Congrats to Victoria Fahlberg

And now the hard work begins.

Dr Victoria Fahlberg and her Fair Vote Lowell ballot proposition has garnered enough signatures to get on the ballot in November.  Reporter Jennifer Myers writes:

Elections Office manager Gail Cenik reported that Victoria Fahlberg, the executive director of ONE Lowell who is spearheading the Fair Vote Lowell initiative, turned in 5,126 valid signatures yesterday, more than 900 above what was required for ballot placement.

To achieve her ultimate objective, Dr Fahlberg must not only muster a majority of those voting in the November election, but must also get out a large segment of the voters.  She needs far more than the normal 12,000 or so who vote in local elections.  In fact, one-third of the registered voters.  We normally turn out about 25%.  That is because of the rules for amending the Charter for a Plan E type of government.

The explanation of the ballot initiative is best left to the Fair Vote Lowell web site.  One of the points I will make is that it is designed to better weigh the needs and interests of the voters.  In 2007 only one candidate, Rita Mercier, received one half the vote plus one vote.  The rest were elected with less than 50% of the vote, and the fifth through tenth candidates were within 521 votes of each other and the last person to go on the council was 304 votes behind number five.  Six votes separated two winner and three separated two others.  I got these numbers from Dick Howe's blog, here.

This issue of voting for this amendment one way or the other is, to me, important.  Please plan on voting in November and please talk to everyone you see and mention the importance of voting.  I would like you to vote in support of Dr Fahlberg's ballot initiative, but I believe the most important point is that you vote.

UPDATE:  I added some statistical data.

Regards  —  Cliff