IRV Rally at Berkeley City Hall, 6:30 pm

Berkeley City Council should respect will
of voters and implement 'free' elections,
suggests Secretary of State candidate

BERKELEY - The city of Berkeley should respect the will of the voters, and implement "fair elections" in the upcoming November elections, said Secretary of State candidate Dr. Forrest Hill, who is running for the Green Party nomination in June's Primary Election.

Dr. Hill will participate in a rally TUESDAY (March 7) at 6:30 p.m. in front of Old City Hall (2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way)

Dr. Hill will join other officials calling for the Berkeley City Council to respect the will of Berkeley voters, who overwhelmingly passed Measure I by 72 percent in 2004, and authorize the use of Instant Runoff Voting in city elections.

"IRV offers a cost-effective way of insuring that the winning candidate in any race is preferred by a majority of voters," said Hill, adding: "As has been shown in San Francisco, it promotes both greater voter turnout and reduces negative campaigning."

Dr. Hill said the fact that Berkeley - once known as a liberal bastion - is balking at free elections shows "just how far our democracy has fallen. Our addiction to winner-take-all elections traps citizens into voting defensively often forcing them to choose a candidate they do not necessarily support to defeat a candidate they detest," added Dr. Hill.

Speakers, in addition to Dr. Hill, include Chris Jerdonek, Center for Voting and Democracy; Laura Wells, Green Party candidate for Controller, Chris Kavanaugh, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board and Jesse Townley, former Green Party candidate for Berkeley City Council. People from Democracy Matters, the Voting Rights Task Force, the Green Party, Berkeley Progressive Alliance, and others will also be attending.
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Contact: Cres Vellucci, press secretary 916/996-9170
Rebecca Markussen 916/456-2887
http://www.VoteForrest.org