Submitted by scharrison on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 1:40pm.
towards the end on non-partisan vs partisan elections.
My personal view, which I realize runs counter to the beliefs held by many reading this: While party affiliation may not be a solid predictor of how a candidate will perform/vote if elected to office, especially in a City/County position, it's still a good indicator of broad ideological leanings.
No matter how much we want certain races to not be tainted with party politics, wishing it to be true doesn't change the reality. And leaving the (R) and (D) off the ballot is, in my opinion, a form of withholding information from the voting public. Again, we can wish voters will take the time to research the positions of each candidate and make their decision based solely on that. But that's another case where our wishes bump up against reality.
If keeping money out of the mix is the primary driver of non-partisan elections, then don't work it from the bottom up by deceiving (yep, I said it) voters. Pass laws that severely restrict/curtail the flow of money into elections, and block 3rd party expenditures for local board/commission seats.
Very interesting exchange
towards the end on non-partisan vs partisan elections.
My personal view, which I realize runs counter to the beliefs held by many reading this: While party affiliation may not be a solid predictor of how a candidate will perform/vote if elected to office, especially in a City/County position, it's still a good indicator of broad ideological leanings.
No matter how much we want certain races to not be tainted with party politics, wishing it to be true doesn't change the reality. And leaving the (R) and (D) off the ballot is, in my opinion, a form of withholding information from the voting public. Again, we can wish voters will take the time to research the positions of each candidate and make their decision based solely on that. But that's another case where our wishes bump up against reality.
If keeping money out of the mix is the primary driver of non-partisan elections, then don't work it from the bottom up by deceiving (yep, I said it) voters. Pass laws that severely restrict/curtail the flow of money into elections, and block 3rd party expenditures for local board/commission seats.
And no, I'm not holding my breath.