Re: [atlarge-discuss] Is This The Party To Whom I Am Speaking...

["Ron Sherwood" <sherwood@islands.vi>]

Richard, Martha, Jan and Mauro:

I live in the Virgin Islands where the highest paid Senators in the United
States, (possibly in the World) are two at-large groups A group of  seven
are elected for each island district and they are elected by two groups of
approximately 12,000 voters.   less than 3,000 votes can get a candidate
elected and the bullet vote rules!  It is not a pretty sight.

The whole event is a popularity contest based upon which candidate has the
best fish-fries and promises the most benefits to the 13,000 government
workers.

Issues are never discussed, (or dealt with after election day) and the power
to dispense jobs to friends and family, the prestige, the enormous salary
and the lifetime pension are the only motives for running for office.

When a few people are voting for a Panel to be chosen from a large number of
candidates, it takes very few votes to get elected.  The bullet vote, is the
only method available for limiting the possibility of election of a
candidate that you do not want to support.  In other words, vote only for
the candidates that you really want to see elected.

Best regards, Ron

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Henderson" <richardhenderson@ntlworld.com>
To: "Jan Siren" <sirenj@earthlink.net>; <atlarge-discuss@lists.fitug.de>
Sent: Monday, May 26, 2003 3:41 PM
Subject: Re: [atlarge-discuss] Is This The Party To Whom I Am Speaking...


> Agreed. I'm only voting for 4 candidates.
>
> I'll wait and see what the outcome is, but my concern is that several
> candidates, who most people don't actually want on the panel, will get
there
> by default.
>
> Outcomes are what matter now. I don't really mind whether it's this
> organisation or a different group that carries the At Large cause forward.
> What matters is that the interests of the Internet Users are defended.
>
> So I'm waiting to see how things unfold, but I've already voted, just for
4
> people - and at the same time I've increased my involvement with
alternative
> groups. This isn't a competitive thing - it's about outcomes.
>
> The panel, in any case, should only be carrying out the instructions of
the
> membership. Unfortunately, experience of the panels I sat on suggested
that
> panel-members have the potential to resist the wishes of the majority.
>
> Richard H
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jan Siren <sirenj@earthlink.net>
> To: <atlarge-discuss@lists.fitug.de>
> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2003 11:11 PM
> Subject: Re: [atlarge-discuss] Is This The Party To Whom I Am Speaking...
>
>
> > Walter Schmidt wrote:
> > >
> > > We seem so bent on being able to say we elected 11, why?
> > >
> > > And why, when a call for nomination is made, we find folks with whom
our
> > > previous contact has been non-existant, "filling out" the list...
> > >
> > > As we continue to be in a start-up-phase, perhaps we should consider a
> > > smaller group of individuals with whom we have previously "worked."
> > >
> >
> > You have put your finger on the problem, I *can* vote for 11, but I
don't
> > *want* to vote for 11.  Nor do I want to throw away my votes.
> >
> >
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>
>
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