Commission on Election Administration to Hear From Independent Pennsylvanians September 4

Independent Voters to Testify at Philadelphia Public Hearings.

By Barbara Patrizzi on 08/23/2013 at IVN

Sign the Letter to President Obama's Commission here

Independent Pennsylvanians,  part of the national IndependentVoting.org network, will be on hand to testify at the upcoming public hearing of President Obama’s Commission on Election Administration. The hearings will  take place in Philadelphia, on  September 4th, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, rooms 102 and 103. The 10-member commission is tasked with presenting recommendations to the president about how to “improve the voting experience."

The Commission has already held public hearings in DC, Florida, and Denver, where representatives of independent voter groups from Virginia, New York and Florida submitted testimony. Independent voters have a lot to say about electoral reform, and are taking advantage of  this opportunity to voice these concerns to the bi-partisan commission, despite the narrow agenda that has been set forth for the hearings. [read more here]

Independent Voters Important in Local Races in NJ and PA

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES

• Dems Hope to Tap Big Reserve of Independents - Most people in Morris County aren't affiliated with a political party. (By Jane Primerano, Chathan Patch) Montville Democrat Daniel Grant said that in his successful runs for council in his northern Morris County township, he received a good deal of support from independent voters.
• Video: Independent Philadelphia Mayoral Candidate Wali “Diop” Rahman Answers Your Questions (By Catherine Brown, NBC Philadelphia) Rahman is President of the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement in Philadelphia. He came to Philadelphia about ten years ago to work with the Uhuru movement as a community organizer. The local office now doubles as his campaign office.

Jim Foster Takes on The Parties in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA
Jim Foster files counter challenge to Brian Rudnick's nominating petitions (By Alan Tu, WHYY NEWSNETWORKS) Independent City Council candidate Jim Foster says his rival Brian Rudnick is not who he says he is. Brian Rudnick filed to run as the "Green Party" candidate but Foster, an independent candidate, says Rudnick is not the Greens' nominee. "He used them as his party, during the whole process of filing his petitions, to make people think that the Green Party had endorsed him," Foster said.

Phildaelphia Ballot Access Fight Between Green and Independent Candidates

PHILADELPHIA
Petition challenge filed in Philadelphia's Eighth District City Council race (By Alan Tu, WHYY NewsWorks) Rudnick, a Green Party member, has challenged Foster's nominating petitions claiming nearly a third of the signatures Foster turned in on Monday are invalid.

Independence in New York and Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA
Two Candidates File Nomination Petitions for the 8th District - Brian Rudnick of the Green Party and Independent Jim Foster filed petitions Monday. (By Kaitlyn Foti, Mt. Airy Patch) Foster, publisher of Germantown Newspapers, decided to run as an independent candidate less than a week before the Aug. 1 deadline.

NEW YORK
Time to end gerrymandering, New York (By ROBERT ABRAMS, Albany Times Union) The notorious dysfunction of Albany can be traced in large part to the noncompetitive elections for the Assembly and state Senate. Gerrymandering prevents important substantive issues from being debated, and engenders cynicism on the part of voters that depresses turnout. We must create an independent process that removes the conflict of interest that occurs when legislators draw their own lines.

BLOOMBERG
What Michael Nutter Can Learn from Michael Bloomberg - The New York mayor's smart, courageous act (Philadelphia Magazine/The Philly Post) Today, the mayor of New York, a lifelong middle-of-the-road millionaire turned politician with bureaucratic tendencies, is showing how it’s done. He’s pledging $130 million—including $30 million of his own dough—to improve the lives of an estimated 315,000 undereducated, unemployed and incarcerated citizens in his city.

The Independent Streets of Philadelphia

Why is John Street thinking about an independent run for City Council in Philadelphia? Contact the grassroots voice for independent voters in Pennsylvania - Independent Voters in Pennsylvania

PENNSYLVANIA 

• Is John Street considering a council run? (By Tom MacDonald, NewsWorks WHYY) An unexpected independent candidate could pop up for the fall race for City Council at Large. John Street changed his registration to non-partisan, keeping--in his words--a variety of options open.  According to the Daily News blog Clout, one option could be a possible run for Philadelphia City Council at Large.
• Clout: John Street on Council? 'Interesting idea,' he says (Phildaelphia Daily News)