AMERICAN REFORM PARTY of NJ
Attention: Home Owners & Tenants Are Property Taxes driving you nuts & out of NJ? If you are not bothered by your property taxes then don’t read any further
WE HOLD THE POWER TO CONTROL HOW OUR TAXES ARE USED.
A Way Around Runoffs - Commentary... read entire commentary - click here. Special Thanks to Bob D Andrea and Dan Johnson Weinberger for bringing this article to our attention There ought to be a better way to decide our elections than having a runoff several weeks later. In fact, there may be a better alternative in place already. A system that has been used for years in Ireland and Australia is getting its first American tryout in San Francisco, and this will bear close watching. There are several arguments against runoffs, which are used at many election levels. One is that they are extremely expensive. Another is that they often produce voter apathy and results that are to no one's liking. If you want to know how bad a result a system of runoff elections can produce, look at the recent experience in France. Voters assumed that the presidency would be decided in a runoff election between Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin, and few went to the polls in the initial round. As a result, Jospin was edged out by the extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen for a place in the runoff. Newark's May 14 mayoral election is unlikely to end in a runoff, but this is not entirely out of the question. If so, the second round would not be until June 11. Do we really want another month of this acrimonious campaign? One answer to the runoff is a system of weighted voting now being tried in San Francisco. Voters in a race of more than two candidates would select their first, second and third choices. The low vote getter in the field would be eliminated and the second- place votes on his line added to the votes for the other candidates. If a voter's first and second choices are eliminated, his third choice would be applied to the remaining candidates. The process would be repeated until there was a winner with more than 50 percent of the vote. It's not a perfect system, to be sure. In the beginning, it might produce voter confusion. There are advantages, however, that make it worth watching and deserving of consideration for use in other places -- including New Jersey. Special Thanks to Bob D Andrea and Dan Johnson Weinberger for bringing this article to our attention... read entire commentary - click here. ****************************************************************************************
If WE THE PEOPLE LEAD,
Yes I want to change this darned political
system
For Comments,
Questions or More Information About the ARP - Contact Us:
Yes America Needs a Strong Third Party
The Republican and Democratic parties
have monopolized the political system by capturing the money that runs elections,
preventing worthy challengers and third parties from fair access to the ballot,
and blocking open political debate. This has debased our democratic institutions
and degraded the quality of politicians who seek to hold public
office.
The former independent Governor of
Connecticut and three term U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker wrote, “The two-party
system owes its continued existence to the self-aggrandizement of Republicans
and Democrats and to many in the news media who look upon change as expensive
logistically. The public is miles ahead of the politicians and the press
in seeing the irrationality of the
present {duopoly}
system.”
The
Last Straw
When our elected officials made bribery
legal by calling it campaign contributions and declaring money to be free
speech, that was more than we The people could, or would, take. Citizen distaste
for the two parties is a long established fact. The natural consequence of
such distaste, logically thinking should be the creation of a third major
political party, a party that is centrist, addresses the broad spectrum of
issues and produces true competition and superior
government.
Political and Economic
Objectives:
·
Restore
trust and integrity in government
·
Reduce
government spending and size
·
Increase
disposable income for families
·
Institute
long-term fiscal policies
·
To
insure intergenerational
equity
Campaign Finance Reform:
·
Reduce
the influence of money and special
·
Interest
in campaigns
·
Establish
public funding options for clean elections
·
Shorten
election cycles.
·
Eliminate
soft money from corporations, unions and wealthy
individuals.
·
Prompt
Internet disclosure of campaign contributions and voting
records.
·
Lobbyists
provide information, not money.
Election/Electoral Reforms:
·
States
must grant fair ballot access for third party candidates and
independents.
·
TV
and Radio debates and forums must include ballot-qualified third- party and
independent candidates.
·
Publish
uniform statewide voters guides.
·
Term
limits for elected officials, legislative leaders and committee
chairs.
·
Proportional
representation; require courts, not political parties, to construct equal
legislative voting districts.
·
Open
primaries: a single unified ballot so voters can choose candidates of any
party.
·
Cumulative
voting options, instant runoff.
·
NOTA
(none of the above) on the ballot line as a voters
choice.
·
Recall
vote to remove legislators.
·
Replace
Electoral College with popular vote.
·
Citizen
initiative and referendum laws in all states and also as national
advisories.
Foreign Affairs:
·
Keep
our United Nations dues current, meet international obligations and humanitarian
needs and stay engaged in world affairs as a political and economic leader
of the free world.
·
Restore
normal relations with
Cuba.
Trade Policies and Jobs:
·
Eliminate
the trade deficit, pursue fair trade policies and reestablish the nations
creditor status.
·
End
fast track passage of trade agreements and require congressional
accountability.
·
Require
trading partners to meet standards in human rights, workers rights, labor
laws and environmental laws.
·
Retain
U.S. manufacturing capacity and keep high paying technical jobs at
home.
Immigration Policies:
·
Keep
a record of all Visa holders and foreign visitors and send them home when
their visa runs out.
·
Establish
a firm cap of 200,000 immigrants per year until the current wave of mass
immigration is assimilated.
·
Limit
family reunification to spouses and minor children of legal
immigrants.
·
Ban
future amnesties for illegal immigrants and review political asylum
claims.
·
Enforce
job eligibility verification as well as all immigration laws and
regulations.
National Health Care:
·
Establish
a universal, single-payer health program across the States and
Nation.
Environment/Conservation:
It
is the responsibility of the American people to be stewards of the earth
down to the seventh generation. We therefore support policies for clean air,
clean water, endangered species, land and water conservation and stabilization
of U.S. and world population growth.
·
Conserve
open spaces for human enjoyment and natural habitats for wildlife, safeguard
state and national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, rivers, lakes,
seashores, wetlands, wilderness areas and
fisheries.
·
Eliminate
subsidies to companies that pollute natural resources and threaten public
health (mining, energy, grazing and timber). Prevent dumping of toxic waste
and chemicals into oceans and waterways.
·
Negotiate
agreements with other nations to protect the global
environment.
The ARP of NJ - Changing Our Present for the Future
Our purpose in joining together to form this party
is to initiate a process of American renewal under the constitution of the
United States of America and to attract to this cause others who share our
concerns. We intend to engage in the public debate in a manner that emphasizes
the contrast between the future and the politics of the
past.
We shall contribute to the intellectual foundation
of a new American Political Force which will build community, create sustainable
economic growth, preserve our natural resources, remove barriers of
discrimination, unify our society and restore integrity and decency to public
life and
governance. If we are ever successful in this effort, our philosophy will then be "populist" thereby, and more representative of the Democratic Republic we profess ourselves to be a government, "OF the People, BY the People, and FOR the People." ~David J. Repko, former National Chair, author of The Repko-Bate |
ARP of NJ LINKS
Property
Tax
Reform
CHAIRMAN
VICE-CHAIRMAN
SEC./TREASURER
FOUNDER
CO-FOUNDER
Member
Contacts Kevin McEvoy - mckev@nac.net |
©1998-2006:
American Reform Party
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We are going to stop our property taxes from being used to fund
education. PERIOD. The State of Michigan removed school taxes from property
taxes over 4 years ago. That is why they deserve the blue ribbon.
IF THEY CAN DO IT - WE CAN DO
IT -
