Comments on: Oh oh oh, I got election…*

By: Random Oakland Thoughts « Living in the O

Random Oakland Thoughts « Living in the O — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:23:49 +0000

[...] on the presidential primaries, Oaklanders are revving up for council elections. At Future Oakland, dto510 discusses the slew of candidates entering the races and brings up the question of whether we’ll have June elections or be [...]

By: Reflections on Voter Outreach in the East Bay « Living in the O

Reflections on Voter Outreach in the East Bay « Living in the O — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:10:41 +0000

[...] be completely lost in many races if it wasn’t for Oakland bloggers like V Smoothe and dto510, and of course the entire crew at [...]

By: OP

OP — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:52:14 +0000

I think it is a bit premature (and a tad disingenuous) to declare that IRV is an incumbent-bolstering system. Under any system, incumbents have a sizeable advantage — due to money, name recognition, and being connected with the political players. IRV has only been used in San Francisco for a few elections, it will take several more before any trends appear. In any event, IRV couldn’t be any worse than the present system in Oakland — the last time an incumbent on the City Council lost re-election was when Nancy Nadel won in 1996!

I also think you mis-read the political situation. If IRV is so great for incumbents, why did most of the incumbents up for election vote against using it this year? The vote for a June Primary was De la Fuente, Reid, Brunner, and Kernighan. I personally think that lots of incumbents see IRV as a threat, perhaps primarily because it is an unknown system.

While I tend to agree that holding a June primary was probably prudent in case certification fails (although, from my understanding it is almost certain the equipment will be ready by November), I think it is disapointing that the City and County put no effort into making IRV happen on time. Shouldn’t you be outraged that voters passed Measure O with 69% of the vote in 2006 — a damn strong mandate — but two years later nothing happens?

By: dto510

dto510 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:19:08 +0000

This blog is made on a Mac, so I really don’t know what to say! You can increase the font size, and I’m going to try to redesign the page soon, before the City Council races heat up. I think all blogs will get more traffic soon.

It’s pretty funny that Clinton Killian picked A Better Oakland for his campaign title. I asked Mr. Killian about it and he said he hadn’t seen the blog before, but is now reading all the local blogs. Catchy slogan, though! FutureOakland’s probably a bit too scary to win an election.

By: MJH

MJH — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:07:54 +0000

a few issues to raise: I have a very hard time reading your blog on a Mac. I don’t know if the font is too small or the light blue on white is just not a sufficient enough contrast. Either way, I struggle with it.
Also, I speculate that http://www.abetteroakland.com will be getting many a hit on its site due to the Clinton Killion for at-large campaign theme. Do you agree. And is there a copyright infringement issue there?

By: Elections in June after all | A Better Oakland

Elections in June after all | A Better Oakland — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:50:19 +0000

[...] returned from a length blogging break last week to repeat some City Hall gossip about the June primaries. The word on the street (or in Frank Ogawa plaza, at least) was that that [...]

By: V Smoothe

V Smoothe — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:01:58 +0000

I hate that song.

By: dto510

dto510 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:45:32 +0000

I think Ms. Quan running for at-large is a bit speculative, and it really doesn’t make sense for her political career. If she wins, she only gains credibility, and if she loses, she can never run for higher office. But that’s an interesting point about IRV versus special elections – the same people who backed IRV also backed having special elections for Councilmember vacancies.

Mr. Pine, as a candidate for City Council, do you feel that you might benefit from five additional months to campaign and raise your name recognition?

By: Charles Pine

Charles Pine — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:24:47 +0000

Rumor has it that councilmember Jean Quan may run for the at-large council seat, presumably as part of a strategy to realize her stated ambition to be the next mayor of Oakland. If this election were postponed to November 2008 with IRV counted by hand, and she won, that would trigger a special election to fill the district four seat. On one hand, demanding IRV in November for bigger turnout; on the other hand, willing to cause a low-turnout special election. Talk about contradiction.

By: dto510

dto510 — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:35:45 +0000

Since IRV was sold as faster and cheaper than regular runoffs, it would not be the will of the voters to spend tens of thousands of dollars and many weeks on a hand-count. In terms of turnout, the June elections are important and people are expected to vote in them. The difference between June and November in 2006 was a about 30% – substantial, but it’s not fair to call June super-low-turnout. Oakland is not SF or Berkeley, where runoffs are special elections.

And in terms of how much people like it – every election I’ve seen with IRV involves about 10% of voters not marking a second choice. IRV is a voting-rights lawsuit waiting to happen. In Minneapolis, there is already a lawsuit. Another lawsuit on a Nadel-authored measure is not what Oakland needs right now, and City Council candidates may willing to sue to force the city to give them their shot in June.

Nothing in Measure O said the city should do it even if the County isn’t ready. And like I said above, the idea of incumbent Councilmembes putting off their reckoning with the voters is quite unseemly.