By former Idaho Falls City Councilman Larry Lyon
With all the attention “Non- Partisan†politics has gotten in Idaho Falls since the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee voted 23 to 3 for the option to endorse candidates in city races, I did some research. What I found was very enlightening.
I did some research on the history of “non-partisan†politics in Idaho. The following information came from searching the term Non-Partisan on the Idaho State web site.
“The Idaho Nonpartisan League was organized in 1917 by Ray McKaig,…â€. It’s purpose was to infiltrate existing political party’s by “nominating League candidates on existing major party tickets…â€.
“In Idaho the Nonpartisan League took over the Democratic Party in the 1918 primary, nominating a wealthy but sympathetic Republican…for governor. The Democratic state chairman thus was forced to campaign against the Democratic state ticket that year…â€,
The history of non-partisan politics in Idaho is the history of a “shadow party†called the Non-Partisan League infiltrating the two major parties and running Republicans as Democrats and visa versa.
“To combat the Nonpartisan League the [Idaho] Legislature repealed the Idaho direct primary in 1919.†After that “…the League finally had to become an independent political party after all…†It morphed into the Idaho Progressive Party, which dissolved in 1928.
The label of “non-partisan†was created as nothing more that a political disguise.
Many states and cities throughout the US reject non-partisan elections as bad public policy. One example is New York City.
Here is an excerpt from the testimony of then Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. before the City Council Committee on Governmental Operations
Select Committee on Charter Revision, Thursday, October 23, 2003.
“…I am pleased to be with you this morning to address this important issue.
As I have said repeatedly since the formation of the Mayor’s Charter Revision Commission, I am opposed to the elimination of party primaries and the imposition of a non-partisan election system in the City of New York. It is poor public policy, and an idea more likely to weaken our democratic system than to strengthen it.â€
“… any contemplated changes to our electoral system must be demonstrably superior to what is currently in place. Nonpartisan elections do not meet that standard. “
“Some of the arguments advanced by … supporters [of non-partisan elections] are based on misleading claims, and others are simply unconvincing.
First, advocates argue that party politics control the outcome of elections in New York City. In reality, New Yorkers are among the most independent-minded voters in the country, and they routinely cross party lines to support candidates. In New York City, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 5 to 1, it is striking that a Republican has been chosen to serve as Mayor in each of the last three elections.
Second, despite the claims of its proponents, there is no convincing evidence that eliminating primaries would increase voter turnout in New York City. New York’s experience to date with non-partisan elections – special elections to fill vacancies and Community School Board elections, which both, unfortunately, draw extremely low numbers of voters – does not suggest that it is the right system for New York City.
Indeed, the experience of Jacksonville, Florida, which is often cited by proponents of nonpartisan elections, is decidedly mixed. In the first election following the elimination of party primaries, voter turnout increased somewhat. In the next election, voter turnout dropped substantially below what it had been in the last election to include party primaries.
In the most recent election, voter turnout returned to the levels that it had reached when party primaries were still in effect. In other words, the experience of Jacksonville, Florida, does not exactly serve as a ringing endorsement of nonpartisan elections.
Third, eliminating party primaries would be bad for minority groups. These groups have spent years building up electoral strength in a variety of ways, especially through membership in political parties. By concentrating their political strength through party membership, minorities have elected candidates that reflect their concerns. Dismantling this system at a moment when members of these groups hold more City and Borough-wide offices than at any time in our history would undermine that progress.â€
Not only do cities in New York State have party primaries to select candidates for city office but they also have a process that allows more than one party to endorse a candidate.
One piece of campaign literature has a candidate endorsed by the “Republicanâ€, “Conservativeâ€, and “Independent†Party’s. Another had a candidate endorsed by the “Democraticâ€, “Independentâ€, and “Working Families†Party.
Now I know that New York has it’s share of problems, but the way they run city elections does not seem to be one of them. People in New York State are more excited, informed, and engaged in the political process at the local level than I have ever seen in Idaho Falls.
Incumbents get free passes to re-election in Idaho Falls and Ammon. The Idaho Falls Mayors race has been described more as a “coronation†than a legitimate political contest. Voter apathy seems to be at an all time high.
Thankfully this may be changing. Not because of the Republicans, but because of the Democrats.
Democrats have shed the phony disguise of non-partisanship. The Democrats are openly engaged in partisan politics in Boise.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpK_xc0bxis “>TJ Thomson, an ardent Democrat who voted to nominate Barak Obama at the Democratic National Convention is running for Boise City Council.
The Idaho Statesman has written about this race, saying that it is non-partisan “in name onlyâ€.
The Democrats are engaged in a full court press to get TJ Thomson elected. His endorsement list is a Who’s Who of Idaho Democrats; including former Governor Cecil Andrus, former Democratic Congressman Richard Stallings and two time Democratic candidate for Governor Jerry Brady.
TJ Thomson has also been endorsed by the Democratic” title=”http://www.democracyforamerica.com/current-endorsements\”>Democratic” target=”_blank”>www.democracyforamerica.com/current-endorsements”>Democratic Party Community Organizing group, Democracy for America.
There is nothing wrong with the Democrats being openly involved in City politics. Political Party’s should be involved. That is why they exist.
People who crow about how wonderful non-partisan politics are usually those who support incumbents in city races. In reality “non-partisan†politics are nothing more than an incumbent protection program. By creating a political climate that discourages political Party’s from engaging in the political process, the very thing they were created to do; it virtually eliminates any organized opposition to those already in power.
This is a recipe for political careerism, which can only lead to waste, cronyism, and corruption, regardless of who is in power.
The campaign to elect Democrat TJ Thomson to the Boise City Council is good news for City Politics in Idaho. The Democrats have asserted their freedom of speech and association and gotten fully behind a candidate who shares their values and their priorities.
Now that the Democrats have rejected non-partisan politics in city races hopefully other political parties will follow their lead.
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