Government and Election Reform

The current domestic political climate increasingly requires that our government make a commitment to provide transparent representation, so as to assuage fears of a degeneration of democratic control over its actions. Our government must also recognize its duty to provide services vital to the public without making the availability of those services dependent on the whims of a deregulated market, while simultaneously maintaining a fiscally responsible progressive tax base.

• State and federal public financing of political campaigns;
• Adoption of Instant Runoff Voting for national, state and local elections;
• Abolition of the non-democratic super-delegate system;
• Adoption of State delegate selection process where 50 percent +1 of committed delegates are a result of a state primary, and 49 percent are chosen by caucus polling;
• A voting system that provides a physical paper ballot verifiable by the voter while in the process of voting;
• Support for stricter laws for preventing gerrymandering in Congressional redistricting;
• Ending the use of political pressure to pervert scientific findings of government agencies, and ending the use of political criteria in the hiring and firing of U.S. Attorneys and other governmental employees.
• Greatly reducing the national debt with the installation of a national policy which reflects this goal.
• A tax rate for Corporations comparable to that of individuals;
• A progressive tax structure that includes deductions for student loan interest;
• Taxing of unearned income at the same rate as earned income;
• A tax credit for paid childcare;
• An expansion of Port of Bellingham commissioners from three to five;
• The participation and equitable representation of women in the Whatcom County judiciary;
• County or city building projects to result in no net loss of low cost housing;
• County provision of public restrooms and shower facilities at key locations;