I had the honor of representing Durango and surrounding areas for over a decade in the state Legislature, and the accomplishments I’m most proud of are those that required legislators from across the political spectrum to come together to solve complex problems.
Unfortunately, as the years went on, less and less of those leaders were sworn in. The extremism of both parties would make it impossible for either Reagan or Kennedy to win their party’s respective primaries.
That’s why I support Proposition 131 this November. This isn’t about “moderating” the parties as much as it is about taking power away from those who have the singular goal of fostering chaos and spreading fear in their quest to expand their audience and power. As our state nears 50% unaffiliated voters, reforms like the ones proposed in Prop. 131 make sense. Partisan primaries suffer from embarrassingly low participation, and because the vast majority of our legislative seats are “safe” for either party, the results are baked in before the general electorate even receives their ballot.
Furthermore, ranked choice voting in the general election will give voters more power, end the “spoiler candidate” effect, and finally give third party/independent candidates an equal playing field upon which to compete.
Don’t be scared off by those who say the system is “too confusing.” In Alaska, 85% of voters said it was simple. In Boulder, 86% said it was easy to fill out their ballot.
The status quo is broken. Let’s try something new. Vote “yes” on 131.
Don Coram
Montrose
