It's Official: No IRV in Burlington

Governor Douglas was in town on Saturday - not for a ribbon cutting ceremony - but to sign H.773 into law. A low-key affair - I got there just in the knick of time - about a dozen or so Burlington residents watched the Governor with approval. Absent were Burlington state reps Mark Larson and Jason Lorber, who had lead the effort to keep IRV in Burlington and were co-sponsors of H.773 to make the charter change official. Saturday's event was not reported by the major Vermont news organisations, but Shay Totten was there, covering for the local pro-IRV "Progressive" newspaper. As Lea Terhune, one of the movers and shakers to remove IRV in Burlington wrote today in Facebook,

"IRV is over in Burlington. Localvores, take note: IRV is like other fast food fads -- not healthy (for democracy), not real (fake, manufactured majority), promoted by corporate marketing (FairVote, TrueBallot), advertising financed by national groups (FairVote, VPIRG probably a pass-through donation from an individual or group that wanted to remain secret). Repeal IRV was a local, grassroots campaign, ideas put forth in debate were local, not canned FairVote marketing promos, and traditional run-off elections may take a little longer and cost a little more -- but they are like home-made meals, made from scratch using home-grown foods. Celebrate democracy, and if necessary take a little more time to vote thoughtfully in a real runoff election."