Independent Activist Ramon Pena Joins The Hankster
If you have noticed several recent posts en español on The Hankster, it's because Ramon Pena, long-time activist with the NYC Independence Party and independentvoting.org, is now on board as a correspondent.
Ramon is outspoken on issues such as open primaries, nonpartisan elections, independent redistricting, and other voting rights for independents.
You can read his story here about his journey from East Harlem Democrat to national independent grassroots leader...
Independentvoting.org President Jackie Salit accepting an 2012 Anti-Corruption Award from the NYC Independence Party Organizations, with congratulations to Univeristy of North Carolina at Greensboro independent organizer sister-awardee Stehpanie Orasco. Presented by the NYC Independence Party and Cathy L. Stewart, John Opdycke. Special guests NY State Senator Malcolm Smith, former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr.
Amid a diverse community-based activist audience in New York City, NYC Independence Party
leader Cathy L. Stewart and attorney Harry Kresky discuss the 2012
Obama-Romney election relative to independents at the recent Politics for the People forum at the beautiful Scholastic Inc. NY offices on Monday.
A few notes:
45% of independents voted for Obama this year (compared with 52% in 2008) CORRECTED
independents were marginalized this year
the independent movement is growing, currently 40% of electorate
partisan registration is declining
we're facing more than just "problems" -- we're facing a major transformation of the global economy, a major cultural transformation in the US and elsewhere
independents keep working at the grassroots
Let's face it, changing our political culture is up to grassroots independents! As Cathy Stewart and Harry Kresky and the NYC Independence Party base discuss. Check back here for more clips from this meeting!
C-Span has a video up in their library that you need to check out! From Sarah Lyons:
The CSPAN broadcast was pushed an hour back last night because of an emergency Congressional hearing.Here's the link to coverage of Politics for the People in case you missed it.http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/305705-1
Chief organizer of New York City Organizations of the New York Independence Party, Cathy L. Stewart, conducts her Politics for the People session with guests Jackie Salit, long-time grassroots independent organizer and consummate outsider, President of independentvoting.org and Mickey Edwards, a 16 year veteran of the US Congress from Oklahoma City, and a chairman of the House Republican leadership's policy committee.
Participants
spoke about independent political movements, the challenges of being an
unaffiliated candidate, and the two-party system of American politics.
Among the topics they addressed were independent voter demographics, the
history of independent movements, and recent levels of partisanship in
Washington. They responded to questions from the audience.
To promote the series, C-Span issued this particular on April 30.
Panel Looks at Role of Independents in U.S. Politics
Washington, DC Monday, April 30, 2012
The U.S.
political system was the focus of the “Politics for the People” series
in New York Friday. Former U.S. Congressman Mickey Edwards and Jackie
Salit, President of IndependentVoting.org, were the featured panelists.
He
says in elections, like in any normal decision making process, people
want choices but in this case voters are only offered choice A or B.
Edwards advocates changing this given the growing population of independents.
Jackie Salit agreed with Edwards. She added on election day it’s the American people who are speaking.
The
“Politics for the People” series was created in 2002 by the New York
County Independence Party. The Series aims to give the public an inside
look at public policy from an independent’s point of view.
For the Hankster Series up close and personal, please see HanksterTube.
Analysis | Close Friends in City Government: Money and Politics (By Joyce Purnick : WNYC Political Analyst) New York City has some of the country's most stringent laws and rules to limit the influence of money in politics. But they do only so much, as we were reminded yet again recently by revelations about questionable practices by Comptroller John Liu and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who finances his own campaigns, cuts corners — different corners, but corners nonetheless.
In such a heavily controlled political environment where entrenched parties have their way with the America people, lots of voters are declaring their independence. Bob Fliegel answers his own question in his letter below (and those are some pretty good reasons!), and Paul Krugman insults the sector of the electorate that gives voice to the need for innovation and new policy.
Meanwile, the Committee for a Unified Independent Party/ IndependentVoting.org has launched a campaign calling for Congressional hearings on the second class status of indies -- the purpose is two-fold: 1) To educate Congress and shine a light on the effect of partisan control of the election process, namely that 40% of Americans have a second class status; and 2) to urge Congress to investigate these biases by holding hearings.
Letter: Independent voters make party choices (By BOB FLIEGEL , St. Augustine.com) If truth be told, the typical independent is already strongly predisposed to vote for candidates of the same party and will always do so 99 percent of the time. Why then do they shrink from acknowledging their de facto party allegiance and seek refuge in the independent label?
Psychodrama Queens (Paul Krugman, NY Times/The Conscience of a Liberal) Oh, and about independent voters: if you think that they’re strong-minded, solid citizens repelled by the partisanship — well, there may be a guy like that somewhere in America. But by and large, given the vast differences between the parties these days, independent voters are basically confused, clueless people — not exactly the kind of people likely to take reassurance from Obama’s stance on entitlement programs. On the contrary, they’re the sort of people likely to be stampeded by “Obama wants to raise the Medicare age!”
Congressional Hearings on Second Class Status of Independent Voters (IndependentVoting.org) New York County Independence Party Chair Cathy Stewart, and Vice Chair, Alvaader Frazier, Esq. met with Congressman Edolphus Towns. Rep. Towns from Brooklyn, who is a member of the Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Managementva, unhesitantly said that he would like to help, that Congress should hold hearings to explore the barriers independents face, and that it is important to work to expand the number of people that are participating. Read our campaign's first newsletter here for more about what's going on around the country.
Attorney Harry Kresky talks about the recent Federal Court victory in South Carolina for open primaries at the NYC Independence Party Spring Chairman's Reception held at Tribeca Grill 6/6/11.
Honored at the event this year were three distinguished leaders from South Carolina: State Representative Joseph Neal; Attorney Fletcher Smith, Jr.; and Chair of the SC Independence Party, Wayne Griffin. All three played important roles in the fight to preserve open primaries.
It's Friday night, you're in New York City, and you're looking to meet some interesting people. You can go to a museum or have dinner with friends, you can go see a Broadway play or an Off-Broadway play, AND..... if it's the 3rd Friday of the month, you can take a step off the beaten path and step into the world of Lenora Fulani.
Dr. Lenora Fulani is one of the country's most significant black leaders and the leading black independent. She helped establish the current independent movement with her 1988 independent run for President of the United States in which she became the first woman and first African American to be on the ballot in all 50 states. She also qualified for federal primary matching funds.
Fulani hosts a monthly forum called Interviews by a Black Independent (on the 3rd Friday of the month) at the Harlem State Office Building on 125th Street in Manhattan. She interviews her guests in an intimate setting on the 2nd Floor Gallery with a diverse audience of political and cultural independents. Introductions are made, interview ensues, and Q&A from the audience makes for a really interesting and important community dialogue where you can get to know some of the movers and shakers in the NYC intellectual community.
Last month Dr. Fulani interviewed New Federal Theater founder Woodie King, Jr. (see below) and this week we are treated to a conversation with former NYC Comptroller and recent candidate for Mayor Bill Thompson.
Hope to see you there!!
NH
Did you miss last months Interview with Woodie King Jr?
Click here to listen to it, or here to download it on iTunes!
This Friday, April 15th - 6pm
Dr. Fulani Interviews
Bill Thompson, Former NYC Comptroller
Join us for an interesting conversation about politics and the civic life of the city -- a great opportunity to take an inside look at the city and state government.
Harlem State Office Building
163 W. 125th Street, second floor
If you haven't yet, please RSVP by calling (212) 962-1699
Here are a couple of photos from the March event:
Lenora Fulani talking with young people who attended the Woodie King Jr. interview in March 2011
Did you miss last months Interview with Woodie King Jr?
Actor Moshe Yassur, Woodie King Jr., Jim Horton
Click here to listen to it, or here to download it on iTunes!
Woodie King, Jr. is the founding director of the New Federal Theater, a pioneer in Black theater and a progressive with a long track record of speaking out on behalf of the poor and excluded. Mr. King directed Fred Newman's Mr. Hirsch Died Yesterday at the Castillo Theater (in which Lenora Fulani made her stage acting debut)
Dr. Omar H. Ali, an associate professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, received one of the NYC Independence Party's 2010 Anti-Corruption Awards.
Dr. Ali has been an independent grassroots political organizer and activist with independentvoting.org for nearly 20 years. The author of In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third Party Movements in the United States (described as a “landmark work” by The National Political Science Review) and In the Lion’s Mouth: Black Populism in the New South, Ali is a contributing author to History in Dispute: American Social and Political Movements, among other publications. A graduate of the London School of Economics, he received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University.
California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado received a 2010 Anti-Corruption Award from NYC Independence Party Sunday afternoon at the Tribeca Grill. Maldonado, introduced at the event by independentvoting.org president Jackie Salit, was responsible for putting top two open primary initiative Proposition 14 on the ballot this year in California. Prop 14 was passed with 60% of the vote and allows 3.4 million independent and decline-to-state voters in the state to vote in primaries. Lt. Gov. Maldonado will be speaking this afternoon at the No Labels launch in NYC (see livestream here)
UPDATED: Richard Winger (Ballot Access News) just called in with a correction. Prop 14 passed with 53.73% of the vote. Thanks, Rich!
Several yards away stood two Espada volunteers: Harry Kresky (pictured, left) of Manhattan and Kirsten Fulda (pictured, right) of New Jersey, both members of the Independence Party who said they admired Espada for his, well, independence.
"He doesn't do what the parties tell him to do," said Kresky, a lawyer who, interestingly, once represented Dr. Lenora Fulani, a radical former presidential candidate, who endorsed Espada last week.
Both Kresky and Fulda said they were impressed with Espada's record of creating a string of health clinics in the south Bronx.
The Hankster will be at the NYC Charter Revision public hearing tonight at 6pm in Staten Island (details below). VIDEO at 11... (hopefully!)
Here are my pre-hearing notes:
The Commission has been conducting public hearings during the summer soliciting input from the public as to what referenda will be put on the ballot for voters to approve or disapprove. It's a little less like the Roman Forum than the Roman Colosseum but nevertheless still there is the plebecite, as bureaucratised as we may be
The word plebiscite comes from the Latin plebiscita, which originally meant a decree of the Concilium Plebis, the popular assembly of the Roman Republic. Referendums and referenda are both commonly used as plurals of referendum. However, the use of referenda is deprecated by theOxford English Dictionary, which advises that:
“
Referendums is logically preferable as a plural form meaning ballots on one issue (as a Latingerund, referendum has no plural). The Latin plural gerundive referenda, meaning things to be referred, necessarily connotes a plurality of issues.
”
In the United States a plebiscite is typically known as an initiative when originating in a petition of ordinary citizens, and as a referendum only if it consists of a proposal referred to voters by the legislature. A plebiscite can be considered a kind of election and is often referred to as such in the U.S. (an election literally means a choice). In other countries the term election is often reserved for events in which elected representatives are chosen.
So much for the Latin/Greek lesson. And now onto the American chorus:
The New York City Charter Revision Commission will hold public hearings in all five boroughs to discuss and receive public input on the Preliminary Staff Report and Recommendations to the Chair of the Charter Commission, as well as other aspects of the Commission’s work. The hearing will be streamed live via webcast through this website.
Monday, August 2
Place: PS 58 - Space Shuttle Columbia School Auditorium, 77 Marsh Ave, STATEN ISLAND
Time: 6 p.m.
Directions: From the Staten Island Ferry, take the S61 or S91 bus to the Staten Island Mall stop. Other buses that stop at the Staten Island Mall near the school are the S55, S56, S79, X17, or X31. The closest Staten Island Rail stop is the Oakwood Heights station.
LA: Got the twitch to switch? Act fast! (Written by Jeremy Alford, TheIND) Louisiana conducted open primaries for federal elections, where all candidates face off on a single ballot, until 2008. And, due to widespread confusion at the polls in recent years due to the closed primary system, the Legislature voted earlier this summer to return the state to a open system beginning in 2011. But for now, Louisiana has one last cycle under closed federal primaries.
NEW YORK
STATE SENATE–PADAVAN, ADDABBO ENDORSED (Queens Gazette) Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay said Padavan (R–C, Bellerose) is “the driving force in the Senate to bring about the necessary common sense changes to reform the state government”.
Attorney Harry Kresky speaks before the NYC Charter Revision Commission tonight at the Queens Boro Hall:
"The opposition [to nonpartisan elections] has worked overtime to shut down dialogue, and yet they have not been able to shut it down."
Attorney to NYC Independence Party organizations Harry Kresky testifies before the Charter Revision Commission at the Queens Boro Hall, Wednesday, July 28,2010, regarding nonpartisan elections for city offices.
"You can't say that we won't put this reform on the ballot because the very forces that it's designed to do something about (partisan special interests) are going to be vehemently opposed."
"This is a fight. This is a real New York City throw-down. Let the voters decide."
UPDATE: Video available on Facebook - search Nancy Hanks
The Hankster is uploadng video to YouTube (Hankstertube) but it might be a while. Was hoping to get you tape by 11, but seems no go... Please check back later tonight or in the morning. [Why a 4 and a half minute video taken on a Canon G11 would need that much time to upload to YouTube is... not my business...]
In the meantime:
The NYC Charter Revision Commission held a public hearing tonight at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building on 125th Street, a block away from the famed Apollo Theater. Seemingly designed to "take care of" some administrative issues about reporting and administrative tribunals (testimony from Esther Fuchs made a rather passionate point about the fact that political issues intervened and prevented putting a referendum on the ballot that was 10 years over-due 10 years ago about reporting issues... And there was testimony from Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Carol A. Robles-Román about the court system that regulates city businesses such as cabs and etc. Recommended reading: Jill Colvin, NAinfo)
So, from my sketch-note: NOT DIRECT QUOTES mind you, but please check back in for the video later tonight...
I'm simply a Black woman -- who will never be asked to sit on a commission like this...
Nonpartisan elections is the issue that has come forward -- 2 million people in California voted for nonpartisans, tens of thousands are debating nonpartisans throughout the country...
The role of the committee is not to decide the issue -- but to decide what issues the voters will decide. The #1 issue is nonpartisan elections.
Objections from the Commission:
"No time"
"Needs more study"
"What if it doesn't win???"
"What if it's too big????"
We just elected the first black President of the United States in a country that was based on slavery. (Pretty big!)
Every step to enfranchise people has required something big.
Note to NYC Charter Revision Commission: We are not counting on you to educate the public about this issue. We were on the street in Harlem for Harlem Week yesterday and signed up a hundred people who support nonpartisan elections.
Ok. Just got notice that my YouTube upload failed. Might need to move on... So rather than re-uploading to YouTube, will spend some time finding another venue.
Well, it's now well after midnight and I be tryin to upload video -- now via Facebook on I guess realplayer that requires another 52 minutes. See ya in the mornin... yeah!
Independent voters rise in county (By JIM SECKLER/The Mohave Daily News - AZ) The county now has 113,266 registered voters as of June 1. The Democrats have seen losses in Bullhead City and Mohave Valley and slight increases in Fort Mohave and Topock. Independents increased in numbers by 3 to 1 over Republicans.
OPEN PRIMARIES
CA: Flawed primary in California (Press Connects - Bingingham )Californians should recall that in 2003, there were 135 candidates for governor. With enough people running, a candidate can advance to the general election with the support of only a miniscule and possibly extreme portion of the electorate.
OK: Primary Tuesday (By Tulsa World's Editorial Writers) Remember that Oklahoma does not have an open primary. Republicans cannot vote in Democratic races and Democrats cannot vote in Republican races. Depending on a voter's party affiliation, some races may or may not be represented on the primary ballot.
PA: Bill Kennedy: races should be non-partisan (Carroll County Times - PA) Not having a representative of each party on the ballot in the general election leaves those without a candidate disenfranchised in the election of their Commissioner or Sheriff or States Attorney, just as we all are in the election for the state Attorney General.
MI: CONNELL: Republicans choose; Dems crown (The Times Herald - MI) Michigan has open primaries. This means a registered voter can walk into the polling place and pick a party. A chest-thumping liberal can ask for a Republican ballot without apology, and a conservative from the deepest part of right field doesn't need a disguise to play ball with the Democrats. The caveat is you only get one choice. For instance, if you vote on the the Democratic side for governor, you cannot switch to the Republican ballot for legislative races.
SD: Marking proposes system of voter input to guide him (By: Tom Lawrence, The Daily Republic - Mitchell Republic - SD) A registered independent his entire life, Marking also calls for open primaries, which would allow anyone to vote in them, as well as an end to corporate financing of campaigns.
Ralph Nader: ‘California Enshrines the Duopoly’ (By Ralph Nader at Nader.org VIA Independent Political Report) Last month, Big Business interests shamelessly dealt our already depleted democracy a devastating blow by misleading California voters into approving Proposition 14, without their opponents being able to reach the people with rebuttals. This voter initiative provides that the November elections in that state for members of Congress and state elective offices are reserved only for the top two vote-garnering candidates in the June primary.
COLORADO
Wadhams: GOP is not looking at lawsuit in Tancredo ballot threat (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post) State Rep. Kathleen Curry, for example, is a running as a write-in candidate. She changed her voter affiliation from Democratic to unaffiliated last December, but had not been unaffiliated long enough to get on the ballot as an independent. She and a county commissioner candidate in the same boat challenged the ruling, but lost.
Party for sale (NY Post) Tabacco is now suggesting that "contracting with [MacKay’s firm]" seems to be "a prerequisite" to winning the backing of the Independence Party, which he now labels "a political patronage mill.
NYC Independence Party Chief Cathy Stewart - see VIDEO: The public debate on Top Two in New York City has helped to underscore the difference between the city and state Independence Party. For the city party, our concern has always been the democratic reform of the political process to give more voters—including independents—the right to participate. And we thank the Mayor and the Commission for creating the opportunity for a vigorous public study of non-partisan elections. Sadly for us, this vibrant debate is in sharp contrast with the conduct of Independence Party’s state chairman. Frank MacKay has spent years effectively outlawing democracy inside the party, reducing the party’s agenda to the most cynical patronage and quid pro quo, and now, if press reports of the ongoing investigation by law enforcement are accurate, may also have committed criminal offenses in the name of “party building.” As is well known, the Independence Party of New York City has long opposed MacKay’s politics and practice.... READ text
On missing a chance to shape New York (BY KATHARINE JOSE, Capital New York) The 1989 Charter Commission devised a plan for “fair share,” which Eddie Bautista, executive director of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, said has become “meaningless.” Fair share requires, in the city charter, that every year the city makes an assessment of proposed developments to assess whether certain neighborhoods are overburdened or underdeveloped. But it’s not enforced, Bautista said (a number of speakers brought up the same issue). As a result, he said, waste transfer stations and other undesirable but necessary urban fixtures are clustered in poor, non-white neighborhoods. Asked later what his vision of the 21st century city would be, Bautista said, “It’s a city that doesn’t use 1962 zoning resolutions.”
NYC Independence Party chief organizer and Manhattan Chair Cathy Stewart speaks to the Charter Revision Commission in the Bronx, July 21, 2010 on behalf of nonpartisan elections/ Top-Two Primary. Stewart outlines the history of support for nonpartisans by Mayor Bloomberg, the recent position change by Citizens Union, and the New York City Organizations of the Independence Party of New York.
"The public debate on Top Two in New York City has helped to underscore the difference between the city and state Independence Party. For the city party, our concern has always been the democratic reform of the political process to give more voters—including independents—the right to participate. And we thank the Mayor and the Commission for creating the opportunity for a vigorous public study of non-partisan elections."
"Sadly for us, this vibrant debate is in sharp contrast with the conduct of Independence Party's state chairman. Frank MacKay has spent years effectively outlawing democracy inside the party, reducing the party's agenda to the most cynical patronage and quid pro quo, and now, if press reports of the ongoing investigation by law enforcement are accurate, may also have committed criminal offenses in the name of "party building." As is well known, the Independence Party of New York City has long opposed MacKay's politics and practice."
Read full testimony at NY Daily News/ Daily Politics by Celeste Katz here.
Ok, yes, it's true -- I come straight home from work on Friday nights and I... I... blog!
The Hankster however is stepping out tonight to a New York City Independence Petition Party (at last the 2 concepts come together!) (independence and New York City, petition and party, etc.) at Hudson Terrace (way west on 46th Street in Manhattan).
So, here are my thoughts tonight so far:
1. Go Colorado independents Joelle Riddle and Kathleen Curry!!!! Keep on keepin' on!
2. NYC: Don't forget that on Monday, July 19, Citizens Union will be talking with the NYC Charter Revision Commission in Brooklyn about their support for nonpartisan elections. Be there or be square.
Directions: By train, take the Q Local to Avenue H and walk 4 blocks east to Ocean Avenue, or take the 2 or 5 train to Flatbush Avenue/Nostrand Avenue. By bus, take the B6 or B11 to Bedford Avenue, the B8, B44, or Q35/Green Bus Line to Flatbush Avenue, the B41 to Nostrand Avenue, or the B49 to Avenue H.
NOTE: Citizens Union will be presenting their recommendations to the Commission at this hearing
Lyric is a 17 year old singer, songwriter, petitioner for non-partisan elections and youth leader, born and raised in New York City and Norwich, Connecticut. He is a participant in Dr. Lenora Fulani’s “Operation Conversation: Cops & Kids”. Reach him at G_Pedraza93@yahoo.com
I’ve always gravitated toward controversy. All throughout school, from kindergarten to 11thgrade, (I’m entering 12thin the fall) I’ve always been the one to say things that are taboo, while others keep their thoughts to themselves. It’s fun. I was born to be an entertainer, born to be on stage, born to demand attention. I guess it’s quite vain, but in the end I believe every artist that displays their work is. If not, they always have the choice of keeping their art from sight. Nobody asks them to put it on a stage for all to see and admire. But before I was good enough toreallyentertain an audience, I simply said things that would stop people in their tracks. It was my way of getting attention. It wasn’t until a year ago that I realized there’s no point in attracting attention, if you don’t do anything with it. Along with that, I was getting quite good at my art form. Without knowing still why I was going to attract attention, I decided to dedicate 100% of my time to my growth as an artist.
One of the things I do is perform publicly as often as I can, using anyplace as a resource. I look up talent shows, showcases, churches, and even sing in train stations. Anywhere where there are people, whether they are going to listen or not. Through this work I met the All Stars Talent Show Network, co-founded by America’s leading Black independent, Dr. Lenora Fulani. I figured “just another gig.” Although any gig for me is never “just another gig”, I didn’t think anything special of the All Stars Project. When I started getting more involved with the All Stars Project, I found that not only were they giving young people like me a stage to perform on, they were also controversial. BINGO. My favorite kind of people! And why were they controversial? Because they were successfully standing up for something that was in dire need, and still is, of support:Youth growth and development.
I had finally found a place that was (1) giving me a platform to perform and expose New York City to a new kind of artist, (2) was controversial, and (3), had a good reason to be so. I was in the right place. I remembered the first time I met Dr. Fulani. She was walking past my table at the 2009 All Stars Project National Benefit Gala. A woman I was talking to at the table stopped her to say hello, and introduced me to her. She was one of the very few people in the entire world that didn’t introduce herself to me like I was any lower in status, less important or even younger than her, when I absolutely was all three. She introduced herself to me as if I was a very serious business partner, an equally powerful and sought out human being. At the same time, as brief as her handshake was, I could tell by her look and demeanor, and almost instant analyzation of me it seemed, that she was an extremely intelligent, stern, no bullshit person. (To this day, she hasn’t defied my first impression.)
A year later, Dr. Fulani asked me to help lobby for nonpartisan elections.And so I thought: If this was the woman who both co-founded an organization that is the most successful after school program in the nation 28 years ago, and won the Grassroots Educator of the Year Award the first night I met her, I can’t think of anyone better, or of any issue more important to support with her than Non-Partisan Elections. And I did.
I collected 97 signatures at my school for an open letter young people of New York City presented to the Charter Revision Commission. While collecting signatures I realized that the people who support this cause are people who feel they have been cheated out of the political system by the conventions laid out by major parties. They look at the Independence Party as the place to go that will not leave the people out of making decisions that will affect the people. That’s democracy.
How did I become an independent? By realizing that I’m going to stick by people that will stick by me: Youth activism and Democracy based leadership is what I stand for, as does the NYC Independence Party.
Hispanic Voters Drift From GOP (By MIRIAM JORDAN, Wall Street Journal) The report by the nonpartisan National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, or Naleo, also shows Hispanics—the fastest-growing voter bloc—are increasingly prone to register as independent, mirroring the trend among all voters
Head Strong: Calif. idea is worth a look for all of us (By Michael Smerconish, Philadelphia Inquirer) Yes, there are exciting primaries for the office of governor and senator, but what is really worth monitoring is the ballot initiative Proposition 14, which would drastically change the way the Golden State (and hopefully, the country) elects public officials.
NYC CHARTER REVISION (Photo by IPNYC activist Laiza Garcia)
For Charter, it's all in the timing (Crain's New York) Another issue that clearly falls within the serious work category is nonpartisan elections, particularly since it was defeated only several years ago. Answering these questions demands real deliberation.
Charter Revision: Speaking Truth to Power (City Pragmatist) In a pre-emptive strike against the evening’s main event, Community Service Society CEO David Jones argued that non-partisan elections and the elimination of party primaries would erode the gains that minorities have achieved through the Democratic Party. Harry Kresky of the Independence Party rebutted him. Phil Thompson bemoaned the exclusion of non-citizens from the election process. Jones noted that the incarcerated were similarly excluded.
Last Nights Charter Revision Hearing (100 Percent Bronx blog) Goldstein then allowed each of the five to have eight minutes that turned into fifteen minutes to talk on the subject of low voter turnout in New York City elections. When it got to lawyer Kresky the subject of non-partisan elections was interjected by him as a way to increase voter participation, and the partisan Independence Party crowd cheered.
NEW YORK Note: NYC Independence Party about 25% input on decisions about statewide candidates, and therefore has limited influence.
You can read his story here about his journey from East Harlem Democrat to national independent grassroots leader...
