#municipal elections

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Olivia Chow has been elected mayor of Toronto, CP24 declares, ending almost 13 years of right-leaning rule at Toronto City Hall and becoming the first woman and the first visible minority person to lead post-amalgamation Toronto.

CP24 made the call at 9 p.m., with Chow appearing to have secured 37.2 per cent of the vote.

Chow, 66, was the favourite to win the race from the moment she entered and managed to command a decisive lead in the polls, though the race on election night ended up being a photo finish between her and Ana Bailão.

Bailão came in a close second, with 32.43 per cent of the vote. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[daniel-nerd]

(long rant incoming)

the first even transgender town council member in israel was elected in kiryat tivon yesterday!! and while this is a huge win for diversity, inclusivity and human rights, somehow even cishet white men from gaza and the west bank can’t vote. and palestinians from jerusalem still can’t vote for the government election, only municipal election!! even though the government (and for some the local council) still govern them. but in their(israeli government and other political institutions) eyes palestinians don’t count, because they’re not part of this land that we call israel, and they’re under military law instead of civilian law.

yesterday, the day of the election, i was part of a protest, a protest against the bombing of gaza, a protest for peace, a protest for releasing the hostages diplomatically, a protest for palestinian’s right to be alive.

the protest was small, and only one hour, but in that hour while the organizer read stories of survivors from gaza, depicting immoral psychological warfare and warcrimes committed by IDF soldiers, people passing by mocked us, yelled at us, cursed us, tried to argue that all of that is somehow excused and moral.

after the protest, and after we all separated into smaller groups, and went in different directions, (in order to not get targeted alone). IDF soldiers who were nearby, together with civilians, ripped photos of palestinians dying that we put up at the start of the protest. within half an hour there was nothing left, not even the strings that we hanged the photos from.

the public knows what happening in gaza, they deliberately ignore it and deny it. because accepting it would means accepting the fact that they supported the IDF, they supported the bombing of gaza, they supported and almost all of them even took part in a genocide.(in Israel, we have a mandatory military service law, which is hard to get around, and it is very common for people who do get an exempt due to medical conditions to volunteer in the military instead)

i am not scared of the truth anymore, so im going to say it. just like many others, i used to support the IDF, i used to want to join the IDF, i used to support the genocide, thinking its just to eradicate the terrorist group called hamas, thinking it was to protect us and defend, and thinking the IDF is doing everything possible to minimize collateral damage.

but with the years, every attack, every death, every news article, i came to the conclusion that so many people tried to yell at me.

at first i denied it and found excuses, then i agreed with it but watered it down and said its exaggerated. but eventually i ran out of excuses and left facing the truth. at that point i had an option, continue being complicit with the IDF knowing i support genocide, or accepting the truth and working to stop it.

my choice was obvious to me, i saw only one moral choice. unfortunately, for most israelis, the fog of propaganda is so thick that they don’t even get to have that choice, and those who do, usually choose to be complicit with the genocide out of patriotism, religious fascism or the sheer horror and existential crisis that is accepting the truth.

if there’s anything you take from this ramble of word soup, i want it to be this. think about who’s the person you’re talking to, and what mental gymnastics they were forced to go through. keep that in mind and adjust your conversation to accommodate that. the truth isn’t visible in the fog of propaganda that israeli civilians are bombarded with since birth.

if you call israel apartheid or say its a genocide you probably already lost in this discourse. they will shut their ears and won’t listen to you, thinking anything you say is hamas lies.

instead, try to walk with them, understand their train of thoughts, get to the core reasons they refuse to accept the truth and help them tackling the core of their reasoning.

they might run away from the conversation, refuse to deal with whatever they just unraveled, but in that case, you won, and pushed them one step closer to the truth.

and most importantly, don’t forget to give them resources that can help them with the next steps, we have a bunch of israeli based organizations that do exactly that, breaking the silence, eyes on the occupation, standing together, all that’s left, gush neged kibush, just to name a few. and good luck!

[writing-with-olive]

So as we're heading into the American primaries, now is a super good time to see if you're registered to vote. Remember: even if you've been registered in the past, it's possible you've been removed from the registry without being notified. Go check.

Also, now's a really good time to put into your calendar when the relevant dates are for voting. If you plan on voting for election day, this link lists when that is in your state.

Note that voter ID laws may have changed since last time you voted. This map by ballotpedia shows the requirements by state. These rules may be different in the event that you are showing up to register and vote at the same time.

If you're unhappy with all of the options, remember that voting is not the only form of civic engagement you can engage in - getting engaged in your local community is still very much an option that is on the table and is effective. Voting and community organizing are not mutually exclusive acts. While the presidential race is the most prominent it is not the only race that's happening, and that local races that will affect your life far more directly are also on the ballot. Go vote.

[royalchildreneurope]

Princess Amalia of Nassau joined her father, Prince Félix of Luxembourg, her uncle, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg and her aunt, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg, to the office of the Cercle Municipal, to vote in the municipal elections 2023, in Luxembourg -June 11th 2023.

📷 (1 & 2) : Sophie Margue/Cour Grand-Ducale Luxembourg.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, a landmark statute designed to dramatically increase Black people’s participation in electoral politics after centuries of slavery, segregation, and second-class citizenship. Newbern, Alabama, a small town in which two-thirds of 133 residents are Black, has not held a municipal election for some 60 years. What a coincidence!

In place of a democratically elected government, the town, which is located about an hour south of Tuscaloosa, has been ruled by a small group of white people who handpick their mayoral and town council in a form of hand-me-down governance. In recent years, some of Newbern’s residents have sought to change that. In a recent filing in federal court, the residents argue that the town’s failure to hold elections violates residents’ rights under the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution, and ask the court to order the town to hold an election by November 2024.

The case is striking for multiple reasons, including, most obviously, the absurdity of the purported government’s departure from fundamental democratic principles. It is also a stark reminder of the real-world impact of federal courts in a political and legal system dominated by reactionary conservatives. Liberals are asking judges for small victories, launching last-ditch efforts to access basic rights under the Constitution. Conservatives, in contrast, are aiming much higher: For them, courts are a testing ground for novel ways to curtail rights nationwide. In federal trial courts, conservatives are having their cake and eating it too, while liberals are begging for crumbs.

The plaintiff in this case is Patrick Braxton, a Black Newbern resident who, in 2020, filed the actual, long-ignored paperwork to run for mayor. As the only legally qualified candidate, he won by default, and tried to appoint a town council accordingly. The existing town council responded by convening a secret meeting during which it decided to conduct the town’s first-ever special election. Telling no one about the new “election,” the previous mayor, Haywood “Woody” Stokes III, and his council effectively reappointed themselves to their jobs. Stokes and his cronies have since repeatedly changed the locks at town hall as part of a refusal to transfer power to the legitimate officials. They have also denied Braxton access to the town’s bank account, forcing him to run food distribution drives and otherwise carry out his mayoral duties using his own funds.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking the court to install Braxton as the town’s rightful mayor. “Allowing the Defendants to continue their hand-me-down governance violates the basic tenets of democracy and state law,” they write. In the meantime, they say, Stokes is ignoring basic requests from his Black constituents: Although their homes occasionally flood with raw sewage, he’s refused to support the installation of a proper sewage system.

The simple request in this case—can we have a local election, please?—is a far cry from the triumphant asks being made by conservative legal movement lawyers in federal courtrooms across the country. Over the past several years, a single Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas has signed off on requests to reverse the Food and Drug Administration’s decades-old approval of drugs used in medication abortion; to force President Joe Biden to reinstate Trump-era immigration policies; and to gut a federal program that provides free contraceptive access to anyone who wants it.

Many of these exercises in judicial policymaking have come in the form of nationwide injunctions, which spiked during the Biden administration as Trump judges began wielding their power to implement the former president’s agenda by judicial fiat. During a Supreme Court oral argument last month, Justice Neil Gorsuch observed that judges issued “exactly zero universal injunctions” during President Franklin Roosevelt’s 12 years in office. “Over the last four years or so, the number is something like 60,” he said. Given that conservative judges in Texas recently declined to adopt rules that would have limited conservative activists’ ability to hand-pick judges, it seems unlikely that this trend reverses anytime soon.

The Newbern case lays bare the impact of the Republican Party’s generations-long effort to capture the judiciary. When the federal bench is this stacked with friendly faces, the conservative legal movement is free to run up the score. Everyone else is just hoping to get on the playing field.

[hclib]

City Council Members

Elections are being held today for all 13 seats on the Minneapolis City Council. Our Hennepin County Library Digital Collections include photos of many of the city council members and aldermen who have represented Minneapolis throughout the decades. In addition to these formal headshots, the Digital Collections include photos of everything from city council members presiding over the demolition of Block E to city council members on trial.

Pictured city council members (from top left):

Jackie Cherryhomes

Brian Coyle

Frank Brown

Richard Jefferson

Carol Johnson

Jim Niland

A.G. Bastis

Kathy Thurber

Sharon Sayles Belton

[newsfromstolenland]

Monday 24th October 2022 is toronto's municipal election. the link above describes eligibility and how to vote.

Here is a link to a list of candidates for mayor, school board trustees, and city councillors.

Personally, I am supporting Chloe-marie Brown for mayor.

Check your eligibility, research the candidates, then get out there and vote!

tagging: @allthecanadianpolitics

[leightoningstrike]

The Covidiots are coming for our School Board

Municipal Election is on October 26, 2022 but Advanced Voting is an option too

This is how they start - cut them off early or be prepared for a bigger fight later

[n7india]

Jharkhand Municipal Election में ट्रिपल टेस्ट के मुद्दे पर फिर गरमाई सियासत

Ranchi: झारखण्ड राज्य में बिना ओबीसी आरक्षण के निकाय चुनाव कराए जाने का मुद्दा एक बार फिर गर्म हो गया है। निकाय चुनाव में ओबीसी को आरक्षण देने के लिए सर्वोच्च न्यायालय के आदेश के अनुसार ट्रिपल टेस्ट होना जरूरी है। ऐसे में 26 जून, 2022 को हेमंत सोरेन सरकार की कैबिनेट बैठक में ट्रिपल टेस्ट कराने की जिम्मेदारी राज्य पिछड़ा आयोग को सौंप दी गयी। इस संबंध में सत्ता पक्ष और विपक्षी नेताओं ने अपनी-अपनी…

[awesome-gautam-sandesh-blog]

युवाओं के हाथों में पहले तमंचा होता था, अब युवाओं के हाथों में टेबलेट है: मुख्यमंत्री

बदायूं में जनसभा को संबोधित करते हुये मुख्यमंत्री आदित्यनाथ योगी ने कहा कि बदायूं महर्षि कश्यप और भागीरथ की धरती रही है। अब यह नये भारत का नया उत्तर प्रदेश है। अब उत्तर प्रदेश की पहचान दीपोत्सव व रंगोत्सव से होती है। प्रदेश 6 वर्षों में दंगामुक्त हुआ है। अब उत्तर प्रदेश में तरक्की, खुशहाली, संपन्नता और विकास की बात होती है। उत्तर प्रदेश विकास के पथ पर अग्रसर है। मुख्यमंत्री ने कहा कि बदायूं विकास…

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Proposed voter ID restrictions will not only stop many Albertans from participating in local elections, but taken in the context of other "democratically questionable moves in Bill 20 and Bill 18" it is a sign of growing threats to "core democratic values" in the province, says University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley.

Alberta's election guidelines allow voters who don't have identification to be vouched for by someone in the same voting area who has approved ID and signs a declaration stating they personally know the other voter and can verify their eligibility and address.

Changes to the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) introduced in Bill 20 would prohibit the use of vouching in municipal elections except to verify an address, such as cases where a driver's license lists a post office box instead of a home address.

Wesley said the move is concerning from a democratic inclusiveness standpoint, because the people who don't have voter ID are usually the most marginalized in our community. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @abpoli

[petnews2day]

How this dog's death led to a bitter race for Wayne village president

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/3XLNG

How this dog's death led to a bitter race for Wayne village president

Were it not for a dog named Ludwig, Eileen Phipps might be cruising unopposed to a seventh term as village president of Wayne. But her husband’s killing of a neighbor’s pet triggered Peter Mourousias to run. “If anything good came out of that terrible tragedy (it) is that the residents of Wayne opened their eyes […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/3XLNG #DogNews #MayorPresident, #MunicipalElections, #News, #PetsAndAnimals, #Wayne

[royalchildreneurope]

Princess Amalia of Nassau joined her father, Prince Félix of Luxembourg and her uncle, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg, to the office of the Cercle Municipal, to vote in the municipal elections 2023, in Luxembourg -June 11th 2023.

📷 : Sophie Margue/Cour Grand-Ducale Luxembourg.

[reportwire]

FACT FOCUS: Wisconsin mobile voting truck claims scrutinized

FACT FOCUS: Wisconsin mobile voting truck claims scrutinized

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two years ago, the city of Racine became the first — and only — municipality in Wisconsin to purchase a mobile voting truck. City Clerk Tara McMenamin said she pushed for the truck because it was too difficult to set up equipment at remote sites for early in-person voting. The city used the truck for the first time for municipal elections this past spring. No one seemed to…

[rebel-bulletin]

ओबीसी आरक्षण लागू होणार की नाही, 92 नगरपालिकांच्या निवडणुकांवर आज फैसला

ओबीसी आरक्षण लागू होणार की नाही, 92 नगरपालिकांच्या निवडणुकांवर आज फैसला

राज्यातील 17 जिल्ह्यातील 92 नगरपालिका आणि 4 नगरपंचायतीच्या निवडणुका ह्या 18 ऑगस्टला घेण्याचे निर्देश हे दिले होते. मात्र, ओबीसी आरक्षणाशिवाय ह्या निवडणुका होऊ नयेत अशी मागणी सर्वपक्षीय नेत्यांनी केली होती. असे असतानाही निवडणुकांचा घेण्याचा निर्णय दिल्याने याबद्दल पेच निर्माण झाला होता. मात्र, याबाबत सुनावणी आज सोमवारी होणार आहे. मुंबई : राज्यातील 92 नगरपालिकांच्या निवडणुका ह्या  (OBC Reservation)…

[globalcourant]

UN elects new council members including Japan, Switzerland

UN elects new council members including Japan, Switzerland

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. member nations elected five countries to join the powerful U.N. Security Council on Thursday with no suspense or drama because all were unopposed — Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland. Winning a seat on the 15-member Security Council is considered a pinnacle of achievement for many countries because it gives them a strong voice on issues of international peace…