The San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers in California are reporting that former Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado has ended his campaign for Governor of California. The Chronicle reports:
The departure of former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado from the California governor’s race Thursday leaves Republicans with two stark choices: 0ne candidate who wants to build a fence on the border with Mexico and the other who supports same-sex marriage and abortion rights and voted for Barack Obama in 2008. source: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Abel-Maldonado-pulls-out-of-governor-s-race-5149334.php
The report notes that Abel Maldonado “couldn’t raise money and had alienated the GOP base by supporting a tax hike in 2009 while a state senator.”
This is important news for alternative party voters in California because as a State Senator, Abel Maldonado traded his vote for a tax hike to get Democrats to put the Top Two election system on the ballot as a referendum.
Most Hispanic voters in California are registered Democrats, and Sen. Maldonado, a Republican, hoped to get support from Hispanic Democrats for a state-wide run. He saw the Top Two primary system as his best bet.
In 2009 Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Sen. Maldonado as Lt Governor. In 2010, running for re-election on the Republican ticket, Maldonado went down to defeat, receiving less than 39% of the vote. Dr Pamela Brown received 575,000 votes on the Libertarian ticket, nearly 6%, many from Republicans who opposed Maldonado’s vote in favor of raising taxes.
source: http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=396114
Ending his campaign for Governor marks his fourth loss since 2006, and all supporters of alternative parties can rejoice.
Hmm, look like EW’s statement “That you make false statements exposes the weakness of your argument. Please cease making false statements.” falls back on him/her.
This is directed to Electoral Watch. Independent candidates and minor party candidates are different things. I have not made any false statements.
No, since no one can actually get elected and put in office in the primary. Therefore it is not an election at all. Just like qualifying rounds are not olympic games.
I’ve removed the “Not Tiffany” spam. It is probably automated spam that somehow eluded the spam filter. Or maybe Ogle violating IPR rules again. Either way it is spam.
Since it was spam I erased it permanently, and marked it as spam (rather than trash) to help any further spam from the same spammer go directly into the spam folder without having to be manually removed first. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the blacklist, so this will not necessarily work. Please remove any further spam from this spamming spammer if it spams agan while I am not here.
Since the spam has been removed I am putting comments discussing the spam in trash. These are not being permanently removed and may be restored by other IPR writers.
Please do not discuss this spam/spammer/spamming further.
Parties should nominate by convention or self-funded primary. End government-funded or government-administered primaries. Have one election with one representative chosen by each qualified party (with a very extremely easy standard to become a qualified party) and as many independents that want to run and can meet an extremely easy test. If there is a second round it should be a runoff, but only if the first round can elect a candidate all by itself. Since general elections have traditionally been in November, the first (or only) round should be then. Independents should be labelled with that exact label.
Bullshit. In a field with dozens of people claiming labels to which their views have little or no relation only the estabishment players get to advance due to their vast advantages in money and organization. It’s not exactly a secret that this is the real reason why the big money behind top two is fundin this evil and dangerous competition-killing scheme. Knowing full well that their efforts will die an early death in the primary non-election (it doesn’t elect anyone so it is not an election at all) before hardly anyone hears of them, non-establishmentarians for the most part don’t even file to run at all. And of course it is not a secret that this is the exact purpose of top two. Many establishmentarians have openly bragged about it.
Exactly
Exactly
@Winger — You claimed: ” There have been 85 minor party candidates for federal or state office in a top-two state, in which there were also at least two major party candidates running for the same office. In all 85 instances, the minor party candidate failed to place first or second.”
No qualifiers re dates there. That is false statement — cf Richard & Brown. That you make false statements exposes the weakness of your argument. Please cease making false statements.
I’ve never denied there are two independents in the Louisiana legislature. I made a comment about the 2012 election; those two independents weren’t elected in 2012, but in 2011.
@ Winger — There are currently two independents in the Louisiana legislature.
Dee Richard placed first in his 2007 primary with 41%, and then defeated the second-place Democrat in the runoff. (And was handily relected in a two-way primary in 2011 vs a Republican.)
Terry Brown placed second in his 2011 primary, and then defeated the incumbent Republican in a top-two runoff.
Okay. It will probably happen tomorrow evening.
Jill if you wish you have my okay to do so, but please fix the “m” in Memorial Day.
The Top Two is essentially having two general elections, one the primary and the other the general. Turnout is lower in the primary, so people don’t start looking at issues and candidates until the general. So in states like Montana that will be voting on a top two primary, the Republicans just want to eliminate the competition from the general election. Voters will not like their choices when two Republicans or two Democrats run against each others. And if people don’t vote because of the choices, then the winner may well be elected with less then 50% of the vote. Top Two supporters like to point out that under top two, winning candidates will have 50% of the vote.
I’d like to put it up as an article here, if you don’t mind, Michael.
Thanks Jill. One interesting thing I noticed is that I have spelled Memorial in # 14 with a lower case “m”. That tells me how well I proof read. That is quite possibly the oldest part of the list which I started putting together back in 1990 or about that time.
Michael, May I use your article in my newsletters? These are really positive constructive ideas.
Excellent list, Michael.
Maybe this will help. It is a to do list I have put together for people who wish to run for office and a comment about the LP.
Candidate Support: the Libertarian Party needs to step up and provide more support to its candidates than it has done. This means helping to develop issues, providing volunteers to work with the candidates and fund raising for the candidate. Given the rules the LPWA may find it difficult to give to the candidate but at least it should work with the membership to fund campaigns. Campaigns need to be seen as win/win situations. The candidates are getting our message out so it is important that we help them. Take the lead and extend a helping hand.
Recruit candidates: Don’t hesitate to ask. That is the first step in recruiting candidates
1. Public Speaking: Most of us have some difficulty getting up in public and speaking so don’t feel like you are all alone. You’re not! To learn about public speaking look up your local Toastmaster Club. You’ll find them in the phone book and on the internet. You might also sign up for a course at your local community college and many times these courses won’t cost much at all.
2. Start planning a year or more in advance.
3. Read your community news paper and not just their web site. Get the dead tree version!
4. Find an organization such as meals on Wheels and volunteer. This will look good on your political resume but even more important it will expose you to some of the most desperate, people in your community, those who are shut in. And that is a learning experience that you will benefit from if you win office.
5. You should also look at volunteering for the community planning commission and joining the Rotary Club or something similar and trying to get elected to a position in that organization.
6. Know the responsibilities of the office you are seeking.
7. Select a geographically defined office if at all possible.
8. Ask for advice. There are plenty of people who have run for office and who have gained significant experience in doing so.
9. Develop a budget
10. Know the rules and regulations for reporting campaign donations and expenditures. This cannot be emphasized enough. Know the rules and don’t get fined.
11. Fund raising is a must. Ask for help and read some basic information on how to do this.
12. Printing/copy shops – shop around for the best price. Get at least three quotes if not five.
13. Yard sign printers or DIY info; same here get quotes and shop the job around.
14. Plan to walk the district; start early. Right after memorial Day is a good time to get started, if not before.
15. Develop the issues; don’t overwhelm the voters just three to five issues will do. Three is best.
16. Design a web site, door hangers, brochures and yard signs. Yahoo has an inexpensive and easy to use web site feature.
17. Order business cards
18. Thank you cards for: Send thank you cards to all contributors, yard sign volunteers, reporters for interviews, and general volunteers.
19. Get names of volunteers
20. Get a map of the district
21. Get precinct map
22. Get a voter registration list
23. Get the names of the Super Voters; these are the ones who make a habit of voting all most every election
24. Get LP membership list
25. Get voter lists walking route; the post office used to have walking maps the route carriers used. Sometimes the local election office has these. ASK!
26. Get Direct mail information; you can send material cheaper by standard mail. Do not use the LP bulk mail permit. It is not permitted by the post office and the state party could be fined.
27. Develop a media list; news papers, even the weekly ones, radio stations, television stations local blogs, etc.
28. Learn how to write a media release. It is not a press release. It is a news release or media release.
29. Find out if there is a member of the media living in the district. If so make sure they get many more early morning literature drops and along with the surrounding block then the average voter. That generates interest.
30. And when it is all over if you have any funds left contribute them to a charity. I did this once with three dollars and change and it was mentioned in the local paper. Good P.R. for not much money.
Richard I love your news letter. My brother in law love the stamps but I am going to disagree on this one. I ran for office three times in the 80s. Twice for City Council and once for state representative when we were living in Boise, Idaho. That was a learning experience. I don’t recall the results but what I do recall is that I did fairly well in the 1986 race, I think it was, for State Rep. Based on those results the national office decided to toss a fair amount of money into a race the next election that someone else was running for State rep. That didn’t work out too well and the one thing I have taken away from these experiences is that we do not plan. That is a generality. There are some candidates who seem to have developed a plan before they toss their hat into the ring but for the most part I don’t see that happening. And for some reason Libertarians have a hard time getting out and walking the district. I am in Washington and I just have to shake my head because I don’t see people putting any planning into their campaigns. I shake my head because you don’t want to see an old man cry.
If we could get a couple of campaigns were there was a big effort put in and then we failed, well I might be convinced to change my opinion. Thank you.
Louisiana’s top two is more of an open election with a chance of a runoff. I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with California & Washington if they used the Louisiana model, but it’s not ideal.
The data contradicts you. Louisiana has been using top-two starting in 1975. Washington state has been using it since 2008. California has been using it since 2011. There have been 85 minor party candidates for federal or state office in a top-two state, in which there were also at least two major party candidates running for the same office. In all 85 instances, the minor party candidate failed to place first or second.
In November 2012, 25 minor party or independent candidates were elected around the country to federal or state office. None of the 25 was from a top-two state.
Jesse Ventura would not have been elected if Minnesota had used top-two in 1998. Ventura only got 3% in the mid-September 1998 open primary (anyone could vote for Ventura in the secrecy of the voting booth in that primary, if they chose to vote in the Reform Party primary). Voters aren’t interested in minor party candidates until after they know who the major parties are running.
Audie Bock would not have been elected as a Green to the California legislature in 1999 if California had used top-two then. She only got 8.5% in the blanket primary, placing third, but she won the general election.
Personally I want to do away with the entire money wasting primary system. Now if anyone has a solution I’ll be glad to listen.
However, Antirevolutionary does have a point. Libertarians need to try developing a plan just once. Raising some money and buying lots of shoes, getting of their asses and going door to door with some decent material. By decent I mean nonoffensive and with realistic solutions to real problems and not vague generalities. And start early! Dammit!
Top Two is very beneficial to independents, or third parties who can motivate their voters to come out for the primary. If such people managed to come in second place, they will then be running against only one Major Party opponent. Several Democratic incumbents were defeated last election by people claiming to be independents. It’s true that they weren’t, but a real independent is more likely to win by coming in second place in a Top Two primary and thus cutting out all but one of his competetors, than to win in a FPTP system where he/she must overcome Wasted Vote syndrome.
I hang out here because I am interested in fringe movements.
rank choice voting instead of a system designed to kill the small competition.
Ar: if you were instrumental at getting Top two passes, a fact that you’re proud of, what the hell are you doing hanging out on a third party website? YOU are the enemy.
Ar: your explanation just doesn’t make sense to me. How does Top Two prevent people from voting against someone? Also, it’s odd that you’re telling me I should be angry at people who won’t accept libertarianism. So, the state enacts legislation which makes it unlikely that Libertarians will ever gain power but I’m not supposed to be upset by that? Those two realities are not an either- or- situation.
I am a California resident but not a libertarian. Admittedly California is not a state where Top Two is most needed; that would be Maine where left-wing votes have been split between Democrats and independents at least once. I support Top Two based on the assumption that most people do not necessarily vote in favor of a candidate; rather, they vote against the candidate whom they least support. I see the June primaries as the first round of the general election, much like the first round of the French presidential election. One good reform might be moving the primaries from June to September. Libertarians could take second place in a Top Two primary quite easily if they could get more than the average amount of their supporters to turn out. Your anger at Top Two is misplaced, as you should really be angry at the vast majority of citizens who still refuse to accept libertarianism, now matter how it is packaged or what election laws are. I do agree that Democrats need to be more friendly to small businesses.
I hope you’re right, Richard, but I fear you are not.
@ Jan 18 12:51 PM: THey have a choice between an Obama supporter and a fellow who wants a border wall, or so I have read.
I think antirevolutionary is making fun of top-two supporters and his comment is a spoof.
On the bright side, Top Two and California ballot access laws have given CA Republicans a choice between two dreadful from their perspective candidates.
antirevolutionary == antichoice
It leads one to suspect that antirevolutionary thinks having 2 candidates in the primary is one to many, Confusion that the average voter just cant handle.
Antirevolutionary, can you explain to those of us in California who have worked for years to move the LP forward, how you can possibly be proud that you helped the travesty of Proposition 14 to occur? You still act like it’s a good thing: are you crazy???
Are you even a resident of California, already one of the most economically challenged states in the country?
Thanks for helping to lock in the Democrats who continue the downward suppression of small business in this state, which eliminates jobs.
Top two has meant that voters in a heavily Democratic DIstrict got to choose between the top two…who were both Republicans.
Top Two is a political scam designed to protect incumbents and ensure only Democrats and Republicans reach the general election. The people should never have only two choices on a general election ballot by rule.
Anyone in the independent political circles that support Top Two are dupes or plants.
The day Abel Maldonado withdrew, he had an interview with a San Francisco Chronicle reporter, Carla Marinucci. He said he is most proud of Prop. 14, as he looks back on his political career. Then he said, before Prop. 14 came along, independent voters “had to ask permission” to vote in a major party primary. That is a factual error and he knows it, because when I debated him on KQED radio in May 2010, I showed him the big cardboard sign that is on the table at the polling place that tells independent voters they can vote in a Dem or Rep primary if they wish. We polling place officials had instructions to point this out to every independent. I also showed him the Secretary of State’s director, ordering all this. He seemed very interested to learn this, but either he forgot, or he deliberately told an untruth to Carla Marinucci.
Mr. Abel Maldonado is one of the last remaining true statesmen of American politics. I hope he will work for true election integrity by campaigning for Top Two primaries all across the nation. Whatever he does I wish him the best, and meanwhile Jerry Brown will continue his fantastic work as governor of California. Top Two primaries allows the most active voters to have a greater impact in the election through the June primary, and narrow down the choices for less civic-minded citizens who only vote in November, thus proving themselves undeserving of more than two choices, and eliminating spoilerism and wasted votes.
It couldn’t happen to a more deserving scoundrel.
He sacrificed the integrity of elections in CA for his own personal political ambitions? Shocker.