The Non-Partisan Issue

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       "With partisan elections, they can limit your choice to candidates who kiss the ring of the political boss.   The deal is that the candidate plays by their rules where politcal patronage and political payoffs are concerned  such as that special $98,000.00 annual pension".

        "Do you really believe that those who contribute hundreds and thousands of dollars to a political campaign have your best interests in mind?   Or do you suppose that there is something else that motivates them?  This is a question I will be asking you frequently over the next several months".

Partisan Elections
Controlling  Your  Vote - Controlling Your Choices
Censoring Berwyn Residents


It Is A Simple Proposition

    Partisan means that you have an affiliation with a political party.  Non-partisan means that you have no party affiliation.
A Non-Partisan Candidate Can Still Be Endoresed By A Political Party

    As a candidate in a non-partisan election, you can be endorsed by a political party or any other organization.  Campaigns in non-partisan elections are frequently populated by candidates endorsed by the Democrat or Republican party or some other party or organization.

    The only difference is that the Candidate has no party (or partisan) affiliation.  Thus
Jane Doe runs as Jane Doe.  This allows for much more attention being paid to the quality of the candidates character and the ideas and positions the candidate has to offer rather than voting for someone just because they wear a "red  or blue shirt".
*    Non-partisan elections are usually held for municipal and county elections such as mayoral and 
      school board elections where a candidates identification with a national party is irrelevant.  
*    Voters prefer non-partisan elections at the local level because a candidates affiliation with a 
      national party is irrelevant to the management of local issues. 
*    Non-Partisan elected officials are not beholden to a party apparatus that got them elected 
      and are not subjected to party restrictions on how they may vote.
*    Nonpartisan officials can therefore more readily represent the actual needs of their constituents. *    The lack of such requirements may also bring more principled individuals up the ranks, as they 
      do not have to make assertions against their beliefs in order to demonstrate "party unity" or 
      adhere to a platform against their principles.

The Partisan Election Process
When a voter walks into the polling place to cast a ballot in a partisan primary election, the voter is required to declare his party affiliation.  He is then given a ballot which lists only those candidates 
running on that political party ticket.  The voter is excluded from voting for any candidate that is not listed on that party's ballot.

They Have A Record Of How You Voted
Your declaration of party affiliation is then made part of a public record as discussed later in this article.  As a member of the "politican community",  every politician has the right to access records of how YOU voted in the last dozen or so elections.

The Non-Partisan Election
When a voter walks into the polling place to cast a ballot in a non-partisan primary election, the voter simply asks for a ballot.  The ballot lists ALL of the candidates running for office and party affiliation is not indicated on the ballot.

Why Do The Machine Politicians Oppose The Non-Partisan Referendum?

In 2008 the non-partisan referendum issue was brought before the Berwyn city council.  The issue was not whether or not to change Berwyn from a partisan to non-partisan form of government.  The proposal was to give residents of Berwyn the opportunity to decide whether they wanted a partisan or non-partisan form of city government.
Faced with yet another fight for their political lives, the entrenched machine politicians went into full fear monger mode.  There was NO WAY that they wanted to  permit residents to make this simple choice.  The stakes were much too high.
    Why do machine politicians need to prevent Berwyn residents from having the opportunity to make choices about their own city and their own local government?  Why do they fear and distrust you?   

    Here's why.  They believe that you are too "stupid" to make the "right" decision and  they want to make decisions for you.  They do not want to risk the chance that you are so "stupid" that you might decide to vote for a person who is not wearing a blue or red uniform.

Desperate People Do Desperate Things
    There is a very good reason why Bob Lovero was agitated as he stood before his loyal minions at an emergency meeting of the political clique that controls the city.

    There is a very unflattering account of his "nervous condition" and the behavior that it created at the meeting, but we shall refrain from indulging in reporting this eye witness report.  We will summarize by saying that it was a deeply stressful time in his "political career".

Berwyn Residents Can't Be Trusted
    The Berwyn City Council was poised to vote on placing on the ballot a referendum question which would have provided Berwyn residents the opportunity to vote to change Berwyn from a  partisan elections to a non-partisan elections municipality.  

    At headquarters, Lovero reportedly told the crowd (among other things and I'm paraphrasing from a source in attendance), that if they could not stop the non-partisan effort, it would be the end of their party and their political organization in Berwyn.  His strategy was to fill the city council chambers with protesters.  
        
Avoiding The Issue
    On the night of the vote, the clique packed the city council chambers with political acolytes  and patronage minions to taunt, jeer and protest.   One desperate political crony after another testified against the proposal.  I only wish the event had  been filmed.

    From the laughable, triple-dipping and inarticulate city clerk to the long time political do-nothing who approached me with wagging finger admonishing me that I was a terrible person for trying to make such changes to city government, the evening provided a wonderful view of the self-serving partisan politicians' futile struggle to find information to support their point of view.

    Point of view on what?  On refusing to give Berwyn resident an opportunity to vote
"yes or no" on a legitimate political issue?  The vote to be taken that night was not on whether or not Berwyn would be a partisan or non-partisan government.  The vote was whether or not Berwyn politicians wanted to give Berwyn residents the right to make that decision.

    What was the problem for the Bob Lovero, Michelle Skryd, Nona Chapman and the rest of those who ranted and raged against the proposal?  The problem was that they knew that they would lose the system of power that allowed them to sweep their cronies into poltical office.  They could not afford to give Berwyn residents the choice of electing individuals to public office, individuals who might not be so willing to "go along to get along".

    Do you suppose that they would have fought so hard to prevent the question from appearing on the ballot if they had thought that they were going to win?  They wanted to declare that non-partisan govenrment was wrong for Berwyn because they could not afford to let voters make this choice for themselves.
    
The Machine Finds A Friend In The Closing Minutes
    To make a long story short, the proposal failed because one alderman decided to change his vote at (literally) the very last minute.  Why he rolled over into a spineless stupor to suddenly change his vote (and deny Berwyn residents the opportunity to make a choice) remains a "vast mystery".   Some have suggested that he was actually frightened and intimidated by all the bullying.  Others have less flattering explanations.

    Keep in mind, that the entire issue here was simply to give Berwyn residents the opportunity to make a choice.  The city council was not voting to create a non-partisan government.  It was merely a vote to put the question on a ballot and give Berwyn residents the opportunity to vote "yes" or "no".

    The proposal failed, despite the fact that city wide support for the referendum ranged from 70% to 80% according to polls.

Don't Trust The Voter To Make The "Right" Decision.
    Why does the concept of non-partisanship government strike immediate and irrational fear in the hearts of corrupt patronage machine politicians?   Why would anyone oppose giving residents of a city the opportunity to vote on an issue?

    Studies have shown that it is common to find support for such referendums often approaching 70% to 80% of the electorate.

    It is even more interesting to note that the vast majority of people strongly opposed to non-partisan government are the officials in a politically controlled city and their gaggle of supporters and patronage sycophants.  It makes sense, doesn't it?

Survival Depends On Controlling The Outcome
    How do politicians attempt to justify their opposition to non-partisan elections?

    The answer can be found in the psyche of the political boss and the political machine strategy to control the outcome of elections.   Partisan politics guarantees the political clique and their big money benefactors will remain in charge of the election process.  It will surprise no one that it is a matter of money and power.


Your Voting Record Is Available To Politicians
Your Ballot Is Not Secret
    What most people do not know is that, when the voter is required to declare their party affiliation, their choice becomes a matter of PUBLIC RECORD at the Cook County Clerks Office as well as in Springfield.  Any politician or political organization deemed bona-fide by the County Clerk's Office is entitled to receive a record of how you voted.  This permits the party and machine politicians to "track you down" for whatever purposes they desire.  Your ballot is not a secret.

    When people are told this fact, they instantly express a preference for non-partisan elections.   The realization that the ballot is not a secret ballot is a surprise to many people.

    This also explains why independent voters tend not to vote in elections that require them to announce their party affiliation.  They feel that having to declare their affiliation violates their right of privacy at the ballot box and leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and political retaliation.  They do now want to make their homes and businesses vulnerable to petty poltical assaults such as contrived building code violations or the inability to obtain various city services. 

    In short, independent voters are  disenfranchised and the result is that they have no influence on who will appears on a ballot.

    There is no democracy in excluding thousands of voters from participating in local elections.  That leaves us with the enthusiastic participation of the machine politicians and their patronage armies.  Pretty slick, huh?  The system works real well for them.

The Silent Majority Prefers Private Choice
    The percentage of residents who register to vote but prefer not to designate party  affiliation is rapidly increasing.  Commonly, well over 60% of registered voters choose  not to participate in a partisan primary.   Even a large majority of people who do vote in primary elections resent the fact that they are required to declare party affiliation.

    But partisan elections work well for the corrupt machine politicians who only want people to vote if they can be sure that they are voting for the "right candidates".  The end result is control of the outcome.  By successfully stifling the competition and discouraging independent voters, the victory of candidates chosen by party bosses is inevitable.

    Party bosses and political benefactors want only their hand-picked candidates to be elected because they can count on the "cooperation" of a machine candidate that they literally "created" knowing that they will  do what they are told to do.  You see this clearly on our current Berwyn City Council.

The Biggest Threat To Political Machines.
Their Final Defeat
    While non-partisan elections are a threat to the political clique's strangle hold control over city hall and your tax dollars, independent professional city management (Council Manager Government)  is a stake through it's heart.

    If you think that  the political clique gets upset at the propect of non-partisan elections, you haven't seen anything until you watch them squirm at the thought of you taking away their cookie jar by replacing their corrupt Mayor-Council form of government with Council-Manager government.  Their entire life passes before their eyes in horrific, vivid and colorful detail.  

    But back to the topic of partisan elections.    With partisan elections, they can limit your choice to candidates who kiss the ring of the political boss.   The deal is that the candidate plays by their rules where politcal patronage and political payoffs are concerned  such as that special $98,000.00 annual pension.

       Do you really believe that those who contribute hundreds and thousands of dollars to a political campaign have your best interests in mind?   Or do you suppose that there is something else that motivates them?  This is a question I will be asking you frequently over the next several months.

Rigging Elections And The Money To Back It Up
    By rigging elections in this matter, corrupt political machines can crank out what their candidates need in order to overcome the overly burdensome process of getting on the ballot and staying on the ballot in the face of fierce litigation over petitions.  This political warfare is costly and exclusionary.  The winner always has many “political debts” to payoff.

The Solution
    Core principals need to be developed to guide us to a more effective democracy.   These principals should include:
1.    Increasing access for voters and prospective candidates,
2.   Encouraging the participation of nonpartisan groups in the election process 
      who now choose not to participate and
3.   Demanding greater government accountability. 
                
     Research confirms that when voters are not required to declare allegiance to one party or another, participation in local government increases because people have more confidence in their government.
                 
     One small step for man and one giant step for Berwyn residents will be to adopt
nonpartisanship as a political way of life.

Good Luck and Best Wishes,
Joel Erickson