California Libertarian Jeff Hewitt Places Second in Race for Riverside County Supervisor, Qualifies for Run-Off

Posted on by June 9, 2018
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California uses non-partisan elections for County Supervisor. On June 5, Riverside County, California, held an election for an open seat in district five. Libertarian member Jeff Hewitt placed second, from a field of five candidates. The results can be seen here, and are constantly changing as more votes are counted. As of Saturday morning, June 9, the results were: Russ Bogh 10,414; Hewitt 9,343; Jaime L. Hurtado 7,619; Patricia Vargas Sanchez 5,420; Altie Holcomb 4,139.

Hewitt is Mayor of Calimesa. Bogh is a former Republican Assemblymember. The largest city in the district is Moreno Valley, which some years ago had a Libertarian Mayor. Because no one got 50%, Hewitt and Bogh will be in a run-off in November.

Michigan State Court Puts Initiative on Ballot Concerning Independent Commission on Redistricting

Posted on by June 8, 2018
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On June 7, the Michigan State Court of Appeals ruled that an initiative to set up an independent redistricting commisison must be put on the November ballot. Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution v Secretary of State, 343517. The state government had refused to certify the initiative, even though it had enough valid signatures, because the state government believed the initiative is a revision of the State Constitution instead of just an amendment. But the Court rejected that theory. This has been a long legal struggle; the initiative petition had been submitted last year.

If the measure passes, the redistricting commission will consist of 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 5 individuals who are not affiliated with either of those two parties. Michigan doesn’t have registration by party, so “affiliation” is somewhat hazy and will depend on how applicants define themselves, and what can be learned about their political behavior. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.