Let's Democratize City Hall

​

A vibrant democracy is vital to engaging the energies and creativity of all of us to solve the issues we face. We need to reduce the influence of money in politics and make changes to assure broader, more diverse representation from our communities.

 

Elect a Larger Council by Districts

​

Let's elect the city council through districts instead of city-wide so that all parts of the city are represented, and let's increase the number of councilors to ensure greater diversity on the council.

 

Elect Councilors by Majority Vote

​

Currently, our choose-only-one voting system often results in two candidates going onto the general election with less than a majority of the vote. Vote splitting means majority support can be split among similar candidates, allowing minority supported candidates to get more votes and win. For example, in the Position #2 race, it's possible for two candidates to win the Primary with only 6% of the vote each! That's not democratic, and we can do better. It's time we make sure every vote is counted in determining election outcomes. 

 

It's a poorly designed system when voters can't simply vote for the candidate who best represents them on the issues, but instead have to pay attention to who has the most money, endorsements, and press. Many countries use a more expressive ballot to fix that problem, and we can too. I've endorsed STAR Voting as the best preference voting system because it eliminates vote splitting and assures a majority-preferred winner. It also reduces the influence of money in elections! Read more about STAR Voting below. 

 

Professionalize City Bureaus

​

We need to move beyond the old commission form of government, where commissioners oversee city bureaus. Currently, Commissioners oversee one or more city bureaus, but they often aren't qualified to do a good job. We shouldn't be creating turf battles over bureau budgets at the expense of rational policy-making and representing the interests of everyday Portlanders.

 

STAR VOTING - More Fair & More Democratic

​

STAR stands for "Score Then Automatic Runoff." It is a preference voting system that improves upon Rank Choice/Instant Runoff Voting by fully eliminating the spoiler effect (vote splitting) and assuring a majority-preferred winner. It allows you to vote your conscience because if your first choice candidate can't win, your second or third choice still gets your vote.

 

How it Works

​

During voting, you score as many candidates as you want from zero to 5 stars. Then the scores of each candidate are added up and the two highest-scoring candidates go to an automatic runoff. Whichever candidate you rated higher gets your vote! 

 

STAR saves money, produces more expressive results (shows how much each candidate is supported by all voters), eliminates vote splitting, and is the most effective voting system for determining a winner that represents the majority of voters. STAR Voting is currently being used by the Independent Party of Oregon for statewide races and has gathered enough signatures to be on the ballot for municipal elections in Eugene. Learn more at STARvoting.us