Amherst Woman Wins Anti-Corruption Award

Tiani Coleman of Amherst was honored at the 15th Annual Anti-Corruption Awards in New York City on Sept. 24, 2015.

The Anti-Corruption Awards event is held annually and produced by the Independence Party Clubs of New York City. Prior honorees have included independent Mayor Mike Bloomberg, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, Amsterdam News publisher Elinor Tatum, and CA Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, as well as others.

This year’s honorees were Coleman and James W. Morrison, Jr. of Tuscon, AZ, two independents leading efforts in their respective states to gain recognition and equal voting rights for independent and unaffiliated voters.

Coleman, according to a press statement, started her political journey as a leading Republican in the state of Utah where she was chairwoman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party. She traveled in high-level political circles but her life experiences led her to decide that the political parties were not simply barriers to democracy - they were themselves a major part of the problem.

By 2012, Tiani became an independent and began to advocate for opening up the primary structure to all voters. She moved to New Hampshire with her family two years ago and has become a well-known independent leader in the state.

Captions: Tiani Coleman, an attorney, mother of five and president of New Hampshire Independent Voters was honored with an Anti-Corruption Award at the NYC Independence Party Clubs annual fundraiser. In presenting the award, Dr. Lenora Fulani reflected on her 1992 presidential campaign when she spent time in the Granite State meeting many whose “spirit and love of democracy and of our country inspired me.” One hundred and twenty supporters attended the event on September 24th at the Gran Morsi restaurant in Manhattan. One hundred and twenty supporters attended the annual fundraiser where the honorees and speakers included (L to R): Richard Kirkpatrick, Jim Morrison, Tiani Coleman, Jackie Salit, Dr. Lenora Fulani, Alvaader Frazier, Juliana Francisco, Cathy Stewart, and Harriet Hoffman.