Letter: Competition Improves Politics, Too

Submitted (unpublished) Letter to the Editor, Bloomington Sun Current

Last November, I was happy to cast a Yes vote to adopt Ranked Choice Voting for our local elections, and I’m excited to use it for the first time this November in the city council races. 

By eliminating the low-participation primary, RCV not only saves Bloomington time and money, but also encourages new candidates to run and gives independent candidates a chance of winning. Voters no longer have to worry about “third-party spoilers.” They can vote for their favorite candidate without helping elect the candidate they like least. 

While our local races are supposed to be non-partisan, in recent elections the two candidates who made it through the primary inevitably would be supported by the two major political parties. Eliminating the primary and allowing all candidates on the ballot in November allows us to move away from the two-party polarization and explore more ideas for making our city work even better. Starting this year, I hope to see a more robust slate of candidates representing the diversity of Bloomington voters. And I look forward to ranking my preferences.

In our country, we value competition as key to continuously improving the quality of goods and services. More competition in our politics will benefit all of us.

Erich Dettmann, Bloomington