On IRV 1
5 to 20 Revolutionary Instant Runoffs In 1 Day, OR 1 Stupid Single Regressive French Runoff in 2 Months? Which is it going to be, Pueblo City?
Find out who our Mayor is on November 6, 2018, or on December 6? Or January 6, 2019? Or February 6? Or next November? Which is it going to be, Pueblo City? Hell, why even have a City government in the 1st place? Government isn't a necessary evil. If the people are good, governments are pure tyranny. If nobody wins a majority on November 6, let's just dissolve the whole goddamned thang, for goodness sake. For goodness sake, & for fuck's sake. For both the sake of goodness, & for the sake of fuck.
"Don't try to be a great man. Just try to be a man, & let society judge for itself." ~Star Trek
Weld & Pitkin Counties are Colorado's only 2 Home Rule counties. Yes. That's right. I said Home Rule COUNTIES! Not cities, but counties! There's 64 counties in the Marijuana Legalization Pioneer State, & 62 of them are Administrative Units of Denver, but not Pitkin & Weld Counties. They're their own nation-county. They ain't no bitches to the Statists in Denver & DC. Pitkin & Weld County are bitches to their own local Aspen & Greeley courthouses, respectively, instead.
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Johnathan Masters' $100 Prediction:
If Nick Gradisar's French Runoff proceeds as is, if there's no clear majority, the Top 2 candidates will end up being just 1 fkn establishment Democrat & 1 fkn establishment Republican for the 2nd Election, & nobody else, b/c that's the fkn point. Just like Gerrymandering. It's not fair, but there's a bipartisan consensus on war, gerrymandering, & cheating Americans out of the power of their votes with a rigged & unfair & undemocratic political system. Gradisar's French Runoff is unAmerican, is anti-troops, as well as being how the Federalists & Whigs retain their power. Ooops. I mean the other political parties who eventually replaced the Whigs & the Federalists.
Both Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) & Gradisar's French Runoff Voting are Runoff Elections. The only difference is that Instant Runoff Voting (aka Ranked Choice Voting) is a Runoff Election that's Instantaneous, hence it's name, Instant Runoff Voting. With IRV, Pueblo can have 1 Runoff Election, or 2, or 3, or 5 (or 10, or 14), all on the same day, computed all in a matter of seconds. There's no reason to have a 2nd $100,000+ low-turnout taxpayer-funded election, depriving the Puebloan soldiers of their right to vote in the "Home of Heroes", as Gradisar's French Runoff Election proposal calls for, when we can have multiple runoff elections in a single day.
IRV now. IRV tomorrow. IRV forever.
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Links to my 4 other writings of "The April Mayor's Forum":
http://pueblodotworld.blogspot.com/2018/04/theres-always-going-to-be-poor.html
http://pueblodotworld.blogspot.com/2018/04/cinco-de-mayo-forever.html
http://pueblodotworld.blogspot.com/2018/04/pueblo-has-had-over-20-mayors.html
http://pueblodotworld.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-april-pueblo-mayors-forum-4.html
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Cambridge, Massachusetts, the hometown of Havard University, has been using IRV since 1941 - the 1st year of Amerika's involvement in World War 2 - for their 9-person City Council & 6-person School Board, & they're still using it today in 2018. [Cambridge's City Council picks the Mayor amongst themselves]. Cambridge has been using Instant Runoff Voting for the last 77 years b/c IRV is vastly superior in every way than simple first-past-the-post winner-take-all elections. Both Masters & Gradisar both agree on that. Fuck simple majority elections! If you're trying to be so Pueblo, then your election better have a Runoff election, or you might as well just get the fuck on.
Minneapolis uses a Top 3 IRV system.
St. Paul uses a Top 6 IRV system.
Best Picture at the Academy Awards uses a Top 10 IRV System.
Telluride used a Top 3 IRV System in 2015.
Santa Fe used a Top 5 IRV system in March 2018.
Pueblo City now has 16 candidates running for her 1st Postmodern Mayor & Pueblo City is planning on having a Top 2 non-IRV "The French is better than Amerika" system.
IRV is so Amerikan. So is Amerikan. You ain't gonna sivilize me (Twain). Amerikan English is lazy (more efficient) & bastardized (more unique) Oxford English, which makes it vastly superior, & better in every way.
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Nick Gradisar claims that the people of Pueblo voted for his basic-bitch 1-only French runoff election. No, 18% of the Puebloan electorate did not. 10,660 voters in Pueblo City voted for Strong Mayor, 9,979 voted against it, 52% v. 48%, respectively. There were 488 undervotes, 6 overvotes, & 20,639 total votes that actually counted. There were 107,000 Puebloans in 2010. 10,660 voters, 52% of the electorate, but only 18% of the total voting population (52% of 35% is 18%), voted to completely overthrow the Strong City Manager, & to replace her with an even Stronger Mayor. That's tyranny of the minority. That's tyranny of the 18%. In November 2017, 10,660 voters dictated to 107,000 Puebloans how we're all supposed to live now. 10,660 is only 10% of the total population. That's tyranny of the minority. That's tyranny of the 10%.
Pueblo City has been tyrannized by the minority since 1870.
It's hard to know what the 18% collective of the Puebloan people who voted for Strong Mayor really thought they voted for. But we can ascertain, at the very least, they voted for a "Strong Mayor" - the idea of a "strong Mayor" - who is popularly elected, & that's it. The people of Pueblo would be happy with the fairest & best mechanism to achieve a fair campaign b/t the candidates in their selection process of a Strong Mayor. "Strong Mayor" specifically is 10 pages long, & makes 70+ Amendments to Pueblo's 1954 Charter, including giving immunity to all city employees (Section 6-4), giving the Aviation Department more freedom, & changing the Surety Bonds policy. [In spite of 70+ changes being made, I'm hearing that a new Mayor Charter, with all of the additions & corrections, isn't going to be printed up? Wtf? How in the hell is anybody supposed to know just what in the fuck is going on around here?]
Big Daddy Strange aka "Strong Mayor" promises to "provide for a special run-off election for the office of mayor if no candidate for the office receives a majority of the votes cast." http://www.pueblosmayor.com/ballot-language/
"The following within ARTICLE 17 shall be amended:
Section 17-2 shall be changed to read as follows:
Section 17-2. Municipal Elections - A general municipal election shall be held on the first Tuesday in November of each odd numbered year, except that the first Mayoral election shall be held as provided in Section 20-3. Special municipal elections shall be held in accord with the provisions of this Charter.
To be elected Mayor, a qualified candidate shall have received a majority of the votes cast for such office. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a special run-off election shall be held on the first Tuesday in the month following. If a run-off election is required, the two (2) persons with the highest number of votes cast for the office shall appear on the ballot as candidates.
**Notwithstanding, the Council, by ordinance, may designate an alternative method of run-off election.**"
Pueblo City Council can pass an Ordinance dictating whatever Electoral System they want.
Pueblo City Councilman Dennis Flores lied when he said that IRV doesn't produce majority-backed victors. "I'm totally against this ranked system," Councilman Dennis Flores declared his ignorance confidently & gallantly. "I only want the Democrats & the Republicans to have a place at the table, & the Greens, & Libertarians, & all other Independents can lick my poopy crusty butthole, & then they can go fuck themselves," a sarcastic & suggestive-as-hell quote was placed in a paragraph starting out with Dennis Flores, just after a Flores quote, in an obvious but failed attempt to insinuate him as the author of the potty-mouthed quote, which Dennis Flores wouldn't ever say, but Dennis Flores does, in fact, believe.
Dennis Flores is also making sure the interests of the 1%, & US Bank, is well-protected, so don't worry Pueblo City. US Bank will continue to make their quarterly profits off of our backs thanks to Dennis "I hate democracy & the troops" Flores.
Ex-President Steve Nawrocki & County Clerk Bo Ortiz are right on IRV. Nick Gradisar & 6 members of the 7-person City Council are wrong. Bessemer Councilman Ray Aguilera stands in splendid isolation in saying he wants more information about IRV. Aliff & Nicoll & Atencio & Brown & Flores & Schilling are all wrong, inherently wrong, absolutely wrong. Local career politician Bob Schilling thinks the people of Pueblo City are too stupid & retarded to understand IRV. Bob Schilling also repeated the Dennis Flores lie that somebody could get elected Mayor using IRV without a majority backing. The whole point of IRV is to guarantee a majority winner, not just a plurality, which is what Bob Schilling won his City Council seat on in the 2017 election, a mere 42% plurality, not a majority. Bob Schilling is a Republican. Both establishment Republicans & Democrats want Gradisar's French Runoff, & not IRV, b/c IRV is a system which is fair for Democrats, Republicans, Independents, everybody.
Bob Schilling won his City Council seat in a 3-way race in the November 2017 general election with a 42% plurality. Not even the majority of the voters in District 1 wanted Bob Schilling. 58% of the voters of District 1 voted for Michael Stapleton or Tommy Farrell, not Bob Schilling. 58% of District 1 voted against Bob Schilling. Bob Schilling doesn't even have a majority support out of the 35% or so of Pueblo City's electorate who decided to vote in November 2017, & there's no telling who the other 60%+ or so of the electorate in District 1 who didn't vote at all would have picked. Clearly, they weren't inspired to turnout to vote for anybody, including Schilling.
42% of 35% is 15%. Bob Schilling was able to get power again with only support from 15% of the Puebloan people in District 1, which is 2,046 individuals. Bob Schilling was able to manipulate only 2,046 Puebloans to vote for him, in a city with a population of over 107,000 souls, & now Schilling gets to be "1 of 7 City Council" elites whose opinion is frequently turned into local law. 15% is not a majority. Not at all. Not at all by a long moonshot.
50% + 1 is a majority. 15% is the amount of shittle in the mudtracks of Schilling's britches.
Sarah Conner from "Terminator 2" teaches us, that's there's no fate by what we make.
Since Michael Stapleton was in 3rd place with 1,239 votes, the Instant Runoff would have redistributed Stapleton's voters to either Tommy Farrell or Bob Schilling, depending on their #2 vote. It's possible that Stapleton & Farrell split the anti-Schilling vote, & that allowed Schilling to sneak in up the middle with only 15% of the electorate in his district supporting him. If IRV would have been used, then we would know for sure who the people of District 1 really wanted to be their councilman, instead, we're left with a Councilman with 42% support, at the most, 15% at the least, depending if you only count the electorate who voted, or the entire voting population. 42% or 15%... but definitely not 50% + 1. IRV could have likely ended Schilling's political career. No wonder he doesn't want to play fair. He likes winning with 15% of the population without far & wide & deep support. The question IRV would answer is "Who did Michael Stapleton voters pick as their #2 choice: Schilling or Farrell?" The spread between Schilling & Farrell was a mere 403 votes (Schilling's 2,046 minus Farrell's 1,613), which puts Stapleton's 1,239 votes into play. IRV would have guaranteed that District 1's candidate would have had far & wide & deep support amongst the voters. But the simple plurality "winner take all" "first past the post" "Presidential" election system didn't ask who has far & wide & deep support. It merely asks & answers "Who got the most votes?", even if 65% of Puebloans didn't vote, even if 58% of the active electorate voted for other candidates, or even if Schilling only received a minuscule 15% minority support from the general population, without considering anything else.
IRV works perfectly with 3 candidates. 42% of District 1 embraced Bob Schilling like he was their greatest politician who has ever lived. 42% of District 1 loudly & proudly shouted, "Vote for Bob Schilling, & disparage the other 2 candidates!" But IRV would have got both Schilling & Farrell to target Stapleton's #2 voters, & that would have forced a civil & adult conversation amongst the electorate. To win over Stapleton's Libertarians, both Schilling & Farrell would have to compliment Stapleton, & give a nod to Libertarianism, in order to hopefully get their 2nd choice votes... IF we had IRV, which we don't.
Dennis Flores won his City Council seat with 27% support, 9,356 votes out of 35,303 total voters. 73% of the voters of Pueblo City did not vote for Dennis Flores. Now Dennis Flores ran in an "at-large" "pick 2" election, which is another confusing election scheme with a confusing algorithm that doesn't make the best electoral strategy for regular average Joe Citizens obvious. While it's true that 73% of Pueblo City did not vote for Dennis Flores, in a "pick 2" election, even if all of the voters voted for Dennis AND if they voted for a 2nd choice, then at least 50% would have voted for somebody else. I think it's better to combine the Top 2 choices to see if they won over a majority support of the Puebloan people.
57% of the Puebloan people (20,018) did not want Mark or Dennis to be City Councilmen, which is why they voted for somebody else. The majority of the Puebloan people did not want Dennis or Mark to be their representative. Dennis Flores & Mark Aliff beat a field of 7 candidates to win their open seats on City Council in November 2017. Dennis received 9,356 votes (27%), & Mark received 5,929 votes (16%). While 15,285 Puebloans (43%) voted for both Mark & Dennis, 20,018 Puebloans (57%) voted for somebody else besides the 2 individuals who got their hands on Municipal/State power.
Dennis Flores preaches majority-voting, but he hypocritically gained power with a plurality (27% individually; 43% "Top 2"), and now he pretends like IRV falls short in the same manner, which it doesn't. At best, Dennis Flores is misinformed. At worst, Dennis Flores is purposely spreading disinformation for some sinister "protect the 2 party" propaganda ends.
Of course both establishment Republican Bob Schilling & establishment Democrat Dennis Flores would throw their political weight behind a failed & flawed electoral system that got them both elected, not by majority, but by mere plurality. If Dennis & Bob truly believed in a democratic system that guarantees a majority winner on principle, they'd give their power up, since they aren't majority winners themselves, & they'd both support IRV, which by definition, requires a majority victor.
If IRV was used in Pueblo's 2017 City Council election, Ieshia Jiron would have been eliminated, and those who voted for Jiron, now their votes would now go to their #2 choice. Even if a candidate didn't like Ieshia Jiron, they'd have to be cordial enough with them & their supporters, so that they could get her voters' #2 & #3 votes. That's how Jean Quan become Oakland's Mayor in 2010, by focusing on the #2 & #3 slots for other candidate's supporters. This also adds levity & increases civility in Amerika's increasingly hostile hay fever elections. IRV would have picked a majority candidate. Redistributing Jiron's votes would have been the 1st Runoff election. If a majority victor doesn't appear, then the process repeats: the next lowest vote-getter would be eliminated & their votes redistributed. Then rinse, repeat, until a majority victor is found. The whole point of IRV is to find a majority winner. Dennis & Bob are some ly'n, and/or stupid mf'ers...
Currently, 16 individuals have raised their hands to nominate themselves to be Superman Jesus Christ worthy enough of being Pueblo's 1st Postmodern Mayor. 2017's City Council race had 7 candidates, which diluted the pool down to a point to where 57% of the voters voted for somebody else. The Top 2 out of 16 candidates will receive even less support than 43%... Will the Top 2 candidates, out of 16, who are worthy of a French Runoff election even break 25% support? 25% is not 50% + 1.
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5 of 6 recent arrests in Pueblo City were for the War on Drugs, since this 47 year war has been working so well: https://www.chieftain.com/news/crime/crime-beat-arrests/article_96bde1ae-500e-11e8-b1fb-9ff8a6da3c42.html
"Supporting Jill Stein in 2016, & McKinney & Nader in the past, has put me out there in the open... Kissinger once said that every man fears the unknown... but that's where I dwell. On the edge, in the abyss, in no-mans land... why? Because change is inevitable & we must, or perish. If supporting Stein puts me in a lonely spot... fine. Obama once said, if u want something done, u have to do it urself. Too bad he was a neoliberal." ~Johnathan Masters, May 6, 2017
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Steve Nawrocki surprisingly even pointed out that Minneapolis has IRV, which he's right about. Nawrocki then pointed out that the Mayoral question would be resolved on Election Day, on November 6, 2018, with IRV, which Steve's also right about. Maybe it's Gradisar whose showing his ass, not Steve. https://www.chieftain.com/news/pueblo/pueblo-city-council-will-have-to-choose-process-for-mayor/article_93bd5ad2-9441-59b2-b14b-9142ca46d6aa.html
6 of 7 of Pueblo's City Council doesn't give a shit if the soldiers of Pueblo City, "the Home of Heroes", get their 45-day window needed to vote in the Runoff Election. Pueblo's City Council & their seeming de facto Mayor Gradisar want 1 election to happen on November 6, then another 1 on December 6, not giving the soldiers of Pueblo City enough time to get their new ballots, to study the candidates, & then to vote, & send the ballot back.
What state law is Bo Ortiz talking about?
Mr. Nick Gradisar questioned whether that 45-day mailing requirement was needed in municipal races. Even if it's not law law, it's a reasonable window for troops to get all of what they need to protect the democracy they're spreading across the globe. Does Gradisar think 45 days is too long for him to wait to make sure Pueblo City's soldiers get a chance to vote in his frog-eating French Runoff election?
Either way, the 1st Postmodern Mayor for Pueblo City is going to be sworn in on January 8, 2019.
Nick Gradisar is right that Pueblo City can, & should, run their own elections, but Pueblo City Council realized their incompetence when it comes to administering elections, so they rejected that huge responsibility, of conducting our own Municipal elections in our revolutionary "independent since 1870" Home Rule City.
Pueblo City Council can pass an Ordinance dictating whatever Electoral System they want to use for the Mayoral election, & Bo Ortiz has to do it... or does he?
Bo Ortiz is confident that we could administer IRV for Pueblo City's 1st Postmodern Mayor on Pueblo County's 1 ballot with no problem.
"Sixty four percent of Americans cannot afford a $1,000 emergency." ~Larry Hughes
Find out who our Mayor is on November 6, 2018, or on December 6? Or January 6, 2019? Or February 6? Or next November? Which is it going to be, Pueblo City? Hell, why even have a City government in the 1st place? Government isn't a necessary evil. If the people are good, governments are pure tyranny. If nobody wins a majority on November 6, let's just dissolve the whole goddamned thang, for goodness sake. For goodness sake, & for fuck's sake. For both the sake of goodness, & for the sake of fuck.
"Don't try to be a great man. Just try to be a man, & let society judge for itself." ~Star Trek
Weld & Pitkin Counties are Colorado's only 2 Home Rule counties. Yes. That's right. I said Home Rule COUNTIES! Not cities, but counties! There's 64 counties in the Marijuana Legalization Pioneer State, & 62 of them are Administrative Units of Denver, but not Pitkin & Weld Counties. They're their own nation-county. They ain't no bitches to the Statists in Denver & DC. Pitkin & Weld County are bitches to their own local Aspen & Greeley courthouses, respectively, instead.
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Johnathan Masters' $100 Prediction:
If Nick Gradisar's French Runoff proceeds as is, if there's no clear majority, the Top 2 candidates will end up being just 1 fkn establishment Democrat & 1 fkn establishment Republican for the 2nd Election, & nobody else, b/c that's the fkn point. Just like Gerrymandering. It's not fair, but there's a bipartisan consensus on war, gerrymandering, & cheating Americans out of the power of their votes with a rigged & unfair & undemocratic political system. Gradisar's French Runoff is unAmerican, is anti-troops, as well as being how the Federalists & Whigs retain their power. Ooops. I mean the other political parties who eventually replaced the Whigs & the Federalists.
Both Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) & Gradisar's French Runoff Voting are Runoff Elections. The only difference is that Instant Runoff Voting (aka Ranked Choice Voting) is a Runoff Election that's Instantaneous, hence it's name, Instant Runoff Voting. With IRV, Pueblo can have 1 Runoff Election, or 2, or 3, or 5 (or 10, or 14), all on the same day, computed all in a matter of seconds. There's no reason to have a 2nd $100,000+ low-turnout taxpayer-funded election, depriving the Puebloan soldiers of their right to vote in the "Home of Heroes", as Gradisar's French Runoff Election proposal calls for, when we can have multiple runoff elections in a single day.
IRV now. IRV tomorrow. IRV forever.
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Links to my 4 other writings of "The April Mayor's Forum":
http://pueblodotworld.blogspot.com/2018/04/theres-always-going-to-be-poor.html
http://pueblodotworld.blogspot.com/2018/04/cinco-de-mayo-forever.html
http://pueblodotworld.blogspot.com/2018/04/pueblo-has-had-over-20-mayors.html
http://pueblodotworld.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-april-pueblo-mayors-forum-4.html
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Cambridge, Massachusetts, the hometown of Havard University, has been using IRV since 1941 - the 1st year of Amerika's involvement in World War 2 - for their 9-person City Council & 6-person School Board, & they're still using it today in 2018. [Cambridge's City Council picks the Mayor amongst themselves]. Cambridge has been using Instant Runoff Voting for the last 77 years b/c IRV is vastly superior in every way than simple first-past-the-post winner-take-all elections. Both Masters & Gradisar both agree on that. Fuck simple majority elections! If you're trying to be so Pueblo, then your election better have a Runoff election, or you might as well just get the fuck on.
Minneapolis uses a Top 3 IRV system.
St. Paul uses a Top 6 IRV system.
Best Picture at the Academy Awards uses a Top 10 IRV System.
Telluride used a Top 3 IRV System in 2015.
Santa Fe used a Top 5 IRV system in March 2018.
Pueblo City now has 16 candidates running for her 1st Postmodern Mayor & Pueblo City is planning on having a Top 2 non-IRV "The French is better than Amerika" system.
IRV is so Amerikan. So is Amerikan. You ain't gonna sivilize me (Twain). Amerikan English is lazy (more efficient) & bastardized (more unique) Oxford English, which makes it vastly superior, & better in every way.
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Nick Gradisar claims that the people of Pueblo voted for his basic-bitch 1-only French runoff election. No, 18% of the Puebloan electorate did not. 10,660 voters in Pueblo City voted for Strong Mayor, 9,979 voted against it, 52% v. 48%, respectively. There were 488 undervotes, 6 overvotes, & 20,639 total votes that actually counted. There were 107,000 Puebloans in 2010. 10,660 voters, 52% of the electorate, but only 18% of the total voting population (52% of 35% is 18%), voted to completely overthrow the Strong City Manager, & to replace her with an even Stronger Mayor. That's tyranny of the minority. That's tyranny of the 18%. In November 2017, 10,660 voters dictated to 107,000 Puebloans how we're all supposed to live now. 10,660 is only 10% of the total population. That's tyranny of the minority. That's tyranny of the 10%.
Pueblo City has been tyrannized by the minority since 1870.
It's hard to know what the 18% collective of the Puebloan people who voted for Strong Mayor really thought they voted for. But we can ascertain, at the very least, they voted for a "Strong Mayor" - the idea of a "strong Mayor" - who is popularly elected, & that's it. The people of Pueblo would be happy with the fairest & best mechanism to achieve a fair campaign b/t the candidates in their selection process of a Strong Mayor. "Strong Mayor" specifically is 10 pages long, & makes 70+ Amendments to Pueblo's 1954 Charter, including giving immunity to all city employees (Section 6-4), giving the Aviation Department more freedom, & changing the Surety Bonds policy. [In spite of 70+ changes being made, I'm hearing that a new Mayor Charter, with all of the additions & corrections, isn't going to be printed up? Wtf? How in the hell is anybody supposed to know just what in the fuck is going on around here?]
Big Daddy Strange aka "Strong Mayor" promises to "provide for a special run-off election for the office of mayor if no candidate for the office receives a majority of the votes cast." http://www.pueblosmayor.com/ballot-language/
"The following within ARTICLE 17 shall be amended:
Section 17-2 shall be changed to read as follows:
Section 17-2. Municipal Elections - A general municipal election shall be held on the first Tuesday in November of each odd numbered year, except that the first Mayoral election shall be held as provided in Section 20-3. Special municipal elections shall be held in accord with the provisions of this Charter.
To be elected Mayor, a qualified candidate shall have received a majority of the votes cast for such office. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a special run-off election shall be held on the first Tuesday in the month following. If a run-off election is required, the two (2) persons with the highest number of votes cast for the office shall appear on the ballot as candidates.
**Notwithstanding, the Council, by ordinance, may designate an alternative method of run-off election.**"
Pueblo City Council can pass an Ordinance dictating whatever Electoral System they want.
Pueblo City Councilman Dennis Flores lied when he said that IRV doesn't produce majority-backed victors. "I'm totally against this ranked system," Councilman Dennis Flores declared his ignorance confidently & gallantly. "I only want the Democrats & the Republicans to have a place at the table, & the Greens, & Libertarians, & all other Independents can lick my poopy crusty butthole, & then they can go fuck themselves," a sarcastic & suggestive-as-hell quote was placed in a paragraph starting out with Dennis Flores, just after a Flores quote, in an obvious but failed attempt to insinuate him as the author of the potty-mouthed quote, which Dennis Flores wouldn't ever say, but Dennis Flores does, in fact, believe.
Dennis Flores is also making sure the interests of the 1%, & US Bank, is well-protected, so don't worry Pueblo City. US Bank will continue to make their quarterly profits off of our backs thanks to Dennis "I hate democracy & the troops" Flores.
Ex-President Steve Nawrocki & County Clerk Bo Ortiz are right on IRV. Nick Gradisar & 6 members of the 7-person City Council are wrong. Bessemer Councilman Ray Aguilera stands in splendid isolation in saying he wants more information about IRV. Aliff & Nicoll & Atencio & Brown & Flores & Schilling are all wrong, inherently wrong, absolutely wrong. Local career politician Bob Schilling thinks the people of Pueblo City are too stupid & retarded to understand IRV. Bob Schilling also repeated the Dennis Flores lie that somebody could get elected Mayor using IRV without a majority backing. The whole point of IRV is to guarantee a majority winner, not just a plurality, which is what Bob Schilling won his City Council seat on in the 2017 election, a mere 42% plurality, not a majority. Bob Schilling is a Republican. Both establishment Republicans & Democrats want Gradisar's French Runoff, & not IRV, b/c IRV is a system which is fair for Democrats, Republicans, Independents, everybody.
Bob Schilling won his City Council seat in a 3-way race in the November 2017 general election with a 42% plurality. Not even the majority of the voters in District 1 wanted Bob Schilling. 58% of the voters of District 1 voted for Michael Stapleton or Tommy Farrell, not Bob Schilling. 58% of District 1 voted against Bob Schilling. Bob Schilling doesn't even have a majority support out of the 35% or so of Pueblo City's electorate who decided to vote in November 2017, & there's no telling who the other 60%+ or so of the electorate in District 1 who didn't vote at all would have picked. Clearly, they weren't inspired to turnout to vote for anybody, including Schilling.
42% of 35% is 15%. Bob Schilling was able to get power again with only support from 15% of the Puebloan people in District 1, which is 2,046 individuals. Bob Schilling was able to manipulate only 2,046 Puebloans to vote for him, in a city with a population of over 107,000 souls, & now Schilling gets to be "1 of 7 City Council" elites whose opinion is frequently turned into local law. 15% is not a majority. Not at all. Not at all by a long moonshot.
50% + 1 is a majority. 15% is the amount of shittle in the mudtracks of Schilling's britches.
Sarah Conner from "Terminator 2" teaches us, that's there's no fate by what we make.
Since Michael Stapleton was in 3rd place with 1,239 votes, the Instant Runoff would have redistributed Stapleton's voters to either Tommy Farrell or Bob Schilling, depending on their #2 vote. It's possible that Stapleton & Farrell split the anti-Schilling vote, & that allowed Schilling to sneak in up the middle with only 15% of the electorate in his district supporting him. If IRV would have been used, then we would know for sure who the people of District 1 really wanted to be their councilman, instead, we're left with a Councilman with 42% support, at the most, 15% at the least, depending if you only count the electorate who voted, or the entire voting population. 42% or 15%... but definitely not 50% + 1. IRV could have likely ended Schilling's political career. No wonder he doesn't want to play fair. He likes winning with 15% of the population without far & wide & deep support. The question IRV would answer is "Who did Michael Stapleton voters pick as their #2 choice: Schilling or Farrell?" The spread between Schilling & Farrell was a mere 403 votes (Schilling's 2,046 minus Farrell's 1,613), which puts Stapleton's 1,239 votes into play. IRV would have guaranteed that District 1's candidate would have had far & wide & deep support amongst the voters. But the simple plurality "winner take all" "first past the post" "Presidential" election system didn't ask who has far & wide & deep support. It merely asks & answers "Who got the most votes?", even if 65% of Puebloans didn't vote, even if 58% of the active electorate voted for other candidates, or even if Schilling only received a minuscule 15% minority support from the general population, without considering anything else.
IRV works perfectly with 3 candidates. 42% of District 1 embraced Bob Schilling like he was their greatest politician who has ever lived. 42% of District 1 loudly & proudly shouted, "Vote for Bob Schilling, & disparage the other 2 candidates!" But IRV would have got both Schilling & Farrell to target Stapleton's #2 voters, & that would have forced a civil & adult conversation amongst the electorate. To win over Stapleton's Libertarians, both Schilling & Farrell would have to compliment Stapleton, & give a nod to Libertarianism, in order to hopefully get their 2nd choice votes... IF we had IRV, which we don't.
Dennis Flores won his City Council seat with 27% support, 9,356 votes out of 35,303 total voters. 73% of the voters of Pueblo City did not vote for Dennis Flores. Now Dennis Flores ran in an "at-large" "pick 2" election, which is another confusing election scheme with a confusing algorithm that doesn't make the best electoral strategy for regular average Joe Citizens obvious. While it's true that 73% of Pueblo City did not vote for Dennis Flores, in a "pick 2" election, even if all of the voters voted for Dennis AND if they voted for a 2nd choice, then at least 50% would have voted for somebody else. I think it's better to combine the Top 2 choices to see if they won over a majority support of the Puebloan people.
57% of the Puebloan people (20,018) did not want Mark or Dennis to be City Councilmen, which is why they voted for somebody else. The majority of the Puebloan people did not want Dennis or Mark to be their representative. Dennis Flores & Mark Aliff beat a field of 7 candidates to win their open seats on City Council in November 2017. Dennis received 9,356 votes (27%), & Mark received 5,929 votes (16%). While 15,285 Puebloans (43%) voted for both Mark & Dennis, 20,018 Puebloans (57%) voted for somebody else besides the 2 individuals who got their hands on Municipal/State power.
Dennis Flores preaches majority-voting, but he hypocritically gained power with a plurality (27% individually; 43% "Top 2"), and now he pretends like IRV falls short in the same manner, which it doesn't. At best, Dennis Flores is misinformed. At worst, Dennis Flores is purposely spreading disinformation for some sinister "protect the 2 party" propaganda ends.
Of course both establishment Republican Bob Schilling & establishment Democrat Dennis Flores would throw their political weight behind a failed & flawed electoral system that got them both elected, not by majority, but by mere plurality. If Dennis & Bob truly believed in a democratic system that guarantees a majority winner on principle, they'd give their power up, since they aren't majority winners themselves, & they'd both support IRV, which by definition, requires a majority victor.
If IRV was used in Pueblo's 2017 City Council election, Ieshia Jiron would have been eliminated, and those who voted for Jiron, now their votes would now go to their #2 choice. Even if a candidate didn't like Ieshia Jiron, they'd have to be cordial enough with them & their supporters, so that they could get her voters' #2 & #3 votes. That's how Jean Quan become Oakland's Mayor in 2010, by focusing on the #2 & #3 slots for other candidate's supporters. This also adds levity & increases civility in Amerika's increasingly hostile hay fever elections. IRV would have picked a majority candidate. Redistributing Jiron's votes would have been the 1st Runoff election. If a majority victor doesn't appear, then the process repeats: the next lowest vote-getter would be eliminated & their votes redistributed. Then rinse, repeat, until a majority victor is found. The whole point of IRV is to find a majority winner. Dennis & Bob are some ly'n, and/or stupid mf'ers...
Currently, 16 individuals have raised their hands to nominate themselves to be Superman Jesus Christ worthy enough of being Pueblo's 1st Postmodern Mayor. 2017's City Council race had 7 candidates, which diluted the pool down to a point to where 57% of the voters voted for somebody else. The Top 2 out of 16 candidates will receive even less support than 43%... Will the Top 2 candidates, out of 16, who are worthy of a French Runoff election even break 25% support? 25% is not 50% + 1.
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5 of 6 recent arrests in Pueblo City were for the War on Drugs, since this 47 year war has been working so well: https://www.chieftain.com/news/crime/crime-beat-arrests/article_96bde1ae-500e-11e8-b1fb-9ff8a6da3c42.html
"Supporting Jill Stein in 2016, & McKinney & Nader in the past, has put me out there in the open... Kissinger once said that every man fears the unknown... but that's where I dwell. On the edge, in the abyss, in no-mans land... why? Because change is inevitable & we must, or perish. If supporting Stein puts me in a lonely spot... fine. Obama once said, if u want something done, u have to do it urself. Too bad he was a neoliberal." ~Johnathan Masters, May 6, 2017
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Steve Nawrocki surprisingly even pointed out that Minneapolis has IRV, which he's right about. Nawrocki then pointed out that the Mayoral question would be resolved on Election Day, on November 6, 2018, with IRV, which Steve's also right about. Maybe it's Gradisar whose showing his ass, not Steve. https://www.chieftain.com/news/pueblo/pueblo-city-council-will-have-to-choose-process-for-mayor/article_93bd5ad2-9441-59b2-b14b-9142ca46d6aa.html
6 of 7 of Pueblo's City Council doesn't give a shit if the soldiers of Pueblo City, "the Home of Heroes", get their 45-day window needed to vote in the Runoff Election. Pueblo's City Council & their seeming de facto Mayor Gradisar want 1 election to happen on November 6, then another 1 on December 6, not giving the soldiers of Pueblo City enough time to get their new ballots, to study the candidates, & then to vote, & send the ballot back.
What state law is Bo Ortiz talking about?
Mr. Nick Gradisar questioned whether that 45-day mailing requirement was needed in municipal races. Even if it's not law law, it's a reasonable window for troops to get all of what they need to protect the democracy they're spreading across the globe. Does Gradisar think 45 days is too long for him to wait to make sure Pueblo City's soldiers get a chance to vote in his frog-eating French Runoff election?
Either way, the 1st Postmodern Mayor for Pueblo City is going to be sworn in on January 8, 2019.
Nick Gradisar is right that Pueblo City can, & should, run their own elections, but Pueblo City Council realized their incompetence when it comes to administering elections, so they rejected that huge responsibility, of conducting our own Municipal elections in our revolutionary "independent since 1870" Home Rule City.
Pueblo City Council can pass an Ordinance dictating whatever Electoral System they want to use for the Mayoral election, & Bo Ortiz has to do it... or does he?
Bo Ortiz is confident that we could administer IRV for Pueblo City's 1st Postmodern Mayor on Pueblo County's 1 ballot with no problem.
"Sixty four percent of Americans cannot afford a $1,000 emergency." ~Larry Hughes
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