Write Consult LLC Principal Delivers Draft Bloomberg Website
Press release from: WriteConsult.com
Published date: 01-22-2007 11:21 AM - CET - Politics, Law & Society
(openPR) - Write Consult LLC has taken on the task of directing the Committee to Draft Michael Bloomberg for President as a vehicle to promote Independent candidates for offices all over the U.S. in 2007. Our extended mission is to recruit solid independent candidates to run for the House and Senate in 2008. This is the momentum that will finally elect a credible and capable “Independent” chief executive to the White House in 2008.
Against all odds, Independents made the ballots and influenced the outcome of dozens of races in the U.S., likely tipping the balance of power in the Senate in 2006. To expand on that momentum and keep the Independent movement growing, our company launches the DraftMichael.com website.
We have added a blog, a yahoo group, two informal polls, and have announced an essay contest to challenge Americans to answer “Why America Needs an Independent President”.
The next phase of our mission is to build the grassroots network to turn the Independent and swing vote toward a viable alternative to the Big Two in November 2008. Our principal Joseph Oddo – twice a candidate for Congress – will be giving workshops to assist and train candidates to run for office as Independents all over the country.
“Our citizens have to become more than just the primary financiers of political reform. We have to lead by example. We can take action against apathy by helping ordinary citizens enter politics to protect our tax dollars”.
For Interviews and Media Inquiries Contact:
Joseph Oddo
Write Consult LLC
info@draftmichael.com
www.WriteConsult.com
703-338-0200
Joseph Oddo, 49, ran for Congress as an Independent in 2004 & 2006. As co-founder of the Independent Greens of Virginia his team has organized, coordinated and recruited candidates for office all over Virginia. He has served as Eastern Coordinator for Kent Mesplay vying for the Green Party presidential nomination in 2004. As an activist, Oddo advocates for National Election Reform, national high-speed rail development; scrapping the tax code; and protecting our civil liberties. Oddo earned a Public Policy degree from Penn State Harrisburg. He resides in Washington, DC.
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Announcing the National Election Reform Platform for 2008 Independent presidential candidates.
Since we cannot rely on the Big Two parties to challenge the inadequacies of our voting systems; to ensure fairness in elections that encourage citizen participation, then we propose the following platform to fixing democracy.
Once implemented, it will be the American citizen reclaiming ownership of our country by solving the issues of war, immigration, health care, environment, education, and trade, among others.
1. Uniform Ballot Access for federal candidates. Rather than candidates for president having 51 different rules for making the ballot, we make the criteria the same throughout the land. That means those running for Senate and House also have the same criteria in each state.
2. Loosen Third Party Ballot Restrictions. Force states to untie ballot access to past election results. Without fair ballot access in place now, the thresholds to become a recognized third party are too difficult to achieve (by design of the Big Two). Currently only 37 states have at least one recognized third party and that changes based on election results.
3. Universal Voter Registration. Legislation has already been passed that will require government standardized identification cards which should be acceptable to election officials to allow anyone who shows up at the right precinct on Election Day to vote on-the-spot whether registered or not.
4. Extended Election Day. Either hold elections on weekends or move it to a holiday like Columbus Day in October.
5. Equal Media Access for third party contenders to include broadcast time and inclusion in the debates.
6. Institute Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) which allows voters to rank their choices. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote – over 50% - then the lowest number of first place votes is eliminated and the votes are recounted for how many second place votes came in. This continues until a candidate is declared a winner of a majority.
7. Secure the Vote - Ensure the security of our voting instruments whether it is via a papertrail or some better method. Six years after the Florida debacle and we still do not have secure voting machines – considering the fact that electronic machines are subject to manipulation.
8. Public Campaign Financing - Instituting a fair and equitable method of public campaign financing reduces the taxpayer burden. Here's how: It costs the country more now under the current system that forces candidates to raise exorbitant sums of money from corporate and private donors (read: elitists). The winner is then beholden to the group of financiers that paid for that victory which creates a corrupt system of paybacks and legislation that raids our Treasury – at an enormous cost to the real owners of our country – the people.
9. Direct Election of the President. Get rid of the Electoral College.
10. Voting Rights in Congress for the citizens of the federal District of Columbia.
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