[Linux-aus] With elections coming up soon I thought I'd post a few ideas

[Sridhar Dhanapalan]

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 18:36, Anand Kumria <wildfire at progsoc.uts.edu.au> wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 03, 2005 at 04:26:01PM +1100, Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote:
> > If we have two-year terms, how about having staggered elections? For
> > example,
>
> If you have single year terms:
> 	- you don't have to worry about the need to stagger elections
> 	- you don't have to worry about people being a problem, since you
> 	  can eject them at the next election
> 	- you don't have to worry about short-term planning (if you
> 	  think it is a problem), since, as above, you can eject them
> 	- you don't have to worry about continuity since you are still
> 	  free to elect the same person

Yes, you are free to elect the same person. However, how does that person 
convince everyone that they are on the right track? If they are focusing 
their energies into something that will take over a year to show results (or 
even worse, be detrimental in the short run - the "no pain, no gain" 
approach), how will the voters judge them? They can try to explain 
themselves, but there will always be some people who disagree or want to be 
more instantly gratified. This happens all the time in politics, and as a 
consequence we have pork-barrelling and other forms of short-term placation 
in lieu of more long-term planning. We should have permanent solutions, not 
band-aids. Shorter terms encourage the latter.

> > How many posts are up for election in LA anyway?
>
> Seven. Four executive and three non-executive.

Cheers. Staggered elections might be a little too much for only seven 
positions, not to mention that it is an uneven number and thus more difficult 
to split up.

-- 
Sridhar Dhanapalan  [Yama | http://www.pclinuxonline.com/]
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