Extra! Extra! 2016 Presidential Breaking News!

Apparently we are so bored with the 2012 Presidential election, the media is now pushing the 2016 election! Wow, the 24 hour news cycle + 5 year presidential campaign cycle = sorry, I gotta go to work now...

Courts Step In On Stalled Partisan-Legislative-Driven New York Redistricting Process

NEW YORK REDISTRICTING

• Common Cause reacts to new congressional maps (Chris Morris, Adirondack Daily Enterprise) "The map is a stark departure from the Legislature's gerrymandered version to produce a far better result, demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there is in fact no practical impediment to drawing fair maps, only a political one," Lerner said.
• 2016 Frontrunners Diverge on Redistricting (By Joshua Miller, Roll Call) “There will be national electeds who remember that he, at the height of his power, had the ability to step in and get a map done [for Democrats] and didn’t,” one New York Democratic operative said with more than a touch of frustration.
• Court Finalizes New York's Congressional Districts  (By Jill Colvin, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer) The judges' map rejected a proposal for a new majority Latino district in Upper Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens, meaning that State Sen. Adriano Espaillat will be likely pitted against long-time Harlem leader, Rep. Charles Rangel instead of running in a separate contest.
• Congressman Grimm Praises New York's Redistricting Process (By: NY1 News Staten Island) The Brooklyn and Staten Island representative calls the process a home run for his district, saying the new lines make it slightly stronger on the Republican side.
  
• Gov. Cuomo Succumbs (NY Times Editorial) Despite repeated promises that he would veto gerrymandered districts drawn by legislators, the governor broke that vow and quietly signed the law that will allow unfair legislative elections in New York for the next 10 years. By approving the Legislature's districts, he has now made it far more difficult for the courts to revise these defective maps. 
• In 'The New York Times,' Cuomo's redistricting commission loses its independence (By Azi Paybarah, Capital NY) In a video message to New Yorkers that Cuomo posted online yesterday, the governor essentially claimed victory on five different fronts, including pensions, teacher evaluations, casino legalization and the expansion of a DNA database.
• Cuomo on the sequel to the bad old redistricting movie (By Josh Benson, Capital NY) Cuomo: "And ultimately, the legislators drew their own lines once again. And it was all legal, provided for in our constitution. If I had vetoed the lines this year, as some suggested, a court would have passed them. And from past experience, I believe the lines would have been substantially the same."
• Cuomo amendment ends Albany gerrymandering as we know it - Future districts to be drawn by commission, not lawmakers (NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) The same pols who downsized Gov. Cuomo’s pension reforms were even more incorrigible when it came to gerrymandering. Cuomo joined government watchdogs in rightly pushing for an independent panel to set district lines based on the 2010 census — to prevent legislative bosses from shamefully manipulating the mapmaking for partisan gain. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos turned deaf ears — conspiring behind closed doors to draw the ugliest, most gerrymandered and unequal districts Albany has ever seen, especially for the Senate. The saving grace is that Cuomo leveraged his veto threat to win a permanent, landmark fix for this badly broken process.

NEW YORK SENATE

• Dems & WFP For Gilly; Conservatives For Long (BY Celeste Katz, Daily News/ Daily Politics) Gillibrand will also appear on the WFP line -- Row D -- in the November contest, and previously picked up the endorsement of the Independence Party.
  
  
   

NY: Can We Make Progress Over Partisanship?

NEW YORK

• Working Families Party Demands More Probes Into News Corp.'s "Criminal Activity" (BY ALEX KATZ, Daily News) "It's time for the political class in New York to stand up to these bullies," he added. "The New York Post, Col Allen, and Roger Ailes have set the agenda for our state for far too long. It's time to move on."
• UPDATE: Bloomberg gives $10,300 to Independent Democrat Conference members (WNYC/The Empire) “He’s been very supportive of us when we formed and what we stand for, and certainly what we’ve done this session,” Azzopardi said. “Above all else we [all] value progress over partisanship.”
• Cuomo Plays Both Sides In Political Duel (By HENRY STERN, Queens Tribune) The reform movement in New York State public affairs, which consists of traditional, well-regarded government organizations, joined by Mayor Ed Koch’s New York Uprising, has made independent redistricting a priority for 2011. So far the legislature has ignored their wishes, instead convening its own instrument for redistricting, called LATFOR, an acronym for Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.

Pennsylvania Headed Toward Open Primaries

OPEN PRIMARIES
Will Pa. Ever See Open Primaries? (By Judith Ayers, PoliticsPA) Independents are joining third parties in pressing Pennsylvania’s closed primary system. On the forefront of this growing movement is State Rep. Eugene DePasquale’s introduction of of a four-bill reform package, known as the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA).

NEW YORK

• Cuomo must make good on redistricting promise (EDITORIAL Democrat & Chronicle) Unfortunately, since Cuomo's campaign victory last fall, creation of an independent commission to draw new district boundary lines somehow fell off the governor's must-get-it-done-now list.
• Council Restores Watchdog's Funds (By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL, Wall Street Journal) The City Council blocked Mayor Michael Bloomberg from slashing the budgets of the city's top government watchdog and the borough presidents, preventing what the mayor's critics called a political power play.

Gov Cuomo: "Indies Don't Exist" Ha Ha!

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• New Law on Ethics May Face Challenge (By JACOB GERSHMAN, Wall Street Journal) By enshrining into law the perpetual dominance of Republicans and Democrats in overseeing ethics codes, Mr. Cuomo and lawmakers could be infringing on the rights of unaffiliated and minor-party citizens… There are about eight million active registered Democrats and Republicans in New York. An additional two million voters aren't enrolled with a particular party, while several hundred thousand are members of minor groups, such as the Conservative Party and Working Families Party.
• Fred Thiele: Above the law? (by Jimmy Vielkind, Albany Times Union/Capitol Confidential) But there is currently one lawmaker who is an enrolled Independence Party member: Fred Thiele, of Suffolk County, a Republican turned Independent who now caucuses with the majority Demcorats.
• POLL: Obama Has Some Work To Do With Independents (Richard Kreitner, Business Insider) The president's re-election ultimately hinges on whether he can secure roughly 50% of self-described "independent" voters. The Washington Post/ABC News Poll indicates that it won't be easy.
• Obama’s approval gains among young and independents disappear (By Scott Clement, Washington Post/Post Politics)

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING
Dan Walters: New California legislative maps make good on promise of reform (By Dan Walters, Modesto Bee) An increase in swing districts would mean that right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats would no longer be assured of winning seats after nomination. The state's new "top-two" primary system would, at least in theory, also work against ideological rigidity. Together, they could create new and perhaps decisive blocs of moderates from both parties.

Independents Lead Fight for Structural Political Reform, State by State, Nationally

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING

• The rigged game of redistricting (By John Avlon, Special to CNN) At least 15 states have citizens groups fighting for redistricting reform 
• People’s election (Salt Lake Tribune) We support this quiet insurgency. The caucus system, in which comparatively moderate Republicans such as Bob Bennett and Olene Walker — who are willing to work in a bipartisan fashion — can be ousted without the consent of a majority of Utah voters, should be changed. It creates a governing elite and contributes to Utah’s embarrassingly low voter turnout.
• Mathis: Engage voters in redistricting plan - Panel chair wants public connected to process of redrawing boundaries (by Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic) Q: Why are you an independent? A: I like being able to approach things issue by issue. Being an independent allowed me the freedom to operate as I wanted.

PENNSYLVANIA INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• In Montco, 3,000+ improperly registered as independents (By Jeremy Roebuck, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) Beginning in 2008, Hoeffel said, a (Montgomery) county employee added those names coming through without prior registrations to the voter rolls as independents because there were no party affiliations for them on file. The worker should have discarded them since they had never officially registered to vote in the first place, Hoeffel said.
• Looking for independent voters in Pennsylvania: Independent Pennsylvanians

COLORADO INDEPENDENTS

• Businesswoman announces run for Congress (By JEFF TUCKER, Pueblo Chieftain - Southern Colorado) Tisha Casida is running for Congress as an independent candidate.  "There are things I like about all the parties," she said in her announcement Friday. "But the problem is the two-party system is not doing anything to solve our current economic problems."
• Looking for independent voters in Colorado: Independent Voters for Colorado

UTAH CAUCUS SYSTEM

• News Analysis: A Political System for a Select Few? (By Con Psarras, KSL Salt Lake City) There's a lot of debate on the caucus system after it was used last year to boot Sen. Bob Bennett from his incumbency. On one hand, it was a sterling example of how citizens can mobilize and be self-empowered to the point of knocking a three-term senator off the convention dais. On the other hand, it may have also been a textbook case of how the nominating system can be overtaken by a well-organized contingent whose views are not necessarily in sync with the party or the population as a whole.
• Looking for independent voters in Utah: Utah League of Independent Voters

NEW YORK

• Procedural Victory in New York Vote-Counting Case (Ballot Access News) On May 10, U.S. District Court Judge JedRakoff issued an 18-page opinion in Conservative Party v Walsh, southern district, 10 cv-6923. This is the lawsuit in which the Conservative Party of New York, the Working Families Party of New York, and the Taxpayers Party, sued to overturn a discriminatory New York state election policy on counting votes.
• Cuomo: NY Legislature doesn't want ethics reform (AP, Wall Street Journal) In a news conference later, he said, "If a law is not passed, then I will appoint a Moreland Commission," a reference to an historic anti-corruption panel. "It is unacceptable to have no progress on ethics." He said if an ethics bill isn't passed by the June 20 end of the legislative session, he will appoint an investigative commission.
• Donors to G.O.P. Are Backing Gay Marriage Push (By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and MICHAEL BARBARO, NY Times) The donors represent some of New York’s wealthiest and most politically active figures and include Paul E. Singer, a hedge fund manager and top-tier Republican donor, as well as two other financiers, Steven A. Cohen and Clifford S. Asness. At the same time, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist who has been a major contributor to Senate Republicans in New York, plans a significant push for same-sex marriage: giving at least $100,000 of his own money, hosting a fund-raiser at an Upper East Side town house, traveling to Albany to lobby lawmakers and giving a speech on the issue.
• Conservative Republicans bankrolling gay marriage campaign in New York (By Scot Kersgaard, Colorado Independent) The Colorado Independent in the past has drawn attention to the fact that Barbara Bush has cut a video supporting the measure. Turns out, though that GOP support for freedom and liberty in New York could be more than a dog bits man sort of story. It could be the story.
• Looking for independent voters in New York: New York City Organizations of the Independence Party of New York

2012
Huntsman seeks to break into GOP pack - Former Utah governor to make first N.H. swing (By Matt Viser, Boston Globe) As Huntsman edges closer to a presidential run, he shares another similarity: an early strategy that emphasizes the influential moderate and independent voters in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire.

MEDIA & POLLS
INDEPENDENT-MINDED VOTER SAMPLE LARGELY MIA IN POST-BIN LADEN AP POLL (by Christopher A. Guzman, CAIVN)

INDEPENDENT CULTURE/ YOUTH
Ben Vereen To Attend Charity Talent Show (Look to the Stars) “The All Stars is taking the arts into the community and developing a bridge that allows us to see a better way to a future for all of us. When All Stars comes into the poor community, opportunity is built.” states Ben Vereen who was recently awarded the All Stars Project’s 2011 Bridge Building Award for Leadership in Community Relations.

California Independent Redistricting Commission Begins Work; New York Legislature Lags

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING

• Commission looks at new boundaries (By Brian Bullock, Santa Maria Times - CA) This week, California is beginning a process to draw up “non-partisan” district boundaries with the first public hearings held by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. … The commission was formed after voters passed Proposition 11 in 2008 and Proposition 20 in 2010, which transferred authority of establishing district boundaries from elected representatives to an independent commission.
• Sampson Pushes Senate Republicans On Redistricting, Ethics (Posted by: Joseph Spector, Politics on the Hudson) Senate Minority Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, called on Senate Republicans today to abide by their pledge for ethics reform and independent redistricting, saying they are going back on their commitment last year to the New York Uprising group.
• POLL: Cuomo is Budget Winner Say Voters, as His Ratings Go Higher; After Budget, Voters Feel Better About Legislature, Not its Leaders (SIENA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Steven Greenberg) “Nearly three-quarters of voters view Cuomo favorably, including two-thirds of Republicans and independents, and his favorability rating is nearly identical in New York City, the downstate suburbs and in upstate,” Greenberg said. “His job performance rating is the same among Democrats and Republicans, 56-40 percent, while independents are nearly evenly divided at 49-47 percent. And by a nearly seven-to-one margin, voters say Cuomo was a winner as a result of the budget, including at least 59 percent of voters from every party and region.”

The Parties, The President and the Budget

THE PARTIES, THE PRESIDENT AND THE BUDGET

• GOP presidential field sees budget wars from afar (AP) In the absence of a Republican president or clear-cut party leader, a little-known congressman from Wisconsin seized the initiative. Backed by most House Republicans, Rep. Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, wrote a far-reaching spending plan that right away framed the debate on Capitol Hill.
• Budget deal foreshadows larger fight ahead - The last-minute resolution on 2011 was a victory for Republicans, and helped President Obama preserve his standing. But the wrangling offers little hope for an easy resolution to the next fight: lifting the U.S. debt ceiling. (By Paul West, Washington Bureau, LA Times)

INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING
Gerrymandering Lawsuit Brings New Scrutiny To Governor’s Use Of Budget Extenders (City Hall News - New York) This most recent case pits the Department of Corrections and the Legislative Task Force on Redistricting, also known as LATFOR, against a number of prominent Senate Republicans. The defendants have until April 24 to answer the complaint. If the case goes to court and the ability to append non-budget related bills is taken away, the Legislature could regain some power from the governor, Lane said.

Demographics of Congress Does Not Reflect US Population

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Wide Disparity Between Demographics of Congress & US Popupation (J.E. Robertson, Cafe Sentido) Independent voters often account for much of this disparity, as the composition of the independent (or non-aligned) electorate shifts significantly from one election to the next, and that shift often coincides with higher or lower turnout within the base of electoral support for one of the two parties.

BALLOT ACCESS
U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Hawaii Ballot Access Case (Ballot Access News)

2012
The decline of incumbency and the rise of third-party spoilers (Reuters) Suppose Michael Bloomberg — who was a Democrat, and then a Republican, and now is an extremely wealthy Independent — ran a vanity third-party campaign for the White House. He could gain traction as a protest vote for disenchanted Obama supporters. Mr. President, I’d appoint Bloomberg to something important ASAP if I were you.

NEW YORK
WFP Uses Leaked RSA Vid to Push for Clean Elections (By David Freedlander, NY Observer/Politicker) Cuomo has said he is supportive of publicly financed elections as part of a larger ethics push.

Can Albany Be Reformed? Also, New Yorkers Don't Care for Spitzer as Mayor in 2013

NEW YORK

• New York awaits more reform (by Jim McGrath, Albany Times Union/The Observation Deck) The portion of the budget that funds legislative operations specifically includes $1.5 million for LATFOR. Yet this would have been the ideal time to instead put that money toward the independent redistricting commission that so many legislators profess to support.
• Andrew Cuomo, the press and the war on partisan redistricting (BY JOSH BENSON, Capital) The danger, for anyone interested in putting an end to a process that protects unresponsive officials, is not that Cuomo will fail to get the legislature to go along with him; it is that he will cut a deal, in exchange for something else he wants, that would allow the legislature to keep a firmer hand in the process of drawing electoral lines than the reform proposal currently calls for.
• New Yorkers prefer Spitzer not run for mayor: poll (Reuters) Almost two-thirds of New Yorkers do not want disgraced former New York state governor Eliot Spitzer to run for mayor of their city in 2013, a new poll found on Friday.

Cuomo's Independent Redistricting Plan Has Support of GooGoos

NEW YORK

• Court refuses to dismiss Haggerty $1.1M theft case (By Howard Koplowitz, Queens Your Nabe.com) “Clearly the crime was serious,” Zweibel wrote, according to the Post. “Defendant is not Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
• Our view: Don’t delay commission on redistricting (EDITORIAL Observer-Dispatch) Cuomo’s plan is best, and has the support of good government groups, including the New York Public Interest Research Group, the Citizens Union, Common Cause New York and the League of Women Voters of New York State. 

Pennsylvania Courts Make Third Parties Outlaws

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Independents decide on their candidate for Governor in the 2010 election (Baltimore Independent Examiner, Hassan Giordano) Independent voters are slowly becoming the State’s most powerful voting bloc, well behind Democrats yet barely trailing Republicans. In fact Independents have more registered voters in the City of Baltimore than do Republicans and are close to outpacing them in Montgomery County (behind by only 821 voters). As Independent voters in this state equal a little more than a half-a-million registered voters, the question still remains as to how many will actually turnout to vote this fall and to which party’s candidate they shall pull the lever for?

PENNSYLVANIA

• Some political parties remain outlaws in Pa. - The courts have effectively kept them off the ballot. (By Oliver Hall, Philadelphia Inquirer) Pennsylvanians may notice something unusual when they go to the polls in November: Their choices for governor, lieutenant governor, and U.S. Senate will be limited exclusively to Republican and Democratic candidates. Only four other states' 2010 general-election ballots are so restrictive.

UTAH
h/t to Randy Miller the Utah League of Independent Voters for these:

• Now more than ever, choose the person, not the party
• I DON'T GET IT (Dave Glissmeyer for Congress 2010 website)
• What should a voter do? (Suresh Kulkarni, Standard Examiner - Ogden, Utah)

NEW YORK

• In Debate For NY Governor, Freedom Party's Barron Shines (Black Star News Reporting Staff Roundup) Barron seemed to set the pace at the debate, returning repeatedly on themes that affect Blacks and Latinos; and arguing that rather than focusing on cutting services, New York's wealthy needed to pay more in taxes. 
• Cuomo takes a group pummeling - Lesser lights do the attacking as Paladino never mentions front-runner (By Tom Precious, NEWS ALBANY BUREAU Buffalo News)
• Talespin: Debate will be a one-on-six fast break (By James V. Franco, The Troy Record) Five of the seven have no chance at winning anything — and that can probably be extended to include Paladino too after the three or so weeks his campaign had — other than promoting their narrow causes, which is fine. At least the respective "parties" are backing one of their own instead of selling out to a major party candidate like the Working Families Party and Independence Party.
• The debate stage: Cuomo next to Barron (by Jimmy Vielkind, Albany Times Union/Capitol Confidential)
• Candidates make their cases to you (By Jimmy Vielkind Capital Bureau, Albany Times Union)
• Minor Parties Eclipse Paladino at Debate, while Cuomo Enjoys the Ride (By Bob Hennelly, WNYC)
• Cuomo, Paladino Avoid Personal Attacks in 7-Way New York Governor Debate (By Henry Goldman, Bloomberg.com)
• Jimmy McMillan, Kristin Davis and other fringe candidates make mockery of gov debate (BILL HAMMOND, NY Daily News)
• Bizarro Bozos’ ‘Gong Show’ (John Podhoretz, NY Post)

Lenora Fulani: Two Good Choices -- Charles Barron on Freedom Party Line or Andrew Cuomo on Independence Party Column "C"

Fulani  Says “We have Two Good Choices”

in Governor’s Race

Urges Vote for Charles Barron on Freedom Party line or Andrew Cuomo  on Independence Party’s Column “C”

Either Vote Advances “Twin Causes of 

Independent Politics and Black empowerment”

New York, NY—Dr. Lenora Fulani held a press conference Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 at 10:30 am at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem, 2116 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., to recommend two choices in the November Governor’s race—Charles Barron on the Freedom Party line or Andrew Cuomo on the Independence Party’s Column “C.”  Both, says Fulani, will advance the “twin causes of independent politics and black empowerment.”

Dr. Fulani is a founder of the Independence Party of New York.  Cuomo received the state party’s endorsement for Governor in May.   Councilmember Charles Barron, also a candidate for Governor, needs 50,000 this November to obtain ballot status for the fledgling Freedom Party. 

“I welcome Charles Barron’s entry into independent politics and his bid to create the Freedom Party,” said Fulani.  “And I want to urge the Harlem community, together with independent-minded people across this state, to help the Freedom Party get the 50,000 votes needed for ballot status.”

“The Independence Party, of course, has a gubernatorial candidate this year, Andrew Cuomo, a traditional liberal who says he wants to reform Albany,” continued Fulani. “On the one hand, Democrats say that every year. But this year is different because Cuomo is not just running as a Democrat. He is running on the Independence Party line – New York’s premier pro-reform party. And in this, the voters of New York finally have a real choice.  They can vote for Mr. Cuomo on the Independence line, or they can vote for Mr. Barron on the Freedom Party line.  With either vote, the twin causes of independent politics and black empowerment will be advanced. “

Bringing independent options to the black and progressive communities has been a motivating principle of Dr.Fulani’s over the course of her 25 year career as a political activist.  Political independence is increasingly popular within communities of color.  Today, of the roughly 800,000 non-aligned independents in New York City, 20% are African American, 24% are Latino and 11% are Asian-American.  Nationally, 30% of African Americans between 18-29 consider themselves independents. 

An alliance between black and independent voters first appeared in New York City elections on a dramatic scale in the 2005 mayoral contest when Michael Bloomberg received 60% of the independent and 47% of the black vote running on the Independence and Republican Party lines.  In the 2008 presidential election, black and independent voters powered Obama’s upset victory in the Democratic primaries and cemented the coalition that carried him to victory in the November general election.