California Budget: Kudos to the Voters!

CALIFORNIA
California budget: A sign that the Golden State (By Daniel B. Wood, Christian Science Monitor) Whatever kudos are due probably go to Golden State voters themselves. Last year they approved a suite of reforms intended essentially to reboot the state's political structure – after a decade marked by the recall of a governor, legislative gridlock, huge budget deficits papered over with dubious fixes, state-issued IOUs in lieu of payment, and a trashed credit rating.

UTAH
Poll: Tea party fatigue among independent Utah voters (BY ROBERT GEHRKE, The Salt Lake Tribune) Monson said now, it appears, that the tea party is becoming "an even more Republican phenomenon," more rooted in the GOP than simply a group of conservative activists. Jensen, however, said that has always been the case. "The tea party has always been completely absorbed," he said. "It didn’t get absorbed. It has always been a part of the Utah Republican Party."
Utah League of Independent Voters: Independents vary widely on different ideologies, so it seems unlikely independents could ever be united. In fact, despite our many individual differences, on this wide reaching tenet we agree--"Get the parties out of the way and let the people decide!"

NEW YORK
Staking Out Slot In Race for Mayor (By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL, Wall Street Journal) City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and former Comptroller Bill Thompson—each potential nods for the Democratic nomination—are also looking at ways they can attract voters who might have been leaning toward Mr. Weiner.

INTERNATIONAL
Report from Juarez (East Side Institute News) Our last newsletter included updates from Miguel Cortes, class of 2008, a youth development worker and psychologist at CASA in Juarez, Mexico.  Since our last report, 16 high school youth were tragically massacred at a party -- the most recent tragedy in a city that has drawn worldwide attention for its drug-cartel fueled violence.  Miguel reports that the community was overwhelmed and shocked, then later outraged by the response of military authorities who dismissed the killings as "gang-related." Miguel immediately organized a community-education class where the young people were encouraged to give their pain in letters, poems and therapeutic conversation that might transform the community's loss. He continues working with the young people and is active in the varied committees and coalitions that have formed in the wake of the violence.

How Can We Get Out of the Partisan Trap?

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Notes on Getting Out of the Partisan Trap (By Harry Kresky, This post was co-written by Michael Hardy, Huffington Post) For us, this raises the issue of getting past, or outside of, the institutions that organize special interest politics. Chief among these, of course, are the political parties, which control the Congress and, notably, dictate the terms of the political game. Obama has tried to rise above this, only to be sucked back into a partisan grid. How do we get out of that trap? That is a complicated, long term proposition. But there are steps that could be taken now.
• To survive, state GOP must reinvent itself (By Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times) Labor unions, which are Democrats' biggest allies, say the combination of the "top-two" primary system and the new political maps creates unprecedented opportunities for them to influence Republican races. Last week, the Service Employees International Union launched a political action committee aimed at helping moderate Republicans be elected to the Legislature.
• California Set to Become Even More Democratic (By Kevin Drum, Mother Jones) But in 2008 and 2010, voters (including me) approved initiatives that took redistricting out of the hands of the legislature and gave it to an independent commission charged with creating compact, nonpartisan district lines.

NEW YORK
With embattled Weiner all but certainly out of running, NYC mayor's race suddenly shifts (SAMANTHA GROSS  Associated Press, The Republic) Thompson has some catching up to do. As of January, Weiner had raised $5.1 million, Quinn had raised $3.2 million and Stringer had raised $1.1 million. Liu and de Blasio trailed with $513,000 and $393,000, respectively.

EDUCATION REFORM
School reform’s new generation (By Joel I. Klein, Washington Post) What they have in common is recognition that the status quo in public education is broken and that incremental change won’t work. They are ready to challenge the heart of the educational establishment rather than tinker around its edges, which has been the hallmark of past, failed reform efforts.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

First New York City Mayor won his first election in 2001 with his margin of victory coming from the New York City Independence Party. Then he won re-election in 2005 with a solid independent-black alliance in the city. Then he disaffiliated from the parties altogether. Looking pretty independent, huh?

Well, not recently! He's turned his back on the black and independent voters who elected him by strong-arming City Council (not a particularly difficult thing to do....) to over-turn term limits that have been approved twice by the voters in the city. Now he's looking for some backing for his third Mayoral run.

Dan Janison has an interesting piece in Newsday and NBC New York picked up the story about the two billionaires looking for a party to control... The Queens Gazette (my home boro) also bit... And of course where Mayor Bloomberg dares to tread, there goes his pre-shadow....

-NH

Trouble with a Capitol T and that rhymes with B and that stands for Bloomberg...

From the Gothamist today: Term Limits Bill "Being Rushed Through" with a video that will make you chuckle..... personally I have nothing against millionaires, billionaires OR poor people or anyone in between, but I agree that the people should decide!!

Mayor Bloomberg, just where are you going with this???? Just to mention, it was the Independence Party of New York City that put Mike in office in 2001, and it was a coalition of independents and African Americans who overwhelmingly sent him back to office in 2005 with a mandate for nonpartisan governance. Has Mike "A Leader, Not a Politician" turned his back on the people who got him elected?

Tweet-tweet, let's hit the street! Out of bounds, Mayor Mike!! Personal foul. Take two steps back....