Independent Voters Screen Atlanta Mayoral Candidates; In Nonpartisan Election, Endorsement of Independents is Coveted
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 17, 2009
Last week, Atlanta mayoral candidates lined up to be screened by two groups representing independent voters in Georgia in the hopes of winning the coveted endorsement of what is considered a crucial swing vote.
Sessions were held on July 8th and July 11th during which candidates met individually with independent activists from Georgia Independent Voters and iMove to discuss the concerns of independent voters around the city and state. Those who attended were City Council President Lisa Borders, State Senator Kasim Reed, political newcomer Duvwon Robinson, Attorney Jesse Spikes, Former City Manager Glenn Thomas, former Atlanta police officer Peter Brownlowe, and City Councilperson Mary Norwood.
“It is clear to everyone that independents are having a critical impact on political races,” said Murray Dabby, a co-founder of Georgia Independent Voters. “We’ve been building a network among independents and are gratified to see that many of the candidates have expressed interest in learning more about what concerns independents around the city and state.”
Georgia Independent Voters and IMove, who have worked together on many independent initiatives, joined forces last fall after the presidential election, to screen the numerous candidates running for Mayor of Atlanta. The screening committee sent a questionnaire to all of the candidates. The 12-part questionnaire probes candidate sensibilities on the subject of political reform, a key concern for independents. Nine candidates returned a completed questionnaire.
The Atlanta mayoral race is a nonpartisan contest. Independent voters will review the candidates’ responses and may decide to endorse one or more of the candidates. The groups also plan to post candidates’ responses to the questionnaire and the screening on their website and other forums.
“We look forward to working with the candidates who are interested in opening the political process to more voices,” said Audrey Mowdy, co-founder of iMove. “We feel the only way to really ensure that government is able to address issues that concern all of us — such as homelessness, economic development and poverty — is to ensure as many voices are included in the process as possible.”
A Pew poll released on May 21, 2009 titled “Independents Take Center Stage in Obama Era: Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2009″ shows independents at their highest level in 70 years. Most notably, independents rose in the post election period of Dec ’09 to April ’09 from 30% of the electorate to 39%. The strategy center, Independentvoting.org has written extensively about how independents played a decisive role in the outcome of the presidential elections.
Georgia Independent Voters and iMove are grassroots organizations working to reform the political process and develop the voice of independent voters around Georgia.
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Comment from Mike
Time July 25, 2009 at 10:02 pm
http://people-press.org/report/517/political-values-and-core-attitudes