Tag Archives: third party

Congressional race roundup, District One

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Alan Woodruff is running for office in the 1st Congressional District. He calls himself a “Blue Dog” Democrat—an increasingly rare breed these days—and hopes to win the party’s nomination and go on to defeat the incumbent, Republican U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, in the 2012 general election.

Woodruff ran for Congress two years ago, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a Libertarian Party candidate. Or was it as a Green Party candidate? Both, actually. Sort of. He secured the nomination of the Libertarian Party of New Mexico, and later changed his affiliation from Libertarian to Green. But then the Green Party was found not to have ballot access after failing to receive enough votes in 2008, and lost a challenge in the courts to have its candidates on the ballot.

Enter the Constitution Party of Tennessee, which, together with the Green Party of Tennessee, has filed a lawsuit challenging the new ballot access guidelines put in place after a federal judge ruled that the old ballot access laws were unconstitutionally restrictive. The new lawsuit claims that the reforms were not sufficient and thus ballot access by minor parties remains unfairly prohibitive. The two attorneys for the plaintiffs are Darrell Castle, the national Constitution Party’s nominee for Vice President in 2008; and Alan Woodruff.

In December, I asked Woodruff about his 2010 New Mexico run, his being listed as a candidate for multiple parties, and his decision to run as a Democrat in Tennessee while representing a third party’s lawsuit for greater ballot access.

He quickly answered with this response (excerpted):

In 2008, I was retained as attorney for a coalition [of] minor parties in New Mexico who wanted to challenge the state’s ballot access laws that impaired the ability of minor parties, and their candidates, to be included on the ballot. One of the laws we were challenging was a law barring “fusion” candidates — candidates nominated by more than one party. To have standing to challenge that law, I was nominated by both the [Libertarian] and Green parties. In the 2010 election cycle my candidacy was more for purposes of our lawsuit that any expectation of actually making the ballot or being elected.

…[M]y experience … advocating for the interests of disenfranchised voters motivated be to become a candidate for the 1st congressional district which has become so dominated by ultra conservatives that the average voter has no effective voice. Before my temporary relocation to New Mexico, I lived in Seviereville [sic], and voted Democratic and suffered the dominance of Republican control of the 1st District. Now I intend to change that.

I also asked the Tennessee Democratic Party if there were any concerns about having a congressional candidate running with their party affiliation but representing the Green and Constitution parties in the lawsuit. Brandon Puttbrese, party spokesman, replied that there were none, saying that “it’s a fairness issue. Is it fair that any party be blocked from the ballot? No.”

The first day to pick up petitions for the August 2012 primary is February 6. If no other candidates run, Roe and Woodruff will face each other in the November general election.

Three is a crowd—better bring 40,000 of your best friends

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Well, that’s a wrap…ture. The 2011 session of the 107th General Assembly has ended, and as Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey pointed out in a released statement, the final gavel came down earlier than it usually does.

Lt. Gov. Ramsey (R-Blountville) today praised the General Assembly’s leadership and members for an extremely productive and efficient session. The General Assembly has not adjourned earlier than this date since 1998 and the Senate used fewer legislative days than any year since 1999. It is estimated that the state will save around $450,000 by adjourning earlier than last year.

“I am very proud of this General Assembly,” Ramsey stated. “I think we will look back on this year as a benchmark for how the legislature should function. The members and staff did great work and served the taxpayers by doing it quickly and efficiently. Considering the substantial obstacles posed by the transition of a new Governor and the election of a new House Speaker, it is truly a credit to all involved that we were able to conclude so quickly.”

Here is a partial rundown of the Legislature’s actions (and inactions) this session that affect elections.

We ID
Voters will be required to present a valid photo ID when requesting a ballot. If one does not have a photo ID, a provisional ballot will be provided. Indigents and those who have religious objections to being photographed will have to complete an affidavit. (HB0007 / SB0016)

Super duper
Tennessee may play a more prominent role in deciding that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels will be the 2012 GOP nominee (this just in: he’s not running) on the first Tuesday in March. Then again, we may be lost in the sea of states holding presidential preference primaries that day. Either way, the date has been moved. Also, the qualifying deadline for county primaries, and for any municipal elections that happen to coincide with the presidential primary, has been moved back. (HB0612 / SB0599)

Three is a crowd—better bring 40,000 of your best friends
At long last, after a federal court ruled that Tennessee’s ballot access laws were unconstitutionally restrictive, change has come. Get ready to see new party labels beside the names of the same old kooks and gadflies that always run as independents. (I’m kidding. Mostly.) Sen. Jim Kyle, a Democrat from Memphis, had wanted to lower the signature barrier to 10,000—ostensibly his motive was to encourage GOP-weakening Tea Party candidacies—but the threshold “at least 2.5 percent of the total number of votes cast for gubernatorial candidates in the most recent election of governor” remains intact. I’ll say it again: having Democrats and Republicans argue over third party ballot rights is more than a little absurd. The new law still assumes a dominant two-party system, and ignores the fact that someday coalitions may be the norm instead of “winner-take-all” party rule. But it’s a start. (HB0794 / SB0935)

Paper trail goes cold
All but two of Tennessee’s 95 counties jumped onto the paperless electronic voting machine bandwagon after Congress authorized millions in upgrade money following the 2000 presidential election debacle. In 2008, the General Assembly expressed its hindsight-induced regrets with the Voter Confidence Act, which would require a paper ballot for every voter. But state election officials balked at the costs to switch out systems yet again, and found support in the Republican-led Legislature. Democrats cried foul, saying that the GOP is trying to take away protections against potential mishap or misdeed. But who was in charge when the state ran pell-mell towards touch-screen DREs? Yeah, that’s right. (HB0386 / SB1203)

The bipartisan media

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Last week, after Hamilton County voters determined the Democratic and Republican nominees for the August election, many local news accounts contained glaring omissions. The offending reports were written to suggest that the primary winners would be the only contenders in the August general election. Here are a couple of examples:

“In August, [Tim] Boyd [the GOP primary winner] will face Democrat Kenny Smith, 56, the Hamilton County Board of Education chairman and leading primary fundraiser of all county government candidates.” (Dan Whisenhunt, reporting on the District 8 County Commission race)

“Attorney Jim Fields defeated Dr. Casavant 1263-1051, garnering just over 54 percent of the vote in the District 2 GOP primary. There were no Democratic candidates.” (David Carroll, reporting on the District 2 County Commission race—note that the article now continues “Fields will face independent candidate David Cantrell in the August county general election.” I left a comment on the story that was never published, and the article has an update timestamp.)

In fairness, for some races the local media got it right, even within the same articles that left out other independent candidates. And I know that as the August 5 election nears, resources like the Free Press‘s ballot mock-up will be accurate and show all candidates’ names.

But is simple accuracy enough? Will each candidate receive thorough treatment in the editorial pages? Surely it would be easier on journalists to have nice, tidy two-party elections; just look at the current mess in the United Kingdom. (I’m tempted to draw an analogy to the frustration in sports journalism over the NCAA’s football championship series, which is keenly less preferred than a proper set of playoffs, but am too ignorant on that topic. You get the idea.) At best, races like Hamilton County’s District 8 will get the “candidate A, candidate B, and, oh, those two other guys” treatment.

Before you bring it up, let me acknowledge that having a political party’s backing gives partisan candidates an advantage over most independents. But what about cases like District 2, where the GOP primary arguably split that party’s voters into factions? Could an independent candidate cobble together a winning combination? With the incumbent out of the picture, and two newcomers vying for the open seat, some might consider it a possibility. But never mind the prognostication for now. Before we get to predicting the outcome, how about we at least have the conversation about there being two candidates?

I spoke with David Cantrell last Wednesday, after failing to see his name mentioned, in most news reports, as a general election contender. I first confirmed that he is still running. Yes, he said; he did not campaign before the primary, because he didn’t want to confuse supporters who would not have seen his name on the May 4 ballot. But between now and August, he plans a vigorous campaign alongside the Republican nominee, Jim Fields. I also wondered whether Cantrell was surprised at the primary results. He said that there has been a strong anti-incumbent sentiment among local citizens and that Fields did just what was needed to gain a victory in the primary. He said that he looks forward to discussing the issues with Fields and with voters over the coming months.

In District 8, there will be four candidates on the ballot: Tim Boyd, Kenny Smith, Terry Turner, and Jim Winters. Strip away all handicaps, and each man has a 25 percent chance of being my next county commissioner. Obviously there are factors that change those odds. I only ask that my partners in public information avoid focusing on only half the candidates.

Please note: I am in no way singling out the two good reporters cited above. I used these recent examples to illustrate a systemic problem.