NY's Undemocratic Elections

Found this on the Opinion pages of the NY Times for 7/05/2011.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday called for special elections on Sept. 13 to fill Anthony Weiner’s Congressional office and six vacant State Assembly seats. Party leaders will now get to choose the candidates to run. That is not the way a democracy is supposed to work. Unfortunately, it’s the way things are done in New York.

Federal law requires the governor to hold a special election quickly for a vacant House seat. New York State law says that “party nominations for an office to be filled at a special election shall be made in the manner prescribed by the rules of the party.”

That means Representative Joseph Crowley, the Democratic Party chief in Queens, will probably crown the next congressman in Mr. Weiner’s heavily Democratic district. The Republican bosses do it the same way. If an outsider wants to get on the ballot, he or she will have to collect 3,500 signatures by July 13. Who has that kind of ground operation?

This is even worse in state races in New York. Citizens Union reported recently that a third of the Legislature was first anointed as candidates in these back-room, special-election deals. Mr. Cuomo did not have to hand those six open seats to the bosses. State law says that the governor can call a special election to fill open seats in the Legislature or wait until the next election.

There is a regularly scheduled primary on Sept. 13, which is now the same date as the special elections. The general election is Nov. 8. The rules for these elections are not that great either, but the voters have more of a voice than they do in the special elections.

Mr. Cuomo should have allowed the state races to go through the normal process. He can now start making amends to New Yorkers by pushing to change the state’s special election laws, so the voters, not party bigwigs, get to choose who represents them.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Independent Streak

I first meet Fred when I returned to NY and registered into the Independence Party in 2001. I am now into my 4th term as the New York State Independence Party State Committee member for the 73rd AD (Eastside of Manhattan) and a member of the Manhattan Executive Committee of the New York City Independence Party Organizations. But just as important is the many plays I saw by Fred as the Artistic Director of the Castillo Theater. Fred is having some health problems and we all wish him well.

This interview is by Chris Bragg of City Hall News.

Fred Newman, the controversial psychotherapist, philosopher, playwright and political activist, has not been in the news as much as his onetime nemesis, Frank MacKay, the chair of the State Independence Party who once tried to boot Newman from the party over his beliefs.

Nonetheless, the city-based faction of the Independence Party has been working hard to make one last push for non-partisan elections, while watching MacKay’s travails from afar. Newman discussed his desire to see Mayor Michael Bloomberg push harder for non-partisan elections, how the state Independence Party has strayed from its roots, and why reporters do not call him very much anymore.

What follows is an edited transcript.

City Hall: The charter revision commission’s staff report recommended that non-partisan elections not go on the ballot this year. What can the Independence Party of New York City do to try and change that?
Fred Newman: Well, the Citizens Union, I understand, did a very, very good report and I was hoping that that would perhaps change the opinion of the commissioners. It certainly would have changed mine. I thought their report was quite good and quite convincing, but it doesn’t seem that the commissioners have been convinced, but I cannot understand why they wouldn’t be.

CH: Is there any formal campaign by the party to push for non-partisan elections?
FN: Well, we’ve been in that campaign mode for a very, very long time, so we have no new tricks that we can do. We were hoping that the commission would respond to that and they don’t seem to have. The answer is that there’s not much we can do.

CH: You brought several hundred people to a hearing in the Bronx who were very vocal in their support of non-partisan elections. How did the party drum up so much interest in the issue?
FN: We received 150,000 votes in the last mayoral race. We have a lot of support in the communities and we can bring our people, but apparently bringing our people doesn’t mean that much to the commission. So I’m not going to be in any way calling out our people from the communities anymore. I don’t think at this point it would make a difference. I am not trying to do it. I don’t know of anything else we can do. I am sure there are some people on the commission who are more sympathetic than others, but I have no way of knowing who they are.

CH: If non-partisan elections were on the ballot, why would it pass this year after getting 30 percent of the vote in 2003?
FN: Things have changed dramatically. Virtually every condition has changed. I think that since 2003 or whatever it was, what’s happened in the country is a major change. There is much more of a mood of being concerned that government is not being responsive, so that’s a very, very big difference. The Citizens Union report, for example, which indicates the citizen’s party has changed, I think also indicates why so many other people have changed. [Citizens Union did not support non-partisan elections in 2003.] The growth of the New York Independence Party is substantial, and the temperament of the country— including New York City, since New York City is, after all, much as we might sometimes deny it, part of the country—is that people are dissatisfied with the way candidates are selected.

CH: Non-partisan elections recently passed California. Does that translate to more support in New York City?
FN: Well, we had many people out in California working on this and they were using the same audience that we are here, so I guess in that sense, yes.

CH: Do you wish the mayor would weigh in a little more in support of non-partisan elections?
FN: His promise, his statement was to assure that he would do what he could do to make sure that it was considered. He created the commission, so he fulfilled that commitment. He didn’t make a commitment to work for it or be outspoken for it, although he has been before on the record. If you asked me subjectively today, would I have wanted him to do more, I suppose it would have been helpful. But I don’t think he has violated any promises.

CH: What do you think the future of the Independence Party of New York City is going to look like once Mayor Bloomberg is not in office anymore?
FN: The New York Independence Party existed before and grew substantially before our connection to Mayor Bloomberg and it will do so after he is off the political scene. There will be new people coming in and there will be new issues coming up and we’ll continue to participate. I think it will surely continue to be a political reform party.

CH: What’s your take on what’s going on with the State Independence Party? Some of the local chairs are upset that their endorsement decisions were overruled.
FN: It’s hard for me to say since I was involved with the state committee a long time ago and it was mostly people from New York City. It’s a democracy disaster, but no one has bothered looking into it. I have no real opinions on what’s going on there, but I know that it’s a very important development that the party seems to be a radical party in terms of its way of operating and functioning, and [Frank] MacKay made his decisions, I think, heavily under the influence of the Democratic Party.

CH: Do you see the State Independence Party as leaving its ideological roots as some suggest?
FN: When I was involved with the party, the local organizations used to make those decisions, essentially, the state chair and the state organization didn’t do it all. The local organizations made those decisions and those were the rules of the party, and MacKay has changed all that, that’s no longer true. The key to the party is internal democracy, but he’s turned it into a regular third party in New York State. I don’t think he is doing anything worse than any other third parties in the history of the state. It was very important to me that at the beginning we made an effort to change that, and that was completely abandoned by MacKay.

CH: There have also been some issues that have arisen regarding MacKay’s outside interests and his wife’s computer company. Does that surprise you?
FN: It doesn’t surprise me because that’s what happens, it seems to me, in all parties, major or minor, when they have no real concern with internal democracy—that is the kind of thing that happens. Why would it surprise me? I’m 75 years old.

CH: Pedro Espada is an old ally of yours. Will you help him in his primary?
FN: Not that I know of, I don’t think so. He hasn’t asked us, and it’s a Democratic primary.

CH: What else are you up to these days?
FN: I do everything I did when I was 35, 45, except I do it much more slowly. I do some teaching, some writing. I listen to a lot of music, I read the papers and I participate in New York City political life.

CH: Anything else you’d like to add?
FN: That’s a hard question for me to answer. I like to discuss many, many things, but I’ve received fewer and fewer requests for my opinions on these things over the years. People see me as too radical, I guess. I’ve been kind of checked out on the public debate on these kinds of questions. So, I appreciate that you’re asking me for my opinion.

Use the above link to find out more about my friend Fred.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Ramblings

These articles caught my attention today:

Former Rep. Harold Ford has abandoned plans to challenge New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, sources familiar with his plans confirm.

A news story says Chautauqua County, New York, has sold its old-fashioned mechanical lever voting machines to a scrap dealer for only $52.47 apiece. Perhaps some of the other New York counties that still must sell their machines will try Ebay. Of course, the machines are heavy, so shipping would be an added cost.

The Special Election to replace former, NY State Senator Hiram Monserrate is down to 2 candidates. Assemblyman Jose Peralta has the Democratic & Working Families lines while Hiram is the independent candidate of the Yes We Can Party. Most observers think the support of Peralta by the Democratic organization, various unions plus Hiram's bad deeds, convicted of partner abuse, make Peralta the favorite. Special Elections are low turnout affairs and they usually come down to which candidate has the best "pulling"operation.

Last year, NY Rep. Carolyn Maloney was hoping to be in a primary against a younger, well-financed female opponent this fall. But instead of running against Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate as she had planned, Maloney is defending her own congressional seat against Reshma Saujani, a 34-year-old Democratic fundraiser and hedge fund lawyer. The race is already shaping up as a generational clash, with Maloney in her fur and pearls in one corner, and Saujani with her dark business suits and trendy scarves in the other. Maloney is counting on the Democratic establishment, as well as reliable primary voters in the Upper East Side portion of the district, to send her back to Washington. Saujani, meanwhile, is banking on an influx of young professionals and immigrant voters—especially those residing in the Queens portion of the district—to buoy her insurgent candidacy to victory. I have partitioned and campaigned for Maloney in her last two elections.

The NY mayor was tight-lipped when asked by Times City Hall Bureau Chief David Chen about his decision to move some $5 billion out of the private equity firm Quadrangle Group and hiring about a dozen of the firms employees to manage the money at a new entity set up specifically to handle his money. Is he preparing for a 2012 run for President?

The leaders of Arizona’s four largest tea parties announced Monday they’re not endorsing in the state’s Senate race, a blow to the movement’s supposed darling, former Republican Rep. J.D. Hayworth. The joint statement from the Tucson Tea Party, the Greater Phoenix Tea Party, the Flagstaff Tea Party and the Mohave County Tea Party declared that any endorsement would not be “appropriate.” “We stand for principles and ideas, not for politicians or parties,” said Patrick Beck, organizer of the Mohave County Tea Party. “Our mission is to promote constitutional government and fiscal responsibility and to inform people so that they can make their own decisions.” “It is not appropriate to make an endorsement in this race at the drop of a hat, as some other groups are doing,” added Kelly Townsend of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party. “The movement must stand for ideas and do everything possible to provide information to people so that they can make the best personal decisions.” Since announcing his GOP primary campaign against four-term Sen. John McCain, Hayworth has claimed tea party support.

Doing a Sarah Palin:
If you remember, Palin had put some talking points on her hand, at the Conserative conference. Many members of Congress when they are on tv talk shows never really listen to the commentator questions but use their talking points. This past weekend, McCain was asked a question about the health care bill with the moderator telling him that certain features had been taken out of the bills. But he looked down at his talking points and complained about that part of the bill that was no longer in it. He did a Sarah Palin.

Michael H. Drucker
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NYC Charter Commission

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has selected Anthony Crowell to chair his charter review commission, with the appointment and the full membership to be announced within two weeks.

Crowell, a senior counselor to the mayor and one of the prime players in Bloomberg’s successful effort to extend term limits, has served as a director/counsel to five charter review commissions and was a member of Bloomberg’s 2005 charter commission.

The 1989 commission had a $2.5 million budget. Bloomberg’s preliminary budget, released in late January, did not specifically allocate any money for the new commission, which is expected to address the term limits questions. According to some rumors, it may also include another push for the non-partisan election initiative that the mayor tried to make law through the 2003 charter commission.

Other suggestions in need of charter commission attention, include the role of borough presidents, expanding the powers of the City Council, changes to planning and land use procedures, and the existence of the public advocate.

Eric Lane, who served as director/counsel of the 1989 charter commission, conceded that he now believes the members made a mistake by not giving the public advocate's office an independent budget. He recommended reconsidering this move.

Ester Fuchs, a former Bloomberg advisor who chaired the 2005 charter commission for the mayor, urged the administration to take steps to make sure the new effort stokes a robust public debate. “It’s critical for the mayor to make sure the public recognizes this commission as legitimate,” Fuchs said.

Once the charter commission members are officially named, they will be charged with holding hearings in all five boroughs to gather recommendations for their work. They will then release a list of proposals, which will be subject to a second round of hearings in all five boroughs. Following these, the commission will choose which proposals to submit to the city clerk for consideration by the voters. The commission will have the option of putting all the proposals forward bundled into a single ballot question or of submitting each for a separate vote.

The process is unlikely to be complete in time for voter approval in the November 2010 elections. That could put the vote off until at least 2011, if not as late as the next citywide elections in 2013.

Michael H. Drucker
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NYS Needs Nonpartisan Municipal Elections

Francis S. Barry, a speechwriter for Mayor Bloomberg and author of a controversial analysis of reform movements in New York, explains why NYS should adopt non-partisan municipal elections in an exclusive interview published by the Empire Page.

Non-partisan elections would solve the problem that exists in New York City and elsewhere around the state where "nearly all elections for nearly all offices are decided in the Democratic primary, when turnout is very low."

I was part of the effort to bring Nonpartisan Municipal Elections to NYC in 2003, NYC Ballot proposals: Question 3. We lost that effort with only 30% of the vote. We hope to try again with Mayor Bloomberg's help in his third term.

Use the above link to read the entire article.

Michael H. Drucker
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NY a Failed State

From a NY Times editorial:

"New Yorkers should be appalled at their failed state government, particularly their corrupt and clueless Legislature. Scandal and irresponsibility have been Albany’s creed for decades. This year, the gang added another outrage to the list: complete fiscal incompetence.

The only solace is this: The entire Legislature is up for re-election in 2010. And unless there is a sudden turnaround — and, so far, we see few signs of it — New Yorkers have no choice but to vote out all the lawmakers and start over."

Use the above link to read the entire article.

Michael H. Drucker
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Is New York Ready for Instant Runoffs?

After this year's election, the main story seemed to be the outcome of the mayor's race and the future of the city for the next four years. Under the radar, however, another storyline developed following the city's primary runoff on Tuesday, Sept. 15 -- called to choose the Democratic nominees for two citywide offices. The abysmally low turnout and high cost of the runoff election -- to the tune of $15 million -- left some wondering, is it really worth it?

Some state legislators are now focused on ways to improve runoff elections, including instant runoff voting, also known as IRV and ranked choice voting.

Use the above link to read the article by DeNora Getachew, the director of public policy and legislative counsel and Andrea Senteno, the program associate for Citizens Union Foundation, which publishes Gotham Gazette.

Michael H. Drucker
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Money, influence and the obscure world of the WFP

NY's City Hall News (use the above link to view their website), has developed a Special Investigative Report on the workings of the Working Family Party. Use these links to read the report:

All In The Family - Part 1

All In The Family - Part 2

All In The Family - Part 3

All In The Family - Part 4

All In The Family - Part 5

Michael H. Drucker
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The Independence Party and the Black Community: A Power Partnership

The IP vote for Bloomberg on Column "C" was the highest mayoral vote on a minor party line in 40 years and double the vote total from four years ago. Minor party cross-endorsements have been crucial in New York City mayoral contests for 60 years, as they give candidates a way to broaden their appeal and voters a way to make a statement about their own political agenda. As one political old hand put it, the IP numbers "reflect rising disillusionment with the major parties." They also, as this commentator noted, were a sign of "the desire of many voters to support Bloomberg but not to identify themselves with Republicans." Obviously, many of the voters in question here are Democrats.

Use the above link to read the op-ed (pdf) from the Amsterdam News by Dr. Lenora Fulani, a founder of the Independence Party and the country's leading black independent. She hosts a monthly meeting in Harlem entitled "Conversations with a Black Independent."

Michael H. Drucker
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Military ballots at risk in New York's special election

New York is holding a special election on November 3, 2009, to fill a vacant U.S. House seat. It is very likely that a substantial number of overseas military will not be able to have their vote counted in this election. A spokesperson for the Overseas Vote Foundation predicts that the federal government will soon sue New York again over this issue.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has recommended mailing absentee ballots to military voters at least 45 days before they are due. The Military Postal Service Agency recommended at least 60 days.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., alarmed by studies that showed 41 percent of military and overseas voters in Upstate New York (a total of 8,226 voters) did not have their ballots counted in 2008, proposed a reform bill in May.

Schumer’s bipartisan bill mandates that states send ballots out to military and absentee voters at least 45 days before the election. The legislation has passed the Senate, and awaits approval in the House.

Conklin, of the New York Board of Elections, said the state had no choice but to follow its own election laws after former Rep. John McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, resigned to become President Obama’s secretary of the Army on Sept. 21.

Voters’ rights advocates say potentially thousands of military voters from Upstate New York could be disenfranchised in what early polls indicate will be a tight, three-way race to pick the region’s next member of Congress due to the delay in mailing ballots and the time it will take to return them.

Use the above link to read the entire article.

Michael H. Drucker
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2009 African American Day Parade

Michael H. Drucker
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Dr. Lenora Fulani at the 2009 Caribbean West Indian Day Parade

Thanks to the Hankster for this video of Dr. Lenora Fulani at the 2009 Caribbean West Indian Day Parade. The NYC Independence Party Organizations' were supporting Mayor Bloomberg's run for a third term on Column "C".


Michael H. Drucker
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