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Statement on Tuesday's California Primary
A lot to say today after yesterday's election . . . .
The San Francisco Chronicle ran this headline across their front page
today: 'Top 2' Shakes up State.
It's a little hard to believe that in April of 2010, I sat in a meeting with
their editors and then Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado to pitch them on
endorsing the "Top 2" open primary (Proposition 14). They did and
their article today begins, "The potentially dramatic effects of two landmark
ballot measures approved by California voters in recent years began to emerge
Tuesday with a primary election that could lead to shifts in the state's
legislative profile in Sacramento and Washington."
Congratulations again to the voters who supported the Top Two Open Primary
and Redistricting Reform measures in past elections. Yesterday's vote showed
what removing party control over the elections can do. We had a primary
process that was about selecting the best leader to move California forward,
rather than who was the best partisan to fight for their party.
Yesterday five independent ("No Party Preference") candidates running for the
California Legislature placed in the "top two" of their respective races and will
advance to the general election to face an incumbent. Top Two Open
Primary champion Abel Maldonado (R) will also advance.
While the political parties are too entrenched for independents to change the
outcome of elections more dramatically then that, we are impacting on the
process as the Chronicle headline attests.
In the past, districts that heavily favored one major party over the other would
be decided in the dominant party's primary, making the general election
meaningless. This year many of those districts feature races between two
candidates of the same party, or against an independent candidate. This
ensures that in November, all the candidates will have to work harder
for the independent vote.
Take the 15th Congressional District. Over 58% of voters chose a candidate
other than Pete Stark (D), a 40-year incumbent and the longest tenured
elected official in the state. Stark won by a narrower-then-predicted margin of
42% to 36%. The other 22% (which the Chronicle doesn't spell out) went to
an independent candidate who did not advance but, in this new "top two"
environment, is clearly holding cards with the power of his endorsement along
with the voters who backed him.
I want to send a special congratulations to Abel Maldonado on his win
in the 24th Congressional District last night. Abel took on both political
parties by putting the open primary on the ballot. We were proud to fight with
him for open primaries, and we were proud to endorse him for Congress.
Maldonado represents the kind of non-partisan leadership America needs.
We're excited to bring that message to every independent in his district again
in the general election.
I also want to congratulate independent Linda Parks, who IndependentVoice.
Org endorsed in the 26th Congressional District and who polled 18.5% of the
vote to place third. Democrat Stacey Lawson (D - 2nd CD) who we also
endorsed, finished fourth in her contest with 10.1% of the vote. We were
proud to support them both and look forward to building on those
relationships. (full endorsement press release>)
Finally, this was the first election where forces of the independent movement
(IndependentVoice.Org, Independent Voter Network, icPurple.org) became
directly involved in State Legislative and Congressional Races. While our
approaches were different, we sought to push the agenda embraced by
independent voters: that partisanship has broken our government and the
only way forward is fundamental political reform.
While the results were impressive for our first go around, they also
show the challenges ahead. If we are to emerge as a "third force" (rather
than a third party) in California politics, we must make the long-term
investment in building our base at the grassroots. IndependentVoice.Org and
our national organization IndependentVoting.Org remain committed to that
goal. I invite all of our partners in this election and those who share in those
ideals to join with us.
I'm proud to be doing this work with all of you.
Ready for Round 2?
:-)
Jason Olson
Director
IndependentVoice.Org
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