California State Controller John Chiang Endorses LA Election Reform

Los Angeles, CA -- California State Controller John Chiang has endorsed a critical election reform for Los Angeles:  Instant Runoff Voting (IRV).  Chiang, California's top fiscal officer and highest ranking Asian American elected official, announced his support at a City Hall panel discussion held today at Los Angeles City Hall's Bradley Tower.

Controller Chiang noted that IRV will help boost voter turnout by reducing voter fatigue:  "I think part of the fatigue with the American electoral system is with the runoffs -- with the endless electoral cycles where people do not get time to govern and people don't get time to participate."

Gary Toebben, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, also spoke on the panel at City Hall.  Toebben added that IRV would help businesses combat a different type of fatigue:  "I can assure you that the business community gets fatigue around elections, because people are always asking for money. And when you have two elections, they ask twice."  Last month, the L.A. Chamber's Executive Board voted unanimously to endorse IRV.

Panelist Sylvia Scott-Hayes, President of the Los Angeles Community College District, added that IRV is "good for the young, good for the senior generation" because it will make it easier for them to vote.

Currently, if no candidate receives a majority (50 percent plus one) in the first round, a runoff election is required for the elected offices of the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Unified School District, and Los Angeles Community College District.

Last year, barely 6 percent of registered voters cast a ballot for the May runoff election (Los Angeles Community College District). That election alone cost taxpayers $5.5 million -- over $40 per voter.

Another panelist, former Los Angeles Councilmember Richard Alatorre, noted that low voter participation weakens our democracy:  "It's a sad commentary, in a city like LA, when someone gets elected with only 12 percent of voters taking part."

By allowing voters to rank their choices (1-2-3), IRV will eliminate the need for costly runoff elections. In this manner, IRV will help solve two chronic problems that plague Los Angeles voters and taxpayers:  voter fatigue and wasteful, expensive runoff elections.

To place IRV on the November ballot, the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Villaraigosa must take action by July 2.

At the panel, Los Angeles Community College Board Trustee Mona Field, a professor of political science, noted that IRV would help reduce negative campaigning, as each candidate would try to become the second choice of their competitors' supporters:  "You simply can't trash other people if you want their voters to consider you as second best."

In addition, IRV has won the support of a broad base of elected and civic leaders, including: United Farm Workers Union Co-Founder Dolores Huerta; Liza White, President, League of Women Voters of Los Angeles; Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti; Los Angeles City Councilmembers Wendy Greuel, Jose Huizar, Bill Rosendahl and Ed Reyes; Los Angeles Controller Laura Chick; former Los Angeles Councilmembers Richard Alatorre and Jackie Goldberg; California Board of Equalization Chair Judy Chu; California State Senators Mark Ridley-Thomas and Jack Scott; Los Angeles Community College District President Sylvia Scott-Hayes; Los Angeles Community College Trustees Georgia Mercer, Mona Field and Nancy Pearlman; Mark Drummond, Chancellor, Los Angeles Community College District;

John Emerson,* President, Capital Guardian Trust Company, Personal Investment Management; William C. Velasquez Institute President Antonio Gonzalez; Brendan Huffman, President & CEO of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA); Anthony Thigpenn, President, SCOPE; Holly Fujie,* Governor, State Bar of California; Kathay Feng, Executive Director, California Common Cause. (An asterisk indicates that an individual's affiliation is for identification purposes only.)

Organizations that support IRV include: League of Women Voters of Los Angeles, Southwest Voters Registration Education Project, National Latino Congreso, Asian American Action Fund, African American Voter Registration Education Project, UNITE HERE (Local 11), AFT College Faculty Guild (1521), Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, San Fernando Valley Alliance for Democracy. A full endorser list is available at IRVinLA.org/endorsements.

Monday's City Hall panel was covered by both the Los Angeles Times (http://www.irvinla.org/latest_news/la-times-blog-supports-irv) and Southern California Public Radio (http://www.irvinla.org/latest_news/socal-public-radio-spotlights-irv).  

For further information, contact: Mr. Gautam Dutta, Esq. (213.480.0994; dutta@newamerica.net).

About the New America Foundation

The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, post-partisan public policy institute whose purpose is to bring exceptionally promising new voices and new ideas to the forefront of our nation's public discourse. Relying on a venture capital approach, the Foundation invests in outstanding individuals and policy solutions that transcend the conventional political spectrum. Headquartered in our nation's capital, New America also has offices in California and New York.

Learn More About: Gautam Dutta, Steven Hill
Related Programs: Instant Runoff Voting, Political Reform Program
Topics: Political Reform