Subject: Re: [EL] problem with winning strategy in IRV elections
From: Larry Levine
Date: 11/12/2010, 11:44 AM
To: Justin Levitt <Justin.Levitt@lls.edu>, "election-law@mailman.lls.edu" <election-law@mailman.lls.edu>

There was a time when the L.A. Times has a staff of political reporters and would cover legislative campaigns as breaking news, with reporters attending candidates debates and reporting regularly on what was being said. If a candidate was contradicting himself or herself there would be news coverage of it. As political staffs shrank and all but vanished, so did coverage of local elections - state and federal legislative races, city council races, etc. Concurrent with that was the increase in "negative" political mail because there was no one left to watchdog the process and hold candidates accountable.
Larry
----- Original Message -----
From: Justin Levitt
To: election-law@mailman.lls.edu
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 10:10 AM
Subject: Re: [EL] problem with winning strategy in IRV elections

I was under the impression that political spending by entities independent of candidates had been growing rather substantially in this era.  :)

Justin

On 11/12/2010 9:17 AM, Douglas Johnson wrote:

At the risk of re-opening an earlier discussion that some probably wish stay closed, I would point out that the strategy to "Concentrate on Being the 2nd or 3rd Choice" means "Don't say anything negative or revealing about your opponents" -- and that lack of information for the voters is how a jurisdiction (even one as large as San Francisco) ends up with electing someone who claims to reside in a vacant building and who, upon taking office, immediately starts committing extortion.

Voters may say they dislike "negative campaigns," but in this era if the other candidates (and their campaign teams) are not checking up on their opponents, who will?

- Doug

Douglas Johnson

Fellow

Rose Institute of State and Local Government

Claremont McKenna College

o 909-621-8159

m 310-200-2058

douglas.johnson@cmc.edu

www.RoseReport.org

From: election-law-bounces@mailman.lls.edu [mailto:election-law-bounces@mailman.lls.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Hasen
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 5:47 AM
To: Election Law
Subject: [EL] Electionlawblog news and commentary 11/12/10

"The Winning Strategy in Oakland: Concentrate on Being 2nd or 3rd Choice"

See this report from "The Bay Citizen" (as reprinted in the NY Times Bay area edition). More on the Oakland race from Fairvote (and here).

Posted by Rick Hasen at 05:37 AM 


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-- 
Justin Levitt
Associate Professor of Law
Loyola Law School | Los Angeles
919 Albany St.
Los Angeles, CA  90015
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