Press: Play Fair In City Campaigns

Already, we’ve heard from some quarters regret that the old “horse race” format has been abandoned. Just five years ago or so, Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls both switched from the horse race selection method to the by-seat format. Rathdrum will also go by-seat this Nov. 3. What’s the difference? With the horse race method, no matter how many candidates are running for, say, three council seats, the top three vote-getters are elected. With the by-seat format, candidates declare for a specific position on the council, and only the top vote-getter for each position is elected. The concern we’ve heard expressed about the by-seat approach is that the races can get personal, and when races get personal, they often get ugly. If you have everybody competing for three open seats, some argue, more attention is focused on issues than on personalities/ Coeur d’Alene Press . More here .

Question: Do you prefer the current method used by Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls to fill council seats, with candidates running against one another for a particular spot, or the old method in which the top two or three vote-getters win positions?