Independent Elected to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania County Commission

Posted on by November 10, 2011
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On November 8, an independent candidate, Stephen Bridy, was elected to the Northumberland County Commission. Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, holds partisan elections for this office, and elects all three members at-large. See this story.

The election was close. Parties can only run two nominees in these elections, so there were only five candidates running. The two Democratic candidates, both incumbents, received these votes: Vinny Clausi 7,456; Frank Sawicki 5,545. The lone Republican incumbent, Merle Phillips, received 5,475; and the other Republican nominee, Rick Shoch, received 7,960. The independent received 5,828, enough to win the third slot.

It is rare for candidates who are not Republican or Democratic nominees to win important office in Pennsylvania, partly because of the straight-ticket device. No one other than a Republican or Democratic nominee has been elected to the legislature since 1934, when two Socialist Party nominees won. However, in 1980 an independent was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from a Philadelphia district.

Northumberland County has a population of 94,528 and is in the center of the state. The county seat is Sunbury.

U.S. District Court Says FEC Need Not Have Investigated Whether Opponents of Nader 2004 Ballot Access Broke Campaign Finance Laws

Posted on by November 9, 2011
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In 2004, various law firms, and other organizations, spent millions of dollars challenging Ralph Nader’s independent candidacy’s ballot access in 18 states. On November 9, 2011, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that the Federal Election Commission had no duty to investigate whether this spending violated the federal campaign finance laws.

Federal campaign laws make it illegal for corporations to contribute money to federal candidates or to political parties. Nader had charged that the Democratic National Committee had been the beneficiary of a great deal of contributions from incorporated law firms that did so much of the work to remove Nader from various ballots. Nader had asked the FEC to investigate, but the FEC had declined to do so. Nader had then sued the FEC, but the court decision says there is not strong enough evidence that the law firms were coordinating with the Democratic National Committee, or whether they were just doing it on their own. The opinion even assumes that although one member of the Democratic National Committee was herself actively involved in the legal challenge, there is no reason to believe she was coordinating her work with the Democratic Party. Here is the 23-page decision. The case is Nader v FEC, cv-10-989, in Washington, D.C.

Ross Mirkarimi, One of the Founders of the California Green Party, Elected Sheriff of San Francisco

Posted on by November 9, 2011
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On November 9, the San Francisco Elections Department released additional election returns data, which makes it a virtual certainty that Ross Mirkarimi won the November 8 election for Sheriff of San Francisco County. Mirkarimi was one of the founders of the California Green Party, and while he was a registered member of the Green Party, he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. However, in March 2010 he changed his registration from “Green” to “Democratic.”

Working Families Party Elects Three Nominees to Hartford City Council

Posted on by November 9, 2011
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On November 8, Hartford, Connecticut, held an election for city council. Nine at-large seats were up, and the race is partisan. The law says no party may run more than six nominees. The six Democratic nominees won, and three of the Working Families Party nominees also won. The WFP had run four nominees. Republicans ran three nominees, and there were three independent candidates, but neither the Republicans nor the independents won any seats. See this story. The chart in the article, showing winners, erroneously fails to show a checkmark next to the name of Democratic nominee David McDonald (the newspaper chart intended to show a checkmark next to the name of each winnner).

In 2007 in Hartford, the Working Families Party had elected two council members and the Republicans had elected one. The Working Families council members who were re-elected are Luis Cotto and Larry Deutsch; the new WFP member is Cynthia Jennings. Thanks to Dominik Kot for the link.

Reform Party Nominee in 2-way Statewide Mississippi Race Polls 24.3%

Posted on by November 9, 2011
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On November 8, Mississippi held elections for all state office. The Reform Party nominee for Auditor, Ashley Norwood, was in a 2-party race against a Republican. Norwood polled 181,425 votes, 24.34% of the total vote cast for that office. This is the highest percentage for a minor party nominee for statewide office in Mississippi since the Peoples (Populist) Party showing in 1895.

Although George Wallace carried Mississippi in the presidential election of 1968, he was an independent candidate in Mississippi. Strom Thurmond carried Mississippi in the presidential election of 1948, but in Mississippi Thurmond was the Democratic Party nominee, and Harry S Truman was an independent candidate in Mississippi.

The Reform Party also got a high percentage in a 2-party statewide race in Mississippi in 2003: it polled 23.69% for Auditor that year. In the November 8, 2011 election, the Reform Party was also in a 2-party race for Lieutenant Governor, but in that race the Reform Party nominee, Tracella Hill, only received 19.65% of the vote. Thanks to Tony Roza for finding these 2011 unofficial Mississippi election returns.