Hankster News of the Day for Independents May 24

Today's Hankster picks for independent activists. Take a look at the latest attack on California's new Top Two Open Primary by Ernest Canning on Brad Blog, meander around the independent voter polls in Florida, and end up on Staten Island where challenger Michael Grimm has been tossed off the Independence Party line...

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• Will CA's New 'Cajun Primary' System Allow Minority GOP To Capture Congressional Seats? - CA-26 House race exemplifies anti-democratic potential of 2010's voter-approved 'Top Two' open primary system... (Guest blogged by Ernest A. Canning, Brad Blog) At the time it passed, then CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) touted the Prop 14 "open primary" (also known as the "Cajun Primary") as a means to assure democratic accountability. The philandering actor-turned-governor said it would eliminate "the ideological traffic jam in Sacramento." But, according to Richard Derham, a Research Fellow of the Washington Policy Center, the "Cajun Primary" was developed in the South, at a time when it was dominated by a one-party system of segregationist Democrats. It was not meant, says Derham, to assure (small "d") democratic accountability, but rather to eliminate "the influence of Republican and Black voters".
• Quinnipiac poll: Mitt Romney leads in Florida (Posted by Rachel Weiner, Washington Post/ The Fix) Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney leads President Obama by six points among registered voters in Florida, according to a new Quinnipiac survey, a marked change from two months ago that, the poll suggests, could be linked in part to Obama’s recent statements in support of gay marriage.
• May 23, 2012 - Romney Up 6 Points In Florida, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Rubio Has Little Impact As GOP Running Mate (Quinnipiac University) Gov. Mitt Romney holds a 47 - 41 percent lead over President Barack Obama in Florida, where 63 percent of voters say the president's support of same-sex marriage will not affect their vote, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Another 25 - 11 percent of voters, including 23 - 9 percent among independent voters, say Obama's support of gay marriage makes them less likely to support his candidacy.
• Romney rocks the independent vote (By Christian Heinze, The Hill/ Ballot Box) In the seesaw battle between presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney and President Obama, there’s one surprising and rarely discussed constant — Romney is consistently beating the president among voters who consider themselves independent… According to Talking Points Memo’s poll tracker, there have been 14 major surveys measuring independents’ support over the past two months (excluding the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling and conservative-leaning Rasmussen Reports).
• Charlie King Next Top Dem To Move On (BY Ken Lovett, NY Daily News/ Daily Politics) The Democratic insider said King will leave after the national Democratic convention in September to seek private sector job opportunities.
• Paperwork miscue costs Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm court battle over Independence Party line (Tom Wrobleski, Staten Island Advance) That means Independence voters will be deprived of voting for the candidate of their choice, Molinari said. "A phenomenon like that, which is so widespread, cries out for relief," said Molinari, an attorney. "You cannot disregard that."
• Sources: Judge Rules Against Grimm on Independence Party Appeal [Update] (By Colin Campbell, Politicker) Update: Mr. Murphy’s campaign confirms the result with the following comment from their spokesman Nathan Smith: “Hopefully, this ruling will end Michael Grimm’s sloppy and doomed effort to stay on the Independence line by wasting the court’s time and the taxpayers’ money.

Hankster News of the Day for Independent Voters May 17

CA TOP TWO

• Previous CA Election Rules Stacked Against Independent Voters (By Chad Peace, IVN) In California, the Democratic Party initially resisted but eventually chose to allow independents to participate in its primaries. The Republican Party refused to allow independent voters to participate in its primaries. Interestingly, in that time, the Republican Party shrunk precipitously, the Democrats held steady, and the percentage of voters choosing to join no party increased by approximately 30%.
• San Diego group pushes independent politics statewide - Architects of “top-two” primary system seek to organize unaffiliated voters (By Christopher Cadelago, UT San Diego) Co-chaired by former state lawmakers Steve Peace, a Democrat, and Jeff Marston, a Republican, the group has launched a $1.5 million campaign to increase turnout among voters declaring no party preference — about 3.6 million people accounting for a record 21.3 percent of the statewide electorate.

AMERICANS ELECT
Americans Elect Failure to Find Candidate Threatens Third-Party Dreams (by John Avlon, Daily Beast) Perhaps the biggest obstacle was the basic fact of this particular election cycle—when a president is running for reelection, it tends to be a referendum. Third-party candidacies do best when there is not an incumbent on the ballot or after an extended period of one-party rule with weak opposition.

NYC 2013 MAYORAL

• Kelly 2013 goes cold, but Catsimatidis isn't warming up (By Dana Rubinstein, Capital New York)
• Ray Kelly won't run for mayor, ex-Staten Island BP Guy Molinari says (Judy L. Randall, SI Advance) If Kelly's decision to absent himself from the run proves true, it will be good news for the Democrats poised to make the race, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, former mayoral candidate William Thompson, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
• So Many X Factors in Next Year's Race for NYC Mayor (Dominic Carter, Huffington Post) DeBlasio is someone who should not be underestimated. It is commendable how DeBlasio went from Hillary Clinton 2000 Senate campaign manager, to the City Council a year later, and now a citywide position from a crowded field of candidates, literally first in line to succeed the mayor should it be necessary.
• Ray Kelly’s Mayoral Dance Steps Back Toward ‘No’ (NY Mag/Daily Intel) Staten Island Borough President Ray Molinari, one of the biggest proponents of a Kelly run, came out of a lunch with the commissioner less than glowing yesterday.
• Quinn Confronts Banks in Bid to Become NYC’s First Gay Mayor (By Henry Goldman, Bloomberg) “She’s a throwback to the Irish-American political bosses in the history books,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute in Hamden, Connecticut. Its May 10 survey found that she led a five-candidate Democratic field with 26 percent approval, twice as much as her nearest rival. “She’s always thinking, ‘What do we need to win?’”

PEDRO ESPADA
Espada Guilty of Stealing Clinic's Funds (By TAMER EL-GHOBASHY, Wall Street Journal) It marked an ignominious turn for the elder Mr. Espada, who in 2009 became the state Senate president when he and three other senators defected from the majority Democrats and helped Republicans take over the chamber. The chaotic period helped solidify Albany's reputation for dysfunction.

EDUCATION REFORM
Suit seeks to overturn 'outdated' teacher job protections (LA Times) The founder of Students Matter is Silicon Valley entrepreneur David F. Welch, a research scientist who went on to co-found Infinera, a manufacturer of optical telecommunications systems based in Sunnyvale. “We are challenging a system that was fashioned by special interests and has burdened our schools with an inflexible environment for hiring and retaining the best teachers," said Welch.