Political Reform

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO has endorsed a critical reform for Los Angeles elections: Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). The County Federation, the second largest chartered Labor Council of AFL-CIO in the country, represents over 350 unions and over 800,000 workers. Maria Elena Durazo, the County Federation’s Executive Secretary-Treasurer, noted that IRV would benefit voters, working families and taxpayers alike: “By saving millions of taxpayer dollars and relieving voter fatigue, IRV will benefit all… more

Below the surface of all the big issues facing California -- education, prisons, transportation, immigration, political reform -- lies the disturbing reality that the grassroots of citizen political involvement are drying up. In recent years, alienation between Californians and their government leaders has burned like a wildfire across the state, melting voter turnout and heating up cynicism toward the political establishment in Sacramento...

Until we find a way to rebuild citizen participation, and a sense of trust between Californians… more

Program Director Steven Hill had an excellent article/opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times on November 5th:

(Excerpt) All across California, millions of voters didn’t wait for election day. They didn’t hear any of the last-minute appeals from the candidates. They made up their minds weeks ago and filled… more

Drawing upon the author’s 20 years of scholarship, advocacy, and two previous books, and including a trenchant foreword by The New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg, 10 Steps to Repair American Democracy is a "onestop" shopping guide to what's broken about our democracy, and what Americans can do to repair it.