Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008 in Southeast Valley Opinions of the Arizona Republic as “Ranked Choice Voting good option for a city election.”
On April 10, all four candidates for Tempe City Council received a check from Cox Communications’ Political Action Committee for $390. With a run-off election slated for May 20, they’ve needed funds to continue their campaigns. In April alone, the four raised $44,902—with much coming from outside Tempe. Mesa, unfortunately, doesn’t make campaign finance reports available at their city web site, so voters can’t check easily.
On March 11, when voters in Tempe and Mesa cast ballots, every race with more than two candidates got thrown into a May 20 do-over. Mesa will take two months to determine the second choice of voters who preferred Claudia Walters for mayor.
Tempe’s at-large council race elected one and eliminated two, leaving four candidates for two slots. Mesa’s District 5 dropped from three candidates to two.
If the process strikes you as remarkably inefficient, it is.