said, "Now, you can go down there and drink out of that stream if you want to. We take care of our environment. It's the only one we've got." I thought that was such a good idea. I came back to America and started looking it up and I registered as a member of the national party. For four or five years, I think I was the only Mississippian in the party. Finally, there were enough of us to organize here. We're registered with the Secretary of State's office. We're an official party. We've been through all the hoops. It's not just a fad. From now on there will be a Green candidate for governor.

PW: Most people are familiar with the Green Party because of Ralph Nader's run for the presidency. Some people feel Nader's candidacy cost Al Gore the White House. Do you think that's a liability for the Green Party?

SLD: I've heard every conceivable argument on this. I've heard more disheartened Republicans voted for Nader than did Democrats. Isn't that interesting? I've heard that the number of unregistered voters who registered [to vote for Nader] offset the difference. I'm not going to weigh in on that. But when our system blames a man for speaking his mind, there's a problem with our system. That much we have to agree on. Whether his strategy could've been better, or whether the Democrats got their feelings hurt, whatever. If a man speaking his mind, saying what's on people's minds anyway, if he's going to be criticized for that, that's a problem we need to address right there. On the state level, Mike Parker ran against Musgrove [for governor]. You need 50 percent plus one to win the election in Mississippi. Neither one tipped the scales. So it fell right to the House, which is controlled by Democrats. Mike Parker didn't stand a chance. A lot of folks who are supposed to know say that's what's going to happen this time, too. Let me give you this scenario. If I get 49.5 percent, I'm not going to win. The House isn't going to vote for me, they're going to vote for Ronnie. If Haley gets 49.5 percent, he ain't going to win. Even if you accept that Nader spoiled the presidential election, it's not going to happen here. I think a lot of folks haven't thought that through.

PW: At your announcement rally on the steps of the capitol yesterday, you played several songs.

SLD: We played "I Saw The Light," "Uncloudy Day"­

PW: That one sounded familiar.

SLD: There used to be Shape Note singing schools all over Mississippi, an old-timey method of singing. If you get Shape Note singing books, that song's in there. Fifty years ago, if you'd walked into country churches, you'd have heard it. I like the song. Willie [Nelson] did a version of "Uncloudy Day."

PW: What were the other songs you played?

SLD: One was "Red Clay Halo," a Gillian Welch song. I don't know if Gillian wrote it or not, but Anna [Dillon's daughter, who performs frequently with her father] did a great job singing it. Then I did "The Kicking Mule" song on the banjo. The banjo has so much energy, it's so much fun.

PW: Are you going to try to incorporate music into all of your campaign appearances?

SLD: I should. I went to the Black Hawk political rally up in Carroll County. I didn't know it, but it's pretty notorious for its affiliation with certain groups. We got there, and I had a harmonica in my pocket, and I got the feeling that Nader didn't get many votes from this crowd. So I pulled my harmonica out and the first thing I played was "Carroll County Blues." So I might do more of that. It's depends on the situation.

PW: Are you going to have any TV commercials?

SLD: I'm probably going to have a commercial on my Web site [Dillon4Gov.com]. I'm pushing the Web thing real strong, because it's affordable. I'm crazy about bumper stickers. We'll push bumper stickers and t-shirts online. We'll get a few yard signs, but once again it gets into money. TV and newspaper ads are expensive. $300 buys one ad or 3,000 bumper stickers. I'm just doing what I can. A lot of folks approach me, and I can tell they're afraid that if they talk honestly they're going to hurt my feelings. Look, it's not going to hurt my feelings if I only get two percent of the vote. My feelings are not what we're talking about here. I'm here because somebody has to represent Green values.

PW: Haley Barbour says this is a race between a conservative Republican and a liberal Democrat.

SLD: They can't afford to mention me. It gives me too much dignity!

PW: Do you think there's that much of a difference between Barbour and Musgrove?

SLD: Haley Barbour is a lifetime, committed politician. More than any human being I know, his life has been invested in politics. He knows how to spin a phrase, he knows how the phrase is going to be heard, and the way folks are going to react to that phrase. Ronnie's a self-educated politician, but Haley's been doing it forever. Before we knew of George Bush Senior, Haley was doing this, that's how long he's been doing this. Now, he's going to paint Ronnie Musgrove as a liberal Democrat? He really has said nothing with that sentence at all. In the world of Democrats, it's totally inaccurate to paint Musgrove as a liberal Democrat. And as far as Barbour being a conservative Republican, well, that just depends on where the money goes at the moment.

PW: Earlier, Barbour created a stir with the Head Start comment.

SLD: He equates poverty with immorality. He didn't say they'd be better off on a piano bench in a tent, or in a shack. He wanted the moral implication of the whorehouse. People in America, especially in Mississippi, have always equated poverty with immorality. I resent that.

PW: To read some of the letters in The Clarion-Ledger, you'd think "liberal" was another word for devil worshipper.

SLD: It's to distract people from the issues. I don't think there's a liberal in this race. To refer to Ronnie Musgrove as a liberal Democrat is just not accurate. Calling me a liberal is stretching the point. I've got kids to look after. I play the piano in church every Sunday morning. If they want to paint me as a liberal, they can use that word if they want to. But the word is used to distract people and create dissent. I suspect that easily over half of the people in Mississippi agree with what I believe in. I think I can safely say that. If could sit down for five minutes with every Mississippian, they'd pretty much agree with me. I don't want to make a career out of this. I'm just here for Mississippi.