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DESCRIPTION:5/26 SFLC Press Conference-Labor Says No On Proposition 14\n\nThe San 
 Francisco Labor Council will host a press conference on May 26, 2010 at the 
 offices of the San Francisco Labor Council to oppose California proposition 
 14. At the press conference will be parties who oppose this proposition. 
 The ballot proposition would eliminate most third parties in California and 
 only allow the two top vote getters to be on the ballot during the general 
 election. This will disenfranchise those who want a political alternative 
 outside the two main parties. It could also lead to a situation where the 
 run off would be between to Democrats or two Republicans. This is not 
 democracy.\n\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE \nMay 24, 2010 \nContact:  Tom Lacey, 
 415-637-3787 \n \n \n \nLABOR SAYS NO ON PROPOSITION 14 \nWednesday news 
 conference features all 6 parties \n \nWhat:  Press Conference \nWhen:  
 Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at Noon \nWhere: SF Labor Council 1188 Franklin 
 Street, Suite 203 \nWho:    SFLC Executive Director Tim Paulson and 
 representatives \n   from all 6 ballot-qualified political parties \n \n 
 \nWhat is Prop. 14? \nIf passed by the voters in the June 8th Election, 
 Prop. 14 will impose a “Top Two” \nsystem in California.  This system 
 will do away with the June partisan primary, and \nreplace it with a system 
 that allows all voters, regardless of how they are registered, \nto vote 
 for any ballot-qualified candidate.  It differs from an “Open Primary” 
 in that \nonly the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will be on 
 the ballot in November.  \nIn the many “safe districts” for Republicans 
 and Democrats in California, this will \nresult in two candidates from the 
 same party competing in the general election.  In \nother words, if you 
 happen to be a registered Democrat in a “Republican” district, \nsorry: 
 You’ll have to choose between two Republicans.  “Choosing the lesser 
 evil,” \ntherefore, sinks to a whole new level. \n \nThe official title 
 in the California Voter’s Guide is:  “Elections. Increases Right To 
 \nParticipate In Primary Elections.”  The reality for the overwhelming 
 majority of \nvoters will be that Prop. 14 will DECREASE our right to 
 participate in primary \nelections.   Its interference with democracy 
 doesn’t end with the Republicans and \nDemocrats: It eliminates 
 “Write-In” candidates outright, and, because the election \nlaws in 
 California require third party candidates to get at least 2% in the general 
 \nelection in order to stay on the ballot, it virtually eliminates them.  
 The likelihood \nthat a Green, Peace and Freedom, Libertarian or American 
 Independent candidate \nwill be one of the Top Two in the June primary 
 under this measure is very small. \nEven if a third party or independent 
 candidate got 20% in a five-way race, they \nwould not be on the ballot  in 
 the General Election. \n \nWhat About Labor? \nThis could be a heavy blow 
 for organized labor in California. The effects of the “Citizens 
 \nUnited” Supreme Court decision, combined with Prop. 14, would leave 
 unions ill-equipped to \ncompete with the level of corporate funding this 
 one-two punch would deliver.  Despite the \nexaggerated claims of the 
 Right, the trade unions’ strength in elections, historically, doesn’t 
 \ncome from bank vaults, but from the “boots on the ground” of their 
 members in progressive \ncampaigns. \n \nWho’s Behind Prop. 14? \nProp 14 
 was put on the ballot through the backroom dealings of State Senator (now 
 Lt. Gov.) \nAbel Maldonado. One of his demands, to place this measure on 
 the ballot, was granted in order \nto pass a budget. The big money behind 
 this measure can be seen on the California Secretary \nof State’s 
 website. Contributors read like a Who’s Who of California’s biggest 
 corporations \nand business trade associations:  BNSF Railway Company, 
 California Chamber of Commerce, \nHewlett-Packard Company, National 
 Semiconductor Corp., Pacific Life Insurance Company, \nand Shea Homes, and, 
 not to be outdone, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, himself. These \nare 
 among the corporate interests that would hijack California’s election 
 system. \n \nHas “Top Two” been tested in any other state? \nVersions 
 of this scheme are currently in place in two other states: Louisiana and 
 Washington \nState. In Washington, out of 123 legislative races, only one 
 incumbent lost in the last general \nelection. Quipped Peace and Freedom 
 Party’s candidate for Lt. Governor, C.T. Weber, “They \ncould have 
 called it the ‘Incumbent’s Insurance Act’.” \n \n### \n \n \n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/24/18648734.php
SUMMARY:SFLC Press Conference: Labor Says No On Proposition 14
LOCATION:SF Labor Council 1188 Franklin Street, Suite 203
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/24/18648734.php
DTSTART:20100526T190000Z
DTEND:20100526T200000Z
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