I suspect most conservative types will oppose it if only because the progressives feel they'll get an electoral boost from it. In other words, the old us vs. them thing simply to be us vs. them.
Progressives only have one vaild point in regards P as far as I'm concerned; candidates would have a much easier time campaigning by ward as opposed to city wide. But, that affects all sides equally so I'm not sure how strong of a point that is.
My main feeling is if the system isn't broke, don't try and fix it. That, and alongside the conservative side, I suspect a ward system could create the same sort of gerrymandering we see on the state level, with progressives trying to rearrange ward boundaries to include an optimum percentage of Democrats to ensure victory- which may be what this whole push for P is about to begin with.
Good points Fred. Only thing I would add is that no Measure is going to cure apathy. People need to show up and vote and not just react and vote like they do locally without researching the person or talking to them.
The us vs them mentality is failing nationally and needs to fail locally so people pick the person, not the party.
I think that we should always be careful with the phrase, if it's not broke don't fix it. It may not be broken to us but it maybe broken to and for others. My life history and life situations bring me to a different view of the world than yours or anybody else. True Ward is about giving folks with less money and less name recognition a fighting chance. It would work just as our County Supervisors do. Yes,they have their specific area but truly must work for all of the county. To me there is no reason viable to say no except the fear of change.
I'm against P, but I'm curious what the conservative argument is against it. Would you know?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if there is a conservative argument against it as much as some are pro Measure P and others are against it.
ReplyDeleteI can only tell you my opinion and that I agree with your comments on it in a post you did a while back.
I suspect most conservative types will oppose it if only because the progressives feel they'll get an electoral boost from it. In other words, the old us vs. them thing simply to be us vs. them.
ReplyDeleteProgressives only have one vaild point in regards P as far as I'm concerned; candidates would have a much easier time campaigning by ward as opposed to city wide. But, that affects all sides equally so I'm not sure how strong of a point that is.
My main feeling is if the system isn't broke, don't try and fix it. That, and alongside the conservative side, I suspect a ward system could create the same sort of gerrymandering we see on the state level, with progressives trying to rearrange ward boundaries to include an optimum percentage of Democrats to ensure victory- which may be what this whole push for P is about to begin with.
Good points Fred. Only thing I would add is that no Measure is going to cure apathy. People need to show up and vote and not just react and vote like they do locally without researching the person or talking to them.
DeleteThe us vs them mentality is failing nationally and needs to fail locally so people pick the person, not the party.
I think that we should always be careful with the phrase, if it's not broke don't fix it. It may not be broken to us but it maybe broken to and for others. My life history and life situations bring me to a different view of the world than yours or anybody else. True Ward is about giving folks with less money and less name recognition a fighting chance. It would work just as our County Supervisors do. Yes,they have their specific area but truly must work for all of the county. To me there is no reason viable to say no except the fear of change.
Delete