Longtime reform leader tells what led to recent reform victories, his advice for other states, his views on OR's use of fusion voting, and what has personally motivated him for so many years.
Wow this is really a huge achievement in Oregon and shows what can happen when we keep working together. Thank you!! For this report and all this work.
Got to say, I’m proud to be in Oregon with someone like Blair. We need to tell his mom that lots of people “mention his name” here – deservedly so. Also, like Blair, my life has been altered by a Steven Hill lecture about 25 years ago. A real DYNAMIC duo here! Thanks to you both.
An excellent interview. Blair Bobier and Steven Hill know what it takes to make difficult things happen. Good committed people and long-term persistence are critical. Was it Margaret Mead who said never underestimate what a small group of committed folks can do to make the difficult happen? She perhaps went a bit too far in claiming that was the only thing that ever did make the difficult happen - but only a bit.
Having a good idea also helps but is rarely, if ever, enough in political matters - sometimes, paradoxically, it can even hurt. Some good political ideas, especially when gaining traction, can quickly bring opposition out of the woodwork. For example, opposition to RCV seems much more open - if no more rational - now than earlier when it didn't appear to pose a threat to any power structure.
Oregon, Alaska, Maine and Nevada as well as many local jurisdictions are in the vanguard of election reform. The committed people in those states and localities are showing what can happen. We can best thank them by working for election reform in our own states and localities.
Wow this is really a huge achievement in Oregon and shows what can happen when we keep working together. Thank you!! For this report and all this work.
Got to say, I’m proud to be in Oregon with someone like Blair. We need to tell his mom that lots of people “mention his name” here – deservedly so. Also, like Blair, my life has been altered by a Steven Hill lecture about 25 years ago. A real DYNAMIC duo here! Thanks to you both.
An excellent interview. Blair Bobier and Steven Hill know what it takes to make difficult things happen. Good committed people and long-term persistence are critical. Was it Margaret Mead who said never underestimate what a small group of committed folks can do to make the difficult happen? She perhaps went a bit too far in claiming that was the only thing that ever did make the difficult happen - but only a bit.
Having a good idea also helps but is rarely, if ever, enough in political matters - sometimes, paradoxically, it can even hurt. Some good political ideas, especially when gaining traction, can quickly bring opposition out of the woodwork. For example, opposition to RCV seems much more open - if no more rational - now than earlier when it didn't appear to pose a threat to any power structure.
Oregon, Alaska, Maine and Nevada as well as many local jurisdictions are in the vanguard of election reform. The committed people in those states and localities are showing what can happen. We can best thank them by working for election reform in our own states and localities.
Again, a special thanks to Bobier and Hill.