[fvc-wat-announce] Where our Waterloo regional candidates stand on local proportional representation

[Anita Nickerson]

Dear Fair Vote Canada supporters in Waterloo Region,

*Monday October 27 are local elections. *

Although we are primarily focused on our 2015 Make Every Vote Count
<http://www.fairvote.ca> federal campaign, Fair Vote Canada supports
proportional representation at all levels of government. When you vote
municipally, provincially, or federally, your sincere vote should count,
and the results should reflect the diversity of how we voted.

As you may be aware, the Ontario government may be introducing legislation
to allow "ranked ballots" for local elections.

"Ranked ballots" are not a voting system. They are a tool that can be used
in a variety of proportional systems, or in winner-take-all systems. When
applied to a multi-member (where we are voting to elect more than one
person) election, such as the election for our Waterloo Regional Council,
this is called STV - Single Transferable Vote - a proportional electoral
system.

(When applied to a single winner election, ranked ballots are known as
"Instant Run-Off Voting", a winner-take-all system which replicates almost
all the problems of first-past-the-post. While FVC has no problem with
using run-off voting to elect a mayor, we do not support it for the
election of a representative body, such as a city council).

Currently, our Regional Council is elected by "block voting", which is like
first-past-the-post on steroids. Candidates representing a similar ideology
or point of view can easily sweep every seat, creating an unrepresentative
Regional Council.

Fair Vote Canada Waterloo sent the letter below (in red) to our Waterloo
Regional Council candidates, asking if they would support applying ranked
ballots to the election of Waterloo Regional Council - STV.

Find the responses we received in blue at the bottom of this email, or read
them here <http://www.fairvotewrc.ca/>.

We hope you will participate in our local elections on Monday and thank you
for supporting Fair Vote Canada.

Sincerely,

Sharon Sommerville, FVC Waterloo Region Co-chair
Anita Nickerson, FVC Action Coordinator

[image: 223121_10150577390340346_2359907_n.jpg]


October 21, 2014


Dear Regional Candidate,

Fair Vote Canada is a national, non-profit, grassroots citizens’ campaign
for the introduction of proportional voting systems at every level of
government. You can find out more at ww.fairvote.ca.

As you may have heard, the Ontario provincial government is preparing to
introduce legislation which would allow cities to choose the option of
using ranked ballots for their local elections.

When ranked ballots are applied to a multi-member election (rather than to
elect a single person), such as Waterloo Regional Council, this is known as
Single Transferable Vote (STV), a proportional electoral system.

Many cities around the world, from Europe to New Zealand, use STV. STV
makes most votes count, and helps voters elect a council which better
reflects how they voted and the rich diversity of the community.

STV is a proportional system that can be used with or without parties. Here
is a short video showing how STV can be used to elect a board. Our local
Grand River Car Share elects its board this way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLH_w5kHJpA

In practice, STV is easy for voters to use - they just rank their choices.

The benefits of proportional systems over winner-take-all systems is well
documented.

Our question to you, and to all regional candidates, is:

Would you support Waterloo Regional Council taking advantage of the new
legislation allowing ranked ballots to implement Single Transferable Vote
to elect Regional Council?

We will publish and share the results of this survey with our local
supporters before the municipal election.

Thank you in advance for your response, and we thank each of you for
running for Regional Council.

Sincerely,


Sharon Sommerville

Co-chair, Fair Vote Canada Waterloo Region


Anita Nickerson
Fair Vote Canada Action Coordinator

*Cameron Dearlove*

As a long-time supporter of more proportional electoral systems (and FVC),
I would be a big supporter of going to the STV system at the Regional
level.

I think that having the discussion around STV would be a great opportunity
to have a citizen-led discussion about how we elect our local governments,
and how we are represented. This has been a part of my platform since
before the recent discussion around STV popped up. You can read my ideas on
a citizen-led review here:
http://camerondearlove.ca/2014/10/07/voice-making-regional-government-work-30daysforabetterwr/

Thanks for the question and for your leadership on making our governments
more representative!

*Tom Galloway:*

"We will see how the final legislation looks but I would support a ranked
ballot system as it typically is defined. First past the post does not
always produce the result most might desire."

FVC followed up: "What do you mean 'as typically defined?'"

Tom: "I don't think I could support runoffs."

(We then explained that we support STV PR and not run-offs - and the
difference - and he responded "Anita, I am good with that.")


*Karen Redman*

I would support ranked ballots (STV) for Regional council elections.

*Sean Strickland*

Thanks for the letter. I am interested in and supportive of ways to
encourage more people to participate in democracy, especially local
elections. In principle I support a ranked ballot approach (STV) but would
need to learn more. I also think we should have interest voting, phone
voting, mail in ballots and elections running over 2 to 3 days to increased
turnout.

*Elizabeth Clarke*

Thanks for your email.  In answer to your question, I would certainly
support Waterloo Regional Council taking advantage of new legislation
allowing ranked ballots to implement Single Transferable Vote to elect
Regional Council.  I believe that such a change would increase civic
engagement generally, and would increase the engagement and thus the
representation of diverse groups in municipal decision making.

* Ed Korschewitz *

I'm in favour of any system that improves voter turnout and hence democracy.

* Karl Kiefer*
I believe that there are certainly some large challenges and issues
hampering our democracy with regard to voter turnouts and civic
engagement.  My son is in the process of applying to study for his phD in
political science and we often discuss ways in which we can meet these
challenges and quell voter apathy.  I believe that a multi-member electoral
system has the potential to have a positive impact on our democracy at the
local level.

However, like any other issue, I believe that the most prominent portion of
a policy decision should be informed with public opinion.  Therefore, if
there is a strong public appetite for this type of change in our region and
local communities then I will do my utmost to work with the folks at your
organization, the public, my colleagues at all levels of government and all
other stakeholders to make such changes a reality.

I also believe that a multi-member system could have possibly taken root
much earlier if it weren't for a lack-luster education and information
campaign that preceded a past provincial election referendum question
surrounding proportional representation.  Nonetheless, if elected, it would
be my duty to provide a platform for the voices of residents of Cambridge
and the Region of Waterloo, which includes participating in discussions
that are the core of how we make decisions.

Thanks again for reaching out and providing me with an opportunity to share
my opinion on this important issue.

*Gregory Burns*

Thanks for contacting me regarding the ranked ballot. I am always in favour
of re-evaluating how we do things, and never take the answer "because we
have always done it that way" as adequate.

Would I support Waterloo Regional Council taking advantage of the new
legislation allowing ranked ballots to implement Single Transferable Vote
to elect Regional Council?

If elected I would support implementing ranked ballots in all Regional
races. It allows our current democratic systems simply to be supplemented
to allow voters to truly vote regarding their preference without the fear
of splitting the vote. I have in fact been part of a movement within
engineering student groups to move all elections from simple
first-past-the-post to STV.

*Jane Mitchell*

Since I am always second on the ballot, and wouldn’t have my seat except
for this minor form of ranking,my answer is yes! But hopefully it won’t be
too confusing.

*Karen Scian*

 Absolutely - I believe that ranked ballots would be a great tool to
improve democratic representation in Waterloo Region.
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