[fvc-wat-disc] The Record: Waterloo rejects online voting, ranked ballot (21 Nov 2016)

[Kevin Smith]

The lower tier municipalities are Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge,
Wellesley, Wilmot, Woolwich, and North Dumfries (so 8 including the region).

The breakaway hamlet of Dire Straits was formed in 1981, and didn't last
long.

Just curious -- where is South Dumfries?

Kevin.

On Nov 22, 2016 1:44 PM, "Bob Jonkman" <bjonkman at sobac.com> wrote:

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(moving this to the Discussion List)

Eleanor Grant wrote:
> Let's hope municipal ranked ballots will be discussed again next
> election cycle.

That's only likely to happen if we mount a vigorous campaign to
pressure the six (seven?) municipal + regional councils to adopt a
ranked ballot, but only for mayor. Councillors should be elected in
multi-member wards using a ranked ballot and STV, but that requires
re-districting ward boundaries (or eliminating them), and that's
likely to be met with great resistance.

As it is, I expect the Ontario provincial election to take place in
June 2018 (that's not official yet), and the Ontario municipal
elections in October 2018. Since we're all likely to be busy for the
provincial election, that leaves only three months between June and
October to work on municipal election reform. And with a fixed
four-year election cycle both provincially and municipally, that'll be
the case again in 2022.

- --Bob

(is New Dundee part of Waterloo Region? If so, there's seven municipal
councils)


On 2016-11-22 12:19 PM, Eleanor Grant wrote:
> I'm only happy that the issues of municipal ranked ballots and
> federal PR won't be happening at the same time - it would make
> uninformed public think that ranked ballots would be a good idea
> federally too.  (Methinks this may have been Wynne's motive for
> bringing it in AT THIS TIME.)
>
> Let's hope municipal ranked ballots will be discussed again next
> election cycle.
>
> Eleanor
>
> On 22 Nov 2016 10:00, "STUART CHANDLER" <stuchandler43 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks Bob. ‎Thanks for the info. I'm guessing Whaley did not
>> expand on his "reason" for having FPTP for 149 years. (Normally
>> having just about anything completely unchanged for that length
>> of time would be seen as shocking, and cause for serious concern.
>> I don't supposed he'd like to submit to the 1867 version of
>> health care.) if he did explain, it would likely have something
>> to do with "common sense" and simplicity.
>>
>> My sense of "the reason" (other than mental & emotional laziness,
>> plus fear of change - ie: lack of imagination, caring, & courage)
>> is that we have "inherited" it from our historical past which has
>> been one based on dictatorship and control over "the masses" by a
>> monarch or some set of elites.      In other words, it is a
>> remnant of the very types of regimes that democracy was supposed
>> to replace - a fact that seems to be lost on folks like Mr.
>> Whaley.
>>
>> When those we elect to positions of leadership lack the vision
>> to recognize a flawed system, the imagination to recognize one
>> that with the potential to move the cause of democracy forward,
>> and/or the courage to do something about it, how do we respond?
>>
>> Thanks again. Stu
>>
>>
>> Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Rogers network.
>> Original Message From: Bob Jonkman Sent: Tuesday, November 22,
>> 2016 8:36 AM To: FairvoteWRC Letter Writing Group Subject: The
>> Record: Waterloo rejects online voting, ranked ballot (21 Nov
>> 2016)
>>
> In The Record on Monday is an article on municipal ranked ballots
> being denied in the City of Waterloo, as well as online or
> electronic voting.
>
>
> http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6979179-waterloo-
> rejects-online-voting-ranked-ballot/
>
> While I'm happy to see online and electronic voting getting turned
> down, the last line of the article is somewhat disturbing:
>
>>>> Also Monday, council voted not to pursue ranked-ballot voting
>>>> for the 2018 municipal contest.
>>>>
>>>> "We've had the first-past-the-post for 149 years for a
>>>> reason," Coun. Mark Whaley said.
>
> I agree with Councillor Whaley, there *is* a reason we've had FPTP
> for 149 years, but I don't think that reason is what he thinks it
> is.
>
> --Bob.
>
>>
>>
>

- --


- --
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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