[fvc-wat-disc] Sept 8: KPL presentation
haberlin at gmail.com
haberlin at gmail.com
Fri Jul 29 15:57:30 EDT 2016
Hi Bob,
Great on getting the KPL event underway. I am confident that any speaker on behalf of FPTP will be outshone by the brilliance and cogency of a FairVote presentation.
Perhaps we should ask Steven Wordworth to speak on behalf of the conservative position. That would at least attract a conservative element from the riding level. I am sure some conservatives are open to PR.
Sean B. Haberlin
91 Park St. Waterloo, ON N2L 1Y2
(ph) 519.576.9195 (cell) 519.572.1202
-----Original Message-----
From: fvc-wat-disc [mailto:fvc-wat-disc-bounces at listserv.thinkers.org] On Behalf Of Bob Jonkman
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2016 12:32 PM
To: FVC Waterloo Region Discussion <fvc-wat-disc at listserv.thinkers.org>
Subject: Re: [fvc-wat-disc] Sept 8: KPL presentation
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Fair Vote Canada has a mandate to promote Proportional Representation.
If FVC or one of the local chapters is to organize an event, it will be to promote Proportional Representation. If another organization wants a panel to give equal time to non-Proportional systems then FVC will participate to promote Proportional Representation, and that other organization can find other participants to voice other views.
This is not merely my opinion, but stated in the Chapter Agreement of Fair Vote Canada:
> At all times, the Chapter shall carry out activities which are
consistent with, and support the goals, objectives and activities of FVC and with the Articles, By‑laws and Policies of FVC, as they exist from time to time.
That's not just idle talk; Chapters have lost their Chapter status by promoting views contrary to the goals and objectives of FVC.
That said, I'm quite happy to have a FairvoteWRC event at KPL; I do think that our presentation gives a fair overview of non-proportional systems. If KPL staff have doubts they can review the presentation at http://www.fairvotewrc.ca/resources/presentation-make-every-vote-count/
And FairvoteWRC has hosted other events with speakers promoting Alternative Vote, such as the PR vs. AV panel discussion in April:
http://www.fairvotewrc.ca/proportional-representation-vs-alternative-vote-youtube/
I've just noticed that the Chapter Agreement policy document and others are not online; I'll work on putting them on the FairvoteWRC Web site later today.
- --Bob
(Co-chair, Fair Vote Waterloo Region Chapter)
On 07/29/16 03:18, Paul Nijjar wrote:
>
> (CCing to fvc-wat-disc. I do not know whether it will get through
> because I do not know if the mailing list has been configured to work
> with Yahoo. But I will try.)
>
> Okay, we are booked for a presentation at the Kitchener Public
> Library.
>
> I talked with the programming manager at the KPL over the phone today.
> She said that if I got a blurb to her by tomorrow then it could be
> included in the In Touch magazine. I just sent that blurb to her now
> (unfortunately in addition to being lazy my stomach started acting up
> this evening, and I have spent a lot of time lying low). Here is the
> blurb:
>
> ----
>
> Prime Minister Trudeau has promised to make "every vote count" in
> future elections, and the process of electoral reform is currently
> underway. Why might the current electoral system benefit from reform?
> What electoral reforms are being considered? What are their advantages
> and disadvantages? How is this electoral reform process structured?
> How can we participate in this process?
> Representatives from Fair Vote Canada will address these issues and
> take your questions.
>
> ----
>
> I also made a bunch of other promises and decisions that the Executive
> might not like. Here is a summary:
>
> - The event will be held at the central branch of the library on
> Thursday, Sept 8, from 7:00pm-8:30pm. (We also had the option of Sept
> 1 or Sept 22, and I may have made the wrong choice.)
>
> - We were originally booked for Meeting Room A, which holds 60 people.
> I implied that we could get over 60 people to the event, so we are
> rebooked for a bigger room (maybe the auditorium? It is not clear).
> Now we have to keep that promise. If only 20 people show up we will
> look pretty bad.
>
> - It sounds as if the KPL is more interested in a discussion of
> different electoral systems, as well as non-electoral system options
> including mandatory voting and electronic voting. However, we should
> still cover the electoral reform process (the committee, Monsef's five
> principles, etc)
>
> - This is a part that will be contentious: the KPL wants this
> presentation to lean towards impartiality, with an honest discussion
> of pros in cons. They are not interested in having us advocate for one
> electoral system in particular, because they do not want to come
> across as being partisan in this issue. I warned the KPL that FVC
> tends to be unkind to FPTP and AV, but promised that I would try to
> steer the direction of the presentation more towards public
> information (Here is what is happening! Here are our options! Here are
> the advantages and disadvantages of each!) and less towards
> sermonizing (Proportional Representation is amazing and you are a
> stupidhead if you don't support it!). I have not seen Byron's
> presentation in a while, but I think that it is reasonably close to
> something that will make the KPL happy.
>
> - The current format is looking like a 45-minute presentation followed
> by abundant Q&A. This format is not set in stone. In particular, if we
> wanted to put together a panel (with some representatives from Keep
> Voting Simple?) then that would be okay with the KPL too.
>
> Managing Q&A is going to be tricky, because events like this attract
> people who like to ramble instead of asking questions.
> Maybe written questions are the way to go?
>
> - The KPL can provide a projector. We will provide laptops and other
> equipment.
>
> - We are allowed to have a booth outside the presentation if we want.
> (The KPL told us they will not give us their registration list, but
> that's fine and we were not expecting that anyways.) I am guessing we
> could invite LeadNow and other groups (Keep Voting
> Simple?) to have booths as well, but I do not know for sure.
>
>
> Next Steps ----------
>
> - Figure out what format the presentation will take. It seems to me
> that Byron's presentation is adaptable if we use a presentation.
> If we want to put together a panel then FVC can be less even-handed,
> but the other panellists might be better at convincing people than we
> are.
>
> - Figure out who will present. My guess is that the natural choice is
> Byron or Sean, since they have done this presentation before.
> There might be other good presenters available as well. I am also open
> to doing the presenting in the worst case. (Really? I am too anxious
> to staff a booth but I can present to a big audience? I guess my ego
> is really that huge.)
>
> - Work towards getting a good turnout, especially amongst people who
> are not already voting nerds. KPL marketing will definitely help but
> we have work to do as well:
>
> + If FVC makes some tweets or Facebook posts, can the rest of us
> retweet/like/promote those items? (Sean says that Anita has a good
> social network, so maybe we can exploit that.) + Can we personally
> invite friends, family and enemies to attend the presentation? + We
> should let LeadNow know that this presentation is happening. I can
> probably email Sylvie if she is not already on this list. + We can let
> people know this is happening via the announcement list.
>
> I am sure there are other promotional ideas as well. We should not
> rest on our laurels about this.
>
> - We should not stop here. Having one prominent organization agree to
> host a talk is good leverage for convincing others. We should reach
> out to the libraries again. It would also be great to hit up service
> clubs (Rotarians, Lions Club), co-ops (we have had good success with
> housing co-ops in the past), church groups, and maybe even the
> remaining electoral district associations (even the Conservatives!).
>
>
>
>
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- --
- --
Bob Jonkman <bjonkman at sobac.com> Phone: +1-519-635-9413
SOBAC Microcomputer Services http://sobac.com/sobac/
Software --- Office & Business Automation --- Consulting
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