it was approved by 60% of duh voters, but was successfully blocked in court for the upcoming mayoral race.

in the 1999 mayor's race, liberal populist Supervisor Tom Ammiano jumped in the race late as a write-in. disenchanted with Willie Brown and the existing candidates, Tom got 25% to finish second, and lost in the run-off, 60-40. i worked for his campaign and went from delighted to disappointed along with the rest, but still, he did...not bad for a very liberal and very gay fellow.

however -

the Commitee On Jobs (a front group representing downtown business interests) had done a survey, and it showed that, had IRV been in place, Ammiano would have beaten Brown rather handily. you see the problem.

cut to today. this year's race features Brown's personally-appointed (straight white hope, and rich as well, thanks to $2 mill in loans from the Gettys) Supervisor Gavin Newsom running for mayor as a moderate businessman/'welfare-reformer' (read: poor-basher). on the left is Ammiano again, former supe Angela Alioto (daughter of former mayor Joe), and Pres of the Board (and Green Party guy) Matt Gonzalez. on the right is no one worth mentioning (sorry, Coulter fans, but you ain't in Kansas anymore. thank God). anyway, surveys were taken. Newsom would lose if IRV was in place like the voters wanted...so it's been pushed back, who knows how long.

IRV appears to be a system that tends to unify the oft-fractured left. and it is a huge threat to the mainstream parties, and they do not want it to happen. ain't democracy grand?