View Full Version : Sonoma West: Four candidates vie for three city council spots
Barry
08-16-2018, 12:11 PM
The Sonoma West just published an article (https://www.sonomawest.com/sonoma_west_times_and_news/news/four-candidates-vie-for-three-city-council-spots/article_7474be30-a0b1-11e8-a1fd-1bd081456382.html) about the 4 Sebastopol City Council candidates. All three incumbents are running plus newcomer Vaughn Higginbotham.
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/keep90days/2018-08-16_12-04-30.png
Here's the section that talks about Vaughn:
Vaughn Higginbotham
Higginbotham, 22, graduated from Analy High School in 2014 and considers Sebastopol his hometown. He is a volunteer firefighter for the Bodega Fire Department and an entrepreneur with an iPhone repair business.
Higginbotham said his interest in government began during high school. He said he is running for election because of a desire to help as many people as he can and be of service.
“I’m running for city council in order to find innovative ways to increase the city’s revenue, attract locally owned businesses, ease traffic and parking issues while boosting town pride,” Higginbotham said.
See the full article here
(https://www.sonomawest.com/sonoma_west_times_and_news/news/four-candidates-vie-for-three-city-council-spots/article_7474be30-a0b1-11e8-a1fd-1bd081456382.html)
Love seeing this young man step up. :thumbsup:
The Sonoma West just published an article (https://www.sonomawest.com/sonoma_west_times_and_news/news/four-candidates-vie-for-three-city-council-spots/article_7474be30-a0b1-11e8-a1fd-1bd081456382.html) about the 4 Sebastopol City Council candidates. All three incumbents are running plus newcomer Vaughn Higginbotham.
https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/keep90days/2018-08-16_12-04-30.png
Here's the section that talks about Vaughn:
Vaughn Higginbotham
Higginbotham, 22, graduated from Analy High School in 2014 and considers Sebastopol his hometown. He is a volunteer firefighter for the Bodega Fire Department and an entrepreneur with an iPhone repair business.
Higginbotham said his interest in government began during high school. He said he is running for election because of a desire to help as many people as he can and be of service.
“I’m running for city council in order to find innovative ways to increase the city’s revenue, attract locally owned businesses, ease traffic and parking issues while boosting town pride,” Higginbotham said.
See the full article here
(https://www.sonomawest.com/sonoma_west_times_and_news/news/four-candidates-vie-for-three-city-council-spots/article_7474be30-a0b1-11e8-a1fd-1bd081456382.html)
Lilith Rogers
08-17-2018, 10:10 PM
Oh, I want to vote for all four. Let's add a seat to the council.
LIlith
Better yet... get ranked choice voting going in Sonoma County and you CAN vote for all four!
Oh, I want to vote for all four. Let's add a seat to the council.
ChefJayTay
08-19-2018, 03:58 AM
Better yet... get ranked choice voting going in Sonoma County and you CAN vote for all four!
Yeah... as if voting doesn't already confuse the public. Let's make it more complicated!
I'd rather spend the money on getting people into the booths in the first place.
Lilith Rogers
08-19-2018, 09:41 AM
That's true but what I'd really like to do is have them all serve with the other good ones so we'd have to add another seat on the council.
Lilith
Better yet... get ranked choice voting going in Sonoma County and you CAN vote for all four!
Or skip the "booth" entirely and have voting 100% by mail, as they do in Oregon. It would increase participation and reduce costs. Of course there would need to be some accommodation for same-day registration and such.
Regarding confusing the public... if someone old enough to vote cannot figure out ranked choice voting, them perhaps s/he should not vote. Yeah, that sounds bad, but the result of the last presidential election was a whole lot worse.
Yeah... as if voting doesn't already confuse the public. Let's make it more complicated!
I'd rather spend the money on getting people into the booths in the first place.
ChefJayTay
08-19-2018, 07:34 PM
Majority of Californian's vote by mail now as is.
You can even drop off your mail-in ballot at ANY CA polling place if you forgot to put it in the mail on time.
Getting rid of polling, means getting rid of polling workers. Many whom receive a paid day off work, while earning an additional $100-115 for 12-14 hours of polling work. They might prefer to keep that (and it's likely cheaper than state employees with benefits doing ALL the counting).
Or skip the "booth" entirely and have voting 100% by mail, as they do in Oregon....
A majority is not equal to *all* California voters voting by mail. Voting by mail guarantees a paper trail and avoids the "black box" voting machine. Combine that with the public domain open-source vote counting software being developed by the County of San Francisco, and the result is a significant move toward legitimate, transparent elections run by government not corporations.
That strikes me as considerably more important than poll workers getting paid $100. Somebody has to load the paper ballots into the counting machines. The former poll workers can certainly do this on a temporary worker basis. Incidentally, conducting and election and counting the resulting votes are the domain of county employees. The California Secretary of State collects the counts from the counties and is also involved in certifying the election results.
Majority of Californian's vote by mail now as is. ...
rossmen
08-19-2018, 10:32 PM
Isn't this choice ranked? Each eligible voter gets an even pick of three. So if the cute young new guy wears out a pair of shoes he could easily be everyone's third choice, and be the top vote getter! After all, Sarah is like the longest serving council member ever? And really does have a very strong agenda including unpopular items like high rise rentals in the most popular parking lot. Una is a boring camilion, and Patrick always comes across as kind of evil, has he ever apologized for cvs?
The unfair aspect is that as an over the line county voter I get one vote for 5th bos, while the townies get that and their precious council which has just as much power over my life as theirs!
Better yet... get ranked choice voting going in Sonoma County and you CAN vote for all four!
In this particular case, it is select 3 of the 4 (so far) running. If it was ranked choice vote, you would select a first, second and third choice.
Ranked choice vote would make a big difference in races such as the county supervisor where currently you can only cast a vote for one candidate. With ranked choice, you would indicate your first choice (top candidate), second choice, and third choice. It breaks the winner-take-all deadlock, makes independent candidates a viable choice, and eliminates the need for run-off elections.
Isn't this choice ranked? Each eligible voter gets an even pick of three....
MikeH
08-20-2018, 10:07 AM
In this particular case, it is select 3 of the 4 (so far) running. If it was ranked choice vote, you would select a first, second and third choice.
Yes you're right, choose 3 of the 4 is very different than "rank" them. Actually I think this election will be vote for "no more than 3."
So let's say theoretically you really want the young man Vaughn to win. What should you do? Vote for him and two others? I think the best thing to do would be to vote for him only; meaning him and no others. Cast only one vote. That would give him a better chance of rising to electibility. Is electibility a word?
Lilith, I like your idea of adding council members. Is it possible that this can be done? The Supreme Court has had more members at different points, up to 13 at one point, so why can't Sebastopol? We need future leaders.
Oh, I want to vote for all four. Let's add a seat to the council.
You've hit the limits of my election arithmetic abilities, but it sounds like you have pegged it. If enough people vote for the same one candidate, then it would improve his/her chances of being in the top three.
"Electability" is a word! It is the noun form of the adjective "electable."
Another benefit of ranked choice voting is it negates the need for such things as candidate "electability" and voters having to choose between the lesser of two evils.
...So let's say theoretically you really want the young man Vaughn to win. What should you do? Vote for him and two others? I think the best thing to do would be to vote for him only; meaning him and no others. Cast only one vote....