In an editorial, Jersey City resident Pat Springle says that with Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano being re-elected last night, it’s clear that “Twitter isn’t real life” and ranked-choice voting is needed.
The December 7th Election in Ward C in Jersey City demonstrates the power of incumbency and the strength of Mayor Fulop. Congratulations are in order for Rich Boggiano and Steve. The community is invested in your continued success.
One of the lessons of this campaign is quite obvious: Twitter is not real life, and social media is out of touch with the concerns of most voters.
Kevin Bing ran a thoughtful and progressive campaign, but calling Boggiano a “Trumpian” candidate proved to be out-of-touch and a weak attempt to normalize the demagoguery of the 45th President of the United States.
Reasonable people can disagree without calling each other names or implying their opponent is a threat to democracy. Voters get this. Kevin Bing unfortunately did not.
The biggest loser in this race? The voters of Ward C and the taxpayers of Jersey City. A pathetically low turnouts indicates that neither candidate was able to galvanize their constituencies to participate in the most basic task required in a democracy.
As a high school civics teacher, I cringe at these low numbers. They make me sick to my stomach. Perhaps this is a reflection of voter empathy, mediocre candidates, or a broken voting system, either way low voter turnout indicates a lack of engagement and connection, prerequisites to a healthy democracy.
It is a sad day when taxpayers have to foot the bill for an election that so few participate in. One quick fix? Ranked choice voting with instant runoffs.
This will cut down on bureaucracy, and give voters greater choice and incentivize participation. Good government reforms like ranked choice voting can make Jersey City more democratic while lessening the tax burden.
Pat Sprinkle
Jersey City resident
She voted for Bing and lost and now she is a sore loser.
You win this round, carrier pigeons.