[Peace-discuss] Re: [Announce] Township Meeting - Advisory Referenda

[Jan & Durl Kruse]

Ballot questions still open in Urbana
By Mike Monson
Tuesday June 17, 2008

URBANA – The Cunningham Town Board voted Monday night in special  
session to put one advisory question on the fall ballot but refrained  
from filling the ballot with two other questions.

The Urbana City Council, acting as the town board, was expected to put  
three questions on the Nov. 4 ballot to forestall an effort by local  
activists to force two advisory referendums in November, since three is  
the maximum number of referendum questions allowed.

The ballot question the board approved Monday will ask if motorists,  
bicyclists and pedestrians in crosswalks should be restricted from  
using cell phones.

The other two questions would have essentially asked voters if they  
support the status quo in regard to the local election system and in  
providing township financial and assessment information to the public.  
The board deferred action on the election question until after a town  
meeting June 30 and directed staff to come up with proposals to improve  
financial transparency.

A group of local activists, who call themselves Urbana Citizens for  
Instant Runoff Voting, want to put a question on the ballot asking if  
voters want the city to switch to instant- runoff voting for city  
elections, in which voters would rank the candidates in order of  
preference. They also pressed for a ballot question asking if the city  
and township should post financial records and contracts on the  
Internet.

They intended to push for getting both questions on the ballot at the  
special town meeting June 30, prompting the town board to call its own  
special meeting Monday.

Durl Kruse of Urbana advocated the instant-runoff question and praised  
the board for its forbearance in not stuffing the ballot.

"I think it's a wise decision and good for the community," he said. "I  
think calmer heads prevailed tonight on the board."

The other proposal, for financial transparency, was put on hold by  
activists when the board directed city and township staff to take steps  
to improve financial transparency.

Diana Visek of Urbana, who pushed for the financial question, said she  
was reassured for the time being by council members' promises that they  
would put as much financial information on city's Web site as they can.

"I am satisfied," she said.

The board passed a motion Monday directing city staff to prepare  
policies for financial transparency for the city and the township. But  
Visek said if those results are unsatisfactory, she will try again next  
year to get the question put on the ballot.

City comptroller Ron Eldridge said the city recently posted its annual  
treasurer's report on its Web site, showing every city expenditure  
during the past year.

The board's actions Monday set the stage for a showdown June 30 over  
the issue of instant-runoff voting; Kruse said he and others will still  
press to get it put on the ballot at that meeting. But he also said he  
expected Urbana Democrats to attend the June 30 meeting and try to  
defeat the measure.

"They've taken every step so far to try to stop this," he said, "and I  
can see no reason for them not to now."

Local Democrats packed the annual town meeting April 8 and outvoted  
Greens, Libertarians and other activists' efforts to place the  
instant-runoff-voting and financial-reporting questions on the fall  
ballot. Activists responded by obtaining 28 petition signatures  
requesting a special town meeting and got it scheduled for June 30.

Local Democrats said privately that they oppose instant-runoff voting  
and would feel compelled to mount an organized campaign against the  
advisory referendum, diverting them from local and national elections.

"Instant runoff is confusing to voters, which makes it harder to turn  
people out, and it's fundamentally unfair because the candidate with  
the most votes can lose," said Esther Patt, a former Democratic council  
member in Urbana. "I think that's wacky."
Find this article at:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/2008/06/17/ 
ballot_questions_still_open_in_urbana

On Jun 19, 2008, at 10:37 AM, John W. wrote:

> So what happened at Mayor Prussing's "pre-emptive" special township  
> meeting last Monday?  I haven't seen a word about it on the  
> peace-discuss list.
>
> John Wason
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 19, 2008 at 7:20 AM, Jan & Durl Kruse  
> <jandurl at comcast.net> wrote:
>> SPECIAL TOWNSHIP MEETING
>>
>> MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2008
>>
>> 6:00 PM, URBANA CITY HALL
>>
>> YOUR SUPPORT AND PRESENCE IS URGENTLY NEEDED!
>
> *snip*
>
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no  
path and leave a trail.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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