St. Johns Sentinel

September 2005

VOTER-OWNED NOT BUSINESS-OWNED ELECTIONS

A coalition of local business leaders have filed a petition to repeal the Voter-Owned Election system which was adopted by City Council in May.

I urge you to refuse to sign these petitions once they hit the street.  City Council included a provision for a vote on the system in 2010; we need to give the system a fair trial before voting on it.

The first test of the system will be the May primary.  Two candidates have already indicated they intend to run under the system.  One has expressed that she intends to put her energy into neighborhood “coffees” to meet and talk with/listen to citizens.  I hope to hear that other candidates choose to use this system that attempts to level the playing field to include all.  Experience with similar systems in Maine and Arizona would indicate we will see more diversity in candidates.  Big-money connections should not be a requirement to serving us on City Council.

Don’t let a well-financed campaign derail a system that has been developed with grassroots support.  Voter-Owned Elections let council members win elections based on interaction with ordinary citizens and make decisions based entirely on their merit.

Carol Cushman
Overlook Resident