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Is Worcester Business Journal going 'edgy'?
Victor D. Infante
victor.infante@telegram.com
CHOICES: Mentioning down-ballot races or ballot initiatives is a bit like saying "Beetlejuice" three times. You know they're gonna show up. So when I mentioned the Ranked-Choice Voting initiative in Sept. 17's Worcesteria column, I wasn't surprised to hear from the Yes on 2 campaign. I WAS, however, a little surprised to hear from them in less than an hour of it being online. Little thirsty, guys! Anyway, a few days later, I was on the phone with Evan Falchuk of Newton, the chairman of the campaign. If the name is vaguely familiar, it's probably because he ran for governor as an independent in Massachusetts in 2014. "Part of the reason I ran is I thought there needed to be more choices for voters," he says. "I wanted to build a structure for new candidates." The refrain he kept running into, though, was: "This sounds great, but I can't vote for you because you can't win. Voting for independents is a wasted vote." Falchuk believes that ranked-choice voting would change that. "If we want to change the way our politics work, it has to be about more than electing new people. We have to do something creative and structural; that gives voters more choices, a greater voice, builds consensus instead of division. That's what ranked choice is." People have tried to make the process over-complicated – you rank the candidates in order of preference, and then when the ballots are cast the least vote-getters are eliminated and their votes redistributed among the remaining candidates, until one candidate has more than 50% of the vote – but seriously, if they can figure this out in Maine, we can do it here. Falchuk believes it's more democratic, and ultimately, would lead to healthier elections. "There's a lot of data on the fact that it makes campaigns more positive," he says, "That it changes the whole dynamic about earning support from others, instead of telling people how terrible their opponent is." Falchuk recalls that, when he was canvassing in the governor's race, if there was a sign for another candidate on the lawn, he wouldn't knock on the door. Under this system, he would, because he would want to score that second choice slot. "It makes for a more positive form of campaigning," he says, "breeds consensus and reflects a majority support, which is what we should want." It's Falchuk's belief that the result would be "more competitive races, more people running, more voter turnout, more minority representation and women representation." According to the Yes on 2 campaign's website, some of the initiative's supporters include William F. Galvin, Maura Healey, Sen. Edward Markey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Joe Kennedy III and Rep. Ayanna Pressley. The campaign's honorary co-chairs include former governors Deval Patrick and Bill Weld, and former Lt. governor Kerry Healey. "We're working hard," says Falchuk, "and we believe hard in this cause, that it offers unity and hope for our democracy at a time when we need that."
WELL, THAT WAS WEIRD: Did anybody else think Hank Stoltz's interview with City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. on the Talk of the Commonwealth radio program this week was a little … defensive? Stoltz asked Augustus right out of the gate about a series of articles on Polar Park in the Worcester Business Journal by news editor Grant Welker, and while he talked ably about the disposition of the real estate surrounding the baseball stadium, including some interesting tidbits about a possible entertainment complex on Green Street, Augustus seemed to dismiss the salient questions Welker raised about the city not yet having a lease from the PawSox and not yet owning the land on which they're building, saying, "There have been some people who are anxious for this to fail." Honestly, the only local journalist who's rooting for this to fail is Bill Shaner. Most of us are just cynical and dubious. Stoltz then added, "There will always be some fool on the hill who mistakes negativity for edginess." This is the first time anyone has accused the WBJ of trying to be "edgy." Journalists – especially business journalists – are supposed to ask hard questions about public expenditures, not simply play "yes men." That's what radio is for!
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