I like when politicians share what they do day to day on social networks (at least the parts related to their job) it makes them less disconnected from normal citizens. It give an insight what it is to be a

California has a bigger pension deficit if you add unfunded liabilities and unfunded medical expenses for retirees, I don’t get how Illinois has a worst credit rating than California.

Your partisan frame of reference is difficult to wrestle with. I can point to a candidate catering to voters outside his partisan base (Eric Swallwell for example in his defeat of Peter Stark). Here, he had to win

I don’t think “beaker” science is going to go out of style, but there’s certainly more to middle/high school than that. I was super-into social sciences my whole life, but 8th grade Robotics and 10th grade

Any initiative to reform anything will face criticism. At least the NGSS is trying to change a system that does not work. SOmething must be done to encourage kids to learn STEM classes.

You continue to look at things through a partisan frame of reference. Not about parties. About people. That’s what top-two does; makes the system about representing individuals, not groups of people called political parties.

You continue to look at things through a partisan frame of reference. Not about parties. About people. That’s what top-two does; makes the system about representing individuals, not groups of people called political parties.

All the more important. All parties can participate in the primary. When you live in a dominant one-party state, the candidates today literally don’t have to listen to the voters from the minority party AT ALL.

I’m looking forward to more officials and orgs being highlighted, it’s pretty fun to see them use social networks freely. It’s probably the most cost-effective way to connect with constituents. A few local

Retweeting selfies definitely makes him more personable. Great post Chelsea! I think it’s important to highlight when politicians, who are traditionally pretty rigid, step outside of their box and do something unique online.

Over time, I think opponents of top-two will see how well it fuses with redistricting to create much more competitive elections. There are a few legitimate arguments against top-two, but it’s hard to deny that it

It’d be a shame if Kiera Wilmot ends up in juvenile hall for something like this. I think this is a situation where tight controls on student behavior are going to be detrimental.

I’ve always been hesitant to buy into the whole “flip flopping” ordeal, I change my mind all the time, especially on political positions. If I was a public official, I guess I’d be in big trouble. I think it’s

This is a great analysis, I hope to see Florida move towards a nonpartisan top two system. I like that you’re willing to address the fact that turnout hasn’t improved, but I think there should be emphasis on how

Nice insertion of the Stanley Cup finals by Gov. Quinn, Blackhawks are probably going to take it this year.

California was in the same situation for credit scores, but it still have a large unfunded liability problem.

I agree it takes courage to change your position on an important issue. But I think that the voters know when someone changes their opinion because they truly evolved on an issue or when they just change their

Republicans use to be the smart people party. And smart people go beyond their natural instinct and do what is good for them in the long term. But that type of republican seems to be extinct recently.

I agree. The job market is changing quickly and the courses taught in schools are not always relevant 5-10 years after education. Teaching skill sets that will help students apply knowledge to any field might be

How will the fact that some states are reluctant to accept these standards affect the overall success of the program?

I just mentioned NGSS in my article today!

I’m a little skeptical on what the Fordham Institute has to say, but again I’m still not sure where I stand on Common Core. NGSS and CC standards together could make

Great analysis – the fact that the top-two has lead to a 40% turnover rate in Washington is huge…one of the major problems with elections is the the ease at which incumbents maintain their seats. Voter

I think that a national standardized system is much better suited than the local government to prepare the students for the global economy. They can see the bigger picture easier in my opinion.

Great article Ray. This analysis shows all the different areas that needs to be looked at to determine the success of top-two. I would add, and this something that is starting in California, that we need to look

NCLB was a federal law, saying “take these tests, if you’re not good enough we’re going to intervene”

Common Core is a set of standards developed by a group of state officials saying “these are the things

I have trouble figuring out how common core will do better or end up differently than No Child Left Behind

Top two is about voters and accountability…this is what, I believe, opponents are missing. I appreciate many of the counter-arguments, but the Top-Two can’t be viewed from a candidate-centric lens. The very

We should always use caution going into war. We’ve been a perpetual war state for well over a decade now, although we don’t see it directly at home. This is unfortunate and, unfortunately, could be part of the

I do agree that third parties do play a role even if they do not win. But the old system was only protecting people within a party structure and made it so hard for anybody who would like to run as an independent.

I think this story really blew out of proportion! I never looked into what people have been charged for making bomb but i would really believe that a lot of them are teens. Me and my brother use to play with

Richard, why would this “incorporation of ideas” not occur under top-two? The only difference is that this “incorporation of ideas” would have to occur faster, out of a CANDIDATES necessity of appealing to the

I understand the need or desire to create a party to combat the two major parties, you’ll have that infrastructure and binding element to be competitive. But in a way it contradicts the idea of being

It’s great to see other states taking the initiative and taking the nonpartisan primaries seriously. There’s a lot of momentum scattered across the country, but I think these movements are going to successful.

I think it was about 50 percent of the budget (~40% on K-12, ~$10 on higher education).

The state is really banking on good financial times in the near future. If not, deferral payments may rack up again. But I definitely need to look into this more.

It looks like I have a follow up piece to work on :)

Next year’s election cycle, with voters but more importantly candidates understanding a little better how top-two changes things will be very interesting. I also understand the appeal of top-two to organization

All parties, including third parties, hate California’s new system because it reduces the ability of political parties to control the outcome of the election … its a fundamental shift in the electoral process

I don’t remember exactly but it is very high! One of the highest percentage in the country but not necessarily the best results.

Again, you see how democrats and republicans have an advantage. They can raise 15 times more money than independents. This is crazy.