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Seniors in America have it tough. Instead of granting COLA (cost of living adjustments), the Republican-controlled Congress has been hard at work finding ways to slash Social Security and Medicare, the two programs which provide the majority of income and medical coverage to millions of retired Americans. Just this past June, House Republicans released a proposal that claimed it would balance the budget in nine years. A worthy goal indeed, were it not being proposed that we attain it by making

Calling all nonpartisan reform campaigns, projects, and organizations. Do you have a great idea, a new campaign, or an ongoing nonpartisan electoral reform project that deserves attention, endorsement, and funding? The National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers (NANR) is sponsoring a "Breakthrough Reform Projects" initiative to seek out, support, fund, and nurture electoral reform projects that can catalyze similar reforms across the country and channel smart funding dollars to smartly grow

In my latest interview, I talk with independent campaign manager and digital marketing expert Jenn Gray about a new voter suppression investigation she and her group, Arizona Independents United, are conducting in Maricopa County, Arizona. Jenn believes there are multiple layers of inept -- possibly corrupt -- election administration practices in the county that have led to vast numbers of valid ballot petition signatures being discarded, voters being removed from the active voter rolls, and ev

San Diego, CA. - The San Diego City Council agreed to an amended stadium lease with SDSU and voted to kill two proposed ballot measures. City Council Amends SDSU Lease Agreement The City of San Diego has amended its lease agreement with SDSU and the University's use of SDCCU stadium. By a vote of 6-1, with Councilmembers Chris Ward and Chris Cate absent, the City Council and University have an agreement through December 31, 2020. The city will receive annual rent of $1.1 million and all park

Abraham Lincoln once famously said, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” In October of last year, Pew Research released a study revealing what many of us already know: the partisan divide has grown dramatically. Even more disconcerting is that even though people have been leaving the Democratic and Republican parties in droves, “fewer Americans hold a mix of views. Instead, “the shares of Americans holding liberal or conservative views across a wider range of issues – is increasingly

San Diego, CA. - Visiting Father Joe Carroll at his East Village home, it doesn't take one long to recognize the pivotal role he played in elevating the issue of homelessness. For 37 years, Father Joe walked the streets of downtown San Diego where he fed, housed, and provided lifesaving services for our community's homeless population. Every day 3,000 men, women and children were cared for by St. Vincent de Paul and now Father Joe's Villages. Father Joe's Villages From his pictures with the

The Michigan Supreme Court in a 4-3 ruling Tuesday rejected a constitutional challenge brought by a GOP-backed group and the state attorney general to remove an initiative from the November ballot that would institute an independent redistricting commission to redraw state electoral districts. "It is not a judge’s role to philosophize a theory of government. Rather, we are stewards of the people and must faithfully abide by the decisions they make through the laws they adopt. We accomplish this

The proposed Aquatic Safety and Junior Lifeguard Facility is a beautiful design for a praiseworthy organization that we all can support in concept. The Junior Lifeguard program provides an invaluable service working for safeguarding the aquatic safety of young people. The important question, however, is whether a multi-million dollar, 9,000 sf facility that would serve almost exclusively administrative purposes for the Junior Lifeguard Foundation is an appropriate use of dedicated parkland? T

Universal health care — or single-payer health care, or medicare for all, or socialized medicine — has come of age as a mainstream political issue in the United States. There is now an "official" Medicare for All Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives that launched with 66 members. The latest research indicates a majority of Americans support some form of government guarantee of health care. But while Democrats and Republicans at the federal level attempt to coalesce their competing vision

The independent and nonpartisan reform movements have never seen the momentum they are seeing today. Voters are ditching the Republican and Democratic Parties in droves. A record number of independent and third party candidates are running. And, powerful coalitions are forming to transform the US political system into one that is more representative of the diverse political landscape in America. We are witnessing history in the making. Here are the 15 biggest developments in the independent mov