Ranked Choice Voting

There is a better, fairer and more democratic way to vote! Try it! You’ll like it!
by Charlie Leck

We’re getting a strong push here in Minnesota for Ranked Choice Voting [RCV]. I think its day is coming. We belong to an organization up here called FairVote MN and we contribute some money to its work. Here’s how they explain what they stand for and what they are working toward:

“Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates on the ballot according to their preference - 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, etc. Voters cast their vote for their favorite candidate knowing that if he or she doesn't gather enough votes to win, their vote will count toward their second choice. In a single-winner election, votes cast for the least popular candidate are not "wasted", but rather redistributed to more popular candidates, based on the voters' second choices, until one candidate wins with a majority of votes.”

In the election for governor here in Minnesota, we haven't had any candidate elected by a majority since Arne Carlson in 1996.

In the gubernatorial election we just had, I am quite certain that the candidate I supported the most enthusiastically, and who was elected, wouldn’t have won under the ranked choice system. Nevertheless, I support the system because I think it seems more democratic than having officials elected with less than a majority of the votes.

Here’s an opinion-piece, written by three solid Minnesota Republicans, touting the virtues of Ranked Choice voting. It appeared in our local news rag up here, the StarTribune.

A number of cities across the nation use RCV in their municipal elections and its proven itself to be easy, clear and fair. RCV is used in the following jurisdictions:

Aspen (CO)
Berkeley (CA)
Burlington (VT)
Cambridge (MA)
Hendersonville (NC)
Minneapolis (MN)
Oakland (CA)
Pierce County (WA)
San Francisco
South Carolina (for overseas voters in fed and state runoffs)
Takoma Park (MD)

In 2011, Memphis (TN), Springfield (IL) and Telluride (CO) will all begin using the system in city elections. The voting method is standard procedure in Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Ireland. It also used by the city of London.

If you’re interested in learning more, a Google search will bring you plenty of information and lots of opinions. You might want to first start with Rob Richie’s November 2009 article on the Huffington Post. John Nichols’ piece in Nation Magazine, We Need Majority-Rule Elections, is also very informative.

There’s probably a FairVote organization in your state. Just google “FairVote” and include your state's initials – such as, “FairVote SC” or “FairVote MI” or “FairVote NJ” – and join up if you think the process makes sense.

The method will make it much more difficult for 3rd parties or independents to spoil election results.

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A Love/Hate Relationship

Take care of yourself now and keep exercising, because it’s hard to recover once you’ve let yourself go!
by Charlie Leck

I really, really let myself go to seed over the last 10 or 15 years. I just, kind of, gave up on exercise and became a total couch potato. It was easy to sit with a wonderful book in my hands, a bowl of peanuts easily at hand. Televised baseball, basketball and football games were wonderful ways to spend an afternoon or evening. I was enjoying that kind of retirement. My waistline grew and my muscles deteriorated. My doctor finally showed me some numbers that shook me awake – bolt-upright, shocking, wide, wide awake!

Along with a massive and radical change in my diet, I also knew I had to go back into a physical training program. I’m one of those guys who can’t force myself to do regular, systematic and meaningful exercise. There is always something else to do. I knew I needed guidance, regular appointments and a tight schedule. And, I needed to pay for it all in advance so that it would be tough and financially painful to miss scheduled sessions.

So now, I have been working out very seriously for the last ten weeks – 3 times a week for about 80 to 90 minutes each time – with a very professional trainer and fitness expert. He’s got a completely Minnesota name – Rob Hanson – and calls his business Hanson Home Fitness. He doesn’t come to my home, however. I go to a fitness center that is fully equipped with all the tools of the trade that the Marquis de Sade would have loved.

I have established an extraordinary love/hate relationship with Rob. I love what he’s doing for me and how much better he’s making me feel, but I hate him every second that he is doing it – torturing me and racking my body with pain.

“No pain! No gain!”

He doesn’t actually say that! It is I who needs to keep reminding myself of it. Years of abuse and inattention isn’t going to be corrected overnight – especially at my age! It’s going to take a couple of years of work and a lot of money to get things straightened around.

If you, the reader, are a young person or even middle-aged, don’t let yourself go. Stay fit. Eat right! Then you won't need to go to a guy like Rob, embarrassed, as I was, and tell him your sad tale and ask him to do something about it.

Rob was a 3-time all American gymnast at the University of Minnesota. Needless to say, he’s taken care of himself. He believes that what he’s doing for people is extremely important and can change their lives. He normally works with people many years younger than I, but his client list varies greatly. I recommend him often to my friends, but most of these friends haven’t hit the low that I hit early this year (though some are on their way).

The road back is very steep and it’s not easy climbing. I’m committed now, however, and I’m going to keep working at it.

I’m a realist and I know there aren’t all that many years left until I make my extraordinary journey out among the stars, but I want these culminating years to be more comfortable and I want to look people in the eyes with a sense of pride about the way I look.

"Don’t listen to my complaints, Rob. Just keep pushing me! I won't go without a lot of grumping, but I’ll go."

If you’re local and you want to talk to Rob, personally and confidentially, about your own situation, send me an email and I’ll email back his phone number.

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Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it!