[cinci_dads] Re: Proportional Representation petition campaign
- From: "Dan" <DZavon@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <cinci_dads@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:23:29 -0400
We got enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot. (Thanks
for asking, Mark!) There is a local organization and a website -
BetterBallotCincinnati.com. The Cincinnati Business Courier has endorsed
Issue 8 - Proportional Representation - as the way to elect Cincinnati City
Council. We will have radio, TV, and print ads in a few weeks.
I'm attempting to attach 3 items I've written about PR. Comments are
welcome.
Dan Zavon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Sund / Mac.com" <cinticom@xxxxxxx>
To: <cinci_dads@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2008 3:32 PM
Subject: [cinci_dads] Re: Proportional Representation petition campaign
> Dan - whatever happened with this in Cincinnati?
>
> Mark Sund
> cinticom@xxxxxxx
>
>
> On Jul 22, 2008, at 3:45 PM, Dan wrote:
>
> > It is used in Cambridge, Mass. It was used in about 2 dozen cities
> > in the
> > U.S., including New York City and Cleveland, in the early part of
> > the 20th
> > century, as part of the reform movement for good government during the
> > Progressive era. It was repealed in many cities because of anti-
> > communist
> > hysteria (in New York City, for example, one communist was elected
> > to a
> > council of 25 members), and in Cincinnati it was repealed in 1957
> > on the
> > basis of a racist fear campaign - they said that if we didn't get
> > rid of PR,
> > it was likely that Ted Berry (a Negro!) would become mayor of
> > Cincinnati in
> > the next election. PR was repealed, our current system not only
> > prevented
> > Berry from becoming mayor, he was not even elected to Council in
> > 1957, and
> > no blacks were elected for the next 4 elections.
> >
> > FairVote.org is the best website to learn more. It's a national
> > organization dedicated to educating people about proportional voting
> > systems. It was founded in Cincinnati in 1992 (it's now in the DC
> > area).
> >
> > PR was on the ballot here in 1988 and 1991, and it got about 45% of
> > the vote
> > each time, in spite of vehement opposition by the Cincinnati Enquirer
> > (repeatedly claiming - falsely, in my opinion - that PR is too
> > complicated
> > and it takes too long to count the votes). Cambridge has a
> > computerized
> > vote count and it's done in minutes. People who can count from one
> > to nine
> > have no difficulty ranking their choices, and the system automatically
> > provides a representative body which is a microcosm of the
> > electorate - fair
> > representation for majorities and minorities.
> >
> > Thanks for considering it.
> >
> > Dan Zavon
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Mark Sund / Mac.com" <cinticom@xxxxxxx>
> > To: <cinci_dads@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 11:37 AM
> > Subject: [cinci_dads] Re: Proportional Representation petition
> > campaign
> >
> >
> >> Dan - interesting - is this used anywhere else? Or where else can I
> >> read about it?
> >>
> >> Mark Sund
> >> cinticom@xxxxxxx
> >>
> >>
> >> On Jul 21, 2008, at 12:59 PM, Dan wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>> I'm working on a petition campaign to bring Proportional
> >>> Representation back to Cincinnati. That's the way Cincinnati
> >>> elected its City Council for 30 years (1920s to 1950s), and it
> >>> brought consistent minority representation to the council even when
> >>> African Americans were a much smaller percentage of the population
> >>> than they are today. It gives us majority rule AND minority
> >>> representation. You rank your choices from 1 up to as many as 9,
> >>> and your vote counts for your first choice, unless that candidate
> >>> can't use it (either because s/he already has enough votes to be
> >>> elected, or because s/he has so few votes s/he can't possibly be
> >>> elected), in which case your vote counts for your second choice (or
> >>> your highest choice who can still use your vote).
> >>>
> >>> To show what is wrong with our current voting system (9x), I use
> >>> the example of an election in which 44,000 Democrats vote, along
> >>> with 33,000 Republicans and 22,000 Charterites. If all three
> >>> parties put up a full slate of 9 candidates, and all voters vote a
> >>> straight party ticket for their party, the result under the current
> >>> 9x system of voting would be 9 Democrats elected to City Council,
> >>> even though a majority of voters (five ninths) wanted no
> >>> Democrats. This is not majority rule OR minority representation.
> >>> Under Proportional Representation, the result (with the same voters
> >>> voting the same way) would be a council with 4 Democrats, 3
> >>> Republicans, and 2 Charterites. PR gives fair representation to
> >>> all substantial groups in the voting population, whether they be
> >>> racial, issue, gender, neighborhood, or whatever is important to
> >>> the voters in the election.
> >>>
> >>> To put this issue on the ballot, we need 6100 valid signatures of
> >>> registered voters who live in the city limits of Cincinnati. We
> >>> really need some more people to pass petitions. Even if you can
> >>> get only 10 or 20 signatures, that would be very much appreciated.
> >>> If you are interested, or need more information, please call Josh
> >>> Krekeler at 513-368-4062, or email him at
> >>> betterballotleague@xxxxxxxxx
> >>>
> >>> Please pass the word. Thanks.
> >>>
> >>> Dan Zavon
> >>
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> > 6:42 AM
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> >>
> >>
> >
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