Instant Runoff Decision Upheld in Minneapolis

The challenge to a 2006 citizen vote to institute Instant Runnoff Voting in Minneapolis has been overturned. Hennepin County District Judge McGunnigle wrote, “The City of Minneapolis has an important interest in respecting the democratic process, and the citizens of Minneapolis democratically voted for IRV by referendum” and concluded that the plaintiffs “have failed to demonstrate that IRV is either unconstitutional or contrary to public policy."

FairVote Minnesota attorney James Dorsey said, “The plaintiffs argued everything from denial of equal protection and infringement of the right of association under both the federal and the state constitutions to claims of failure to comply with arcane requirements of the state's municipal election laws."

In use in more than a half dozen jurisdictions around the country, IRV is a tested system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference (1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, etc.), ensuring majority winners in single-winner races where there are more than two candidates on the ballot. IRV is seen as a major step to opening up the political dialogue to more diverse voices because voters feel greater permission to vote for an underdog candidate they prefer if they know their vote won't play against their preferred major party candidate.

Ralph Nader's 2008 Vice-Presidential running mate, Matt Gonzalez, made IRV a central part of their campaign platform this last year. Vermont Governor Howard Dean came out early in support of IRV, saying it solves a lot of problems, between the costs of a second election and the spoiler question.

Open the Debates: Clever Response from Nader Campaign on VP Debates

Here's an achingly funny romp through the CPD's Vice-Presidential Debate juxstaposed to responses from Ralph Nader's Independent running mate candidate, Matt Gonzalez.


While this rendering is a comical redux of the responses from candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, it does offer an opportunity for another voice to be considered during these debates. Matt Gonzalez, Vice Presidential running mate to Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader, provides his own responses to questions posed at the VP debate.

Independent VP Candidate Gonzalez Responds to Dem-Rep Debate

Independent Vice Presidential Running Mate to Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzalez responds to Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden's debate. Gonzalez emphasizes that the two war vested candidates do not offer the American people a pro-peace choice and that both parties are complicit in the economic crisis due to their failure to properly regulate the systems with which they were entrusted.

New IRV Video Explanation from FairVote

As a San Franciscan, I take great pride in being born in the small city of two leading spokespeople for IRV, Steven Hill and running mate to Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzalez.

Many municipalities have begun to employ IRV (Instant Runoff Voting) both for its democratic value, but also for its cost savings.

Here's a current list of where IRV is being used or considered:

IRV is used on the municipal, state, and national level in governments around the world, as well as by non-governmental organizations and corporations.

U.S. governments currently using IRV:

* Arkansas (overseas voters)
* Burlington, VT
* Cambridge, MA (Proportional voting method of choice voting)
* Cary, North Carolina
* Hendersonville, North Carolina
* Louisiana (overseas and military voters)
* North Carolina (certain judicial vacancies)
* San Francisco, CA
* Springfield, IL (overseas and military voters)
* South Carolina (overseas voters)
* Takoma Park, MD

Upcoming implementations in the United States:

* Aspen, CO
* Berkeley, CA
* Ferndale, MI
* Minneapolis, MN
* North Carolina (city and county pilot programs)
* Oakland, CA
* Pierce County, WA

Approved As Advisory or Option Measure in the United States:

* Davis, CA (Proportional voting method of choice voting)
* Santa Clara County, CA
* San Leandro, CA
* Vancouver, WA
* Sarasota, FL

*Ann Arbor (MI), New York (NY), and Yonkers (NY) have used IRV in the past.

Nader/Gonzalez Achieve Arizona Ballot Access

In McCain territory, Independent candidates Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez have snagged more than twice the number of signatures required to gain ballot access for their independent run.

In 2004, Nader gave up a ballot access lawsuit after DNC led attack subjected him to a series of lawsuits aimed at bankrupting his campaign and draining his human* resources.

For more on this story, read Richard Winger's piece on Ballot Access News.

You can also read a past post from polidoc: Nader's Lawsuit Against DNC Shows New Teeth"

Matt Gonzalez Campaigns From the Heart of San Francisco

from Polidoc on Vimeo.

Mother's Day Progressive Party with McKinney and Nader

Calendar Announcement:

Enjoy a progressive feast of events with third party candidates this Mother's Day. Both Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader and Green Party Candidate Cynthia McKinney will be speaking in the Bay Area, California on Sunday, May 11.


Nader/Gonzalez Events
More Info Call -(510) 914-8355 or events@votenader.org
$10 contribution/ $5 student/low-income (no one turned away)

Sunday May 11th 7pm
Ralph Nader & Matt Gonzalez Rally
Roxie Theater
3117 16th Street San Francisco, CA 94103

Monday May 12th 12pm
Ralph Nader & Matt Gonzalez Rally
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists
1924 Cedar St. (at Bonita) Berkeley, CA 94709

Monday May 12th 8pm
Ralph Nader & Matt Gonzalez Rally
Rio Theatre
1205 Soquel Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95062


McKinney Event

Sunday, May 11 2-5 PM
Anna's Jazz Island
2120 Allston Way, Berkeley, Ca 94704
(Just East of Shattuck Ave.)

Presidential Candidate, former congresswoman the Honorable Cynthia McKinney and District 1 School Board Candidate Tennessee Reed. Speakers will include Devorah Major, Cecil Brown Reginald Lockett, Ishmael Reed, Kim McMillon.

Amy Goodman, Democracy NOW! Covers Ground in Bay Area

Host of "Democracy NOW!" Amy Goodman has been touring Northern California for the last couple of days.

Today's show featured Nader's Vice-Presidential running mate Matt Gonzalez who had some comments on the CBS Democratic Debate held on Wednesday. He hopes that Nader will be allowed into the debates so that issues which are not currently addressed by the two major parties, like living wage, and election reform solutions like Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) would get some attention from the public. He expects that if people could hear Nader, many would be persuaded to consider him.

Also, Lawrence Lessig, law professor at Stanford comments on Net Neutrality and its significance to growing democracy in a corporate media world. He sees the trafficking influence of service providers as a threat to a system that has, until recently, spawned the development of democracy in other nations as well as our own.

Third Party Watch Gazes at the Green Party

This read from Third Party Watch is fascinating for its comments. Third Party Watch, a mostly, but not wholly Libertarian authored site, has been turning its eye to the Green Party lately. The author of this article will be a delegate to the party's convention in the summer.

Briefly, the story reports Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney's substantial win of Wisconsin delegates, with Ralph Nader, Kent Mesplay, Kat Swift and Jesse Johnson following.

To clarify some of the concerns of the readers and commenters, Ralph Nader is not seeking the Green Party nomination, according to many sources including the man himself. However, he would have sought it had Cynthia McKinney not committed to the run, says fomer Candidates and Campaign co-chair, Cat Woods; as late as January, some were unsure if McKinney would sustain her campaign.

There's little reason to expect that Nader will suddenly appear on the Green Party's Convention doorstep to wrest the nomination. For one, his running mate, Matt Gonzalez has stated point-blank that he has no intention of going. For another, (being frugal and frustrated) many of the Nader delegates who are from California and the East Coast have said that they will not be going to the convention. They find it difficult to justify the $1000 for travel/room and board expenses when they feel that their draft candidate was unrepresented on many state party's ballots. State officers on the other hand, feel that they only wanted to represent people on their ballots who had declared an intention to run which Nader did not do until late February. Some of the Nader delegates have branched off to support Nader's Independent run, while others, like early founding member, Howie Hawkins will support both Nader and McKinney campaigns to the degree possible - stopping at the polling booth.

In the meantime, Nader appears regularly in the press while McKinney has garnered a complimentary mainstream piece in Essence Magazine and a nice interview with Amy Goodman, Democracy NOW. Getting press is not all there is to campaigning, but being a household name is something any national politician must succeed in doing; something the lesser known grassroots candidates (Kent Mesplay, Jesse Johnson and Kat Swift) are learning to do.

Perhaps the parallel Progressive campaigns will bring new voters to the table for both the Green Party and for the newly forming parties sprouting up to support Nader's state-by-state ballot access campaign. However, it is more likely at this point that the campaigns will snag, not tear at the Democratic Party fabric.

Calendar Announcement: Matt Gonzalez on KALW

KALW, Pacifica Radio
Wednesday, April 2

Call In:
415-841-4134 (Bay Area)
866-798-TALK (Toll-Free)

Listen to the show online
Tune into KALW 91.7 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Program Note:

Why is Matt Gonzalez running for vice president? On the next Your Call we speak with the former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and current Independent Party running mate of Ralph Nader. Since leaving the Democratic Party in the middle of an election in 2000, Gonzalez has charted his own path through electoral politics. Why has he come back now, and what does he hope to accomplish? Is this a model for how you make peace with your idealism and your practicality? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Matt Gonzalez Shoulders Vice-Presidential Mantle for Nader's Campaign

In what will no doubt be a shake up amongst Greens, Ralph Nader has announced that Matt Gonzalez, a Green Party champion and lawyer, will run as Vice President on an independent ticket for the Presidency. For those who have speculated whether or not Nader would be seeking the Green Party nomination, this appointment of the well-regarded Gonzalez should make it clear. Come July, there will be a robust competition for the Green party nomination.

Gonzalez publicly renounced his affiliation with the Democratic Party in 2000 and joined the Green Party, egged by the stranglehold that the major parties had over the media during a political debate.

“ I couldn't help thinking of how most of my support in last year's district attorney's race came as a result of being allowed into televised debates with my better-known opponents and how that support has eventually led to my being the frontrunner in the District 5 supervisorial race.

The more I thought about it, the more I knew I wasn't OK with it. I didn't want to be a member of a party that was urging the exclusion of a candidate solely on the grounds that the candidate didn't have enough support, when it's precisely television coverage that could win that candidate public acceptance.

So if the Democratic Party is working so hard to squelch valuable debate, why should I remain a Democrat? I was already discouraged by Al Gore's pronouncements, during the presidential debates, in favor of the death penalty and his equivocation on gay marriage. As I reflected on this, I realized I had less in common with Feinstein's party than with Medea Benjamin's." (quoted from Wikpedia)

Anyone who enters the race with Ralph would have to anticipate that there will be an onslaught of Democratic led lawsuits badgering them along the way. Gonzalez, a civil rights lawyer, will be better prepared than most to handle the pressures that will be applied throughout the nation.

To hear some of Gonzalez' recent comments related to the Green Party, listen to this re-broadcast of January's Green Party debate in San Francisco, in which Matt adds perspective on the development and consequences of the party's campaign on the 2008 election.

Bay Area California Green Parties Host "A Debate that Matters"

Presidential Candidates vying for the Green Party nomination will debate on Sunday, January 13 at the beautiful Herbst Theater in San Francisco, CA from 2 pm - 4 pm.

Those in attendance include:

• Jared Ball
• Jesse Johnson
• Kent Mesplay
• Cynthia McKinney
• Kat Swift

Undeclared candidate Ralph Nader, who appears on the California ballot as well, will not participate in the debate, according to the most recent agreement, but will address the audience after the debate.

The debate will be moderated by Activist Cindy Sheehan and Bay Area Green Party members and office holders Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, School board member Mark Sanchez and former Supervisor Matt Gonzalez and On-Air personality Aimee Allison. Candidates will also address audience questions.

The debate, which was planned over this last month by Alameda and San Francisco County Green Parties, is very significant. It will be the only opportunity for these candidates to face off before Super Tuesday. Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney will be the major draw for the event. Greens are eager to hear the two leading candidates hammer at the issues that seem to escape the debates of the Democrats and Republicans. The Iraq War, Economic Justice and the Ecology will dominate the floor. Yet to be seen is how well will the the lesser known candidates appear against these two mighty contenders. They are each articulate and caring and informed in their own rights, but have only worked on local and state levels previously.

The short notice of the debate puts the less robustly financed candidates in a difficult position as they scramble to find a home at which to stay in the Bay Area. To not show up slices him/her out of a significant opportunity to get their message and name known on a national level. The debate will be videtaped and uploaded to YouTube and promoted on Green Party list-servs and websites.

Jared Ball of Washington D.C. returns to the Bay Area after having just campaigned in California in mid-December, despite the pressures of having a new baby at home and a professorial job. Jesse Johnson, who is challenging the West Virginia Election Board to get the Green Party on the ballot, was caught by surprise by the short notice; his delay in confirming his attendance resulted in his name not being included in on-air and print material. Kat Swift, the sixth candidate has made a sudden change as well and will be coming out.

Elaine Brown, activist and former Black Panther Party leader, removed herself from the race two weeks ago.

The video will be available several days after the debate. KPFA will be broadcasting the debate. Democracy Now and Polidoc Productions will be working together to create an archival video of the event.