4 ms·

> The article doesn't bother to say - how did Lyda Crewson differ from the other candidates (and the electorate) ideologically? It only describes how she differ

> The article doesn't bother to say - how did Lyda Crewson differ from the other candidates (and the electorate) ideologically? It only describes how she differs "demographically". Limits on article length (and readers' willingness to invest time) make it impractical to cover everything, but here's some background: https://www.marinij.com/2017/03/11/st-louis-mayoral-race-holds-lessons-for-black-candidates/ https://www.marinij.com/2017/03/11/st-louis-mayoral-race-hol... (2017 race), https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/krewson-decision-further-scrambles-mayoral-race-could-spur-more-candidates/article_0f6d034e-7503-5e2e-b7c2-3205fb174a54.html https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/krewso... (2020). In that first link, this quote "The fact that the black community did not rally around one candidate makes it clear they spoiled their chances of being represented by a black mayor,” … applies to almost any constituency. The core challenge is that having more good candidates actually weakens each of them – that is, even though they may all be in the position that most accurately reflects the opinion of the electorate, they all lose. Google "spoiler" or "vote splitting" for more on this, or this is a decent start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_splitting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_splitting One of the bizarre results is that, as a new candidate deciding whether to run for office, about the best you can hope to do is ruin the chances for the candidate who is most similar to you. You're unlikely to win, but quite likely to make them lose. In St. Louis in 2017, that spoilage was mostly based on race (the city is 46% Black), but it can be anything that affects voters' preferences. (I'm co-leading this campaign, though I didn't write this article. Here's more and an example of vote-splitting that has nothing to do with race: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29266519 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29266519, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29266519#29277580 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29266519#29277580)

jevoten 5y ago
Good luck in your campaign. I didn't mean to imply I was opposed to it - I'm well aware of how awful first-past-the-post is, and that nearly any other voting system is better. Have you encountered any organized resistance? I would imagine the two incumbent parties are hostile to anything that threatens their duopoly. Up north, Trudeau reneged on his promise to reform the voting system: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38831142 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38831142
- troydavis 5y ago
  Thank you. There's no organized opposition yet. The local Democratic Party seems willing to let elections serve their purpose. Seattle has a fair number of self-assessed independents, but so few voters are registered Republicans that the party doesn't really come up. Given all of that, I don't expect opposition from parties. Individuals, it's harder to predict. There's always going to be someone who wants whatever election method yields the winners (in this case, the general election candidates) they want, regardless of whether they are the most representative or most popular. However, at least around here, it's rare to find people who put their own preferences ahead of representative democracy - let alone being willing to publicly advocate for that. "I want what I want" is a difficult position to push for.

jevoten 5y ago

Good luck in your campaign. I didn't mean to imply I was opposed to it - I'm well aware of how awful first-past-the-post is, and that nearly any other voting system is better. Have you encountered any organized resistance? I would imagine the two incumbent parties are hostile to anything that threatens their duopoly. Up north, Trudeau reneged on his promise to reform the voting system: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38831142 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38831142

troydavis 5y ago
Thank you. There's no organized opposition yet. The local Democratic Party seems willing to let elections serve their purpose. Seattle has a fair number of self-assessed independents, but so few voters are registered Republicans that the party doesn't really come up. Given all of that, I don't expect opposition from parties. Individuals, it's harder to predict. There's always going to be someone who wants whatever election method yields the winners (in this case, the general election candidates) they want, regardless of whether they are the most representative or most popular. However, at least around here, it's rare to find people who put their own preferences ahead of representative democracy - let alone being willing to publicly advocate for that. "I want what I want" is a difficult position to push for.