“Zona Politics” host Jim Nintzel highlighted today a recent League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson program which featured three Arizona political consultants David Leibowitz, Barrett Marson and Max Fose, and two former candidates Christine Jones (only woman who ran for Arizona Governor in the August primary of 2014 as a Republican) and Democrat Terry Goddard (former Arizona Attorney General who ran for Secretary of State in Nov. 2014). Both attorneys lost their races.
Jim Nintzel, senior writer at the Tucson Weekly was joined by Arizona Daily Star reporter Joe Ferguson and Jeremy Duda of the Arizona Capitol Times, on a 3rd panel discussion.
See the fascinating video here: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2015/02/12/league-of-women-voters-asks-is-democracy-for-sale. It runs for an hour and 25 minutes.
The topics range from political campaigns, how voters vote for candidates, dark money & campaign finance, usefulness of political/candidate forums, clean elections, endorsements, voter suppression, etc. There is even an audience question & answer session at the end of the program & video, including a question and statement from LD 9 State Senator Steve Farley, a Democrat.
Unanswered question from these three panels: “What does it take to get people to vote?”
League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson is at 2424 E. Broadway, Blvd. Suite 110 in Tucson; 520-327-7652. Every year the LWVGT publishes a very useful “A Citizen’s Directory of Elected Officials”.
What does it take to get people to vote? Give them something they want to vote for! Who wanted to vote for fred duval? Ducey won by default! Read the conservative blogs even they can’t stand him. This is the same old party elitists contemplating their navels! Who cares about dark money except party activists mostly rich old white men who find dark money a hindrance to their next ego trip in front of the voters. Diane douglas was out spent by dark money ;but still won which you ignore. This was because the 70% of white people who vote republican in arizona thought they had some thing to vote for and the 20% of latino voters didn’t. If you stop this crap we will lose again!
You’re definitely right that for voters to actually cast their ballot, they need viable alternative candidates. Lots of people I know are just turned off to politics, trust that government will “do the right thing”, and so they have voter apathy, and choose not to vote.