FairElect Press
This Page is for press and coverage that supports our cause and for the groveling's of the other side. So you'll see the good, the bad, the justified and the totally irrational musings of all those who have the audacity to disagree with our positions. Well, we are arguing for a better democracy, eh? (Note: If you've found this tirade to be a bit odd, join the club) Truly, a democracy relies on the full airing of opinion, so here we have all that we have found in the major press.
FairElect -Tucson 2009
This page will be going under reconstruction soon. The link below will lead you to a "Public Statement" page that details the announcement to the Mayor and Council of the upcoming efforts and sites a meeting in 2006 which held relevance to the announcement.
Public Statement (25Mar08)
FairElect -Tucson 2007
04Mar06 Here is an article in the St Petersburg Times (Florida) from the Associated Press noting the upcoming mayoral election using IRV. Check out this article, Vt. city electing mayor via instant runoff, in the Times.
(20Feb06) Here is a Guest Commentary from Jim Sinex calling for Instant Runoff Elections in the City of Tucson . Guest Columns are frequent in the Arizona Daily Star and though it took three separate tries at it, this one was printed on Monday February 20th on the Opinion page of our local rag.
Read the article Instant-runoff voting would spur debate, give everyone a voice in the Star.
Here is some submitted press regarding the proposed Mail-Only Election System due on the 2006 Ballot
Read the article that could have been Mail-Only System Flawed submitted to the Tucson Citizen
Tucson Ward-Only 2005
(16Jun05) Salt in the Wound. That's what this article in the Arizona Daily Star felt like as C.J. Karamargin called to get information regarding why the efforts of Tucson Ward-Only were called off in early June of 2005. Note to self,...be careful of your wording when you talk to the press.
Read the article Lagging petitions bring end to bid for ward-only elections, but be careful of your heart and grab a tissue.
Inside Tucson Business comes out against Ward Only Elections, but proposes no solution. David Hatfield agrees that there is a problem, but decides to throw stones instead of proposing solutions. Rebuttal space has been requested. See it for yourself, if you must, in the pages of Inside Tucson Business " Looking at the City as a Whole ".
Councilmember Kathleen Dunbar, it seems, is trying to link a really old idea to our momentum. She thinks that we need to move to non-partisan elections without, of course, Ward-Only elections. It is our view that citizens need to know more about our leaders and not less. Party affiliation might not be important if politicians didn't seem to vote with their party so much of the time. It wouldn't matter if political parties offered the same set of ideas and actually worked for the good of their ward constituents. The way things are, though, our City Council is required to run for re-election every four years and in these elections political party does matter to most of us. It is often the only thing that we really know about our choices. So why does Ms Dunbar feel that she has to hide her party affiliation? I'm a democrat first, but you should know that I am also a member of the Democratic Party. Ms Dunbar is a Republican, but whether that comes before or after she is a democrat has not yet been determined.
BTW, Ms Dunbar, if Democrats are at the root of the Ward-Only campaign, why are most of our opposition Democrats? Are you over-using the "Party" Label that you want to get rid of?
So read it for yourself if you must. Here, from the pages of Inside Tucson Business is the article on Ms Dunbar's idea. Read away, but don't forget to use your "Back" button to get out of there and return home.
Here is the Arizona Daily Star's Endorsement of the Tucson Ward Only Ideal. Somehow we made a good argument, made the right people laugh or maybe it was the bagels, but we landed an endorsement Endorsement in the early weeks of the effort. This article, written by Steve Auslander and published on Sunday April 17, 2005.
Tom Volgy, once the Mayor of Tucson rebuts the Arizona Daily Star's endorsement of our plan. We believe in open debate and believe that Mr Volgy has honest concerns regarding any change to the City Charter regarding council elections. It should suffice to say that his alternative only adds to the Ward Only solution. He asks for more then just Ward Only. His proposal, though was not placed on the table and it is fair for us to say that we can always add to our electoral mix if the citizens of Tucson see fit. One thing at a time though. Our proposal is on the table and though it doesn't create an electoral utopia, it is a step forward. Hopefully Mr Volgy will see it our way once we gain a space on the ballot.
So, read Mr Volgy's opinion printed in the Star as a Counter Argument to our Endorsement by the Star.
Here is the original Arizona Daily Star Feature Article. Here is an article written by C.J. Karamargin and published in the Star Metro/Region Section on Monday April 11, 2005. We were very luck to be found so early by this reporter.
Read the article "City Ward Voting Idea: It's Back" by clicking on the link.
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