
Committee of Seventy Next step: Ballot box. Council Approved legislation to abolish BRT - now it will be up to the voters in May to seal the deal. Which way will you vote?
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In a historic 15-2 vote, City Council yesterday approved legislation that paves the way for a complete overhaul of Philadelphia's notoriously inaccurate property-assessment system, starting with the abolition next year of the Board of Revision of Taxes.

Committee of Seventy Mayor appoints new BRT interim director : Richard Negrin - Aramark exec and Ethics Board member
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A lot of nasty things can happen at the bottom of a pile of football linemen. Eye gouging. Spitting. Sucker punches, and so on. All of which should only have helped prepare former football player Richard ...

Committee of Seventy
Two articles about redistricting today - @ourmoneyphilly Thanks for the shout out to www.redistrictingthenation.com/philadelp hia
www.philly.com
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.

Committee of Seventy Philadelphia is growing! That's a good thing.
www.philly.com
Good news, Philadelphia! After decades of population loss, the city has stopped shrinking, according to revised Census Bureau estimates. On Monday, the city received a letter from the Census Bureau raising the 2008 population estimate by about 93,000.

Committee of Seventy Almost two years into his term as Mayor we're not the only one's asking Nutter: "Where is the Reform?" Check out yesterday's Inky editorial:
www.philly.com
Mayor Nutter swept into office buoyed by voters' high hopes and great expectations. But almost two years into his term, the mayor has lost some of his mojo. His administration doesn't seem to be firing on all cylinders.

Committee of Seventy Great event this morning with Vice President Biden. Thanks to all of those who made it a huge success!
www.kyw1060.com
Vice president Joe Biden was in Philadelphia on Monday morning for a breakfast appearance, during whichhe offered his take on the challenges facinggovernment.

Committee of Seventy We're excited to have Vice President Biden at our Annual Breakfast on Monday - great inquirer article about the event and our director Zack Stalberg
www.philly.com
Vice President Biden comes to Philadelphia on Monday. What for? you might ask. A symposium at the National Constitution Center? An address before the World Affairs Council? A policy conference at the University of Pennsylvania?

Committee of Seventy NY Times weighs in on #redistricting for NY State - the problems cited hit home for Pa voters too.
bit.ly
New York’s lawmakers should create a nonpartisan, independent redistricting commission to draw lines fairly for Congressional seats and legislative seats.

Committee of Seventy
Please join us for this dynamic dialogue between voters’ rights advocates, legislators and the election officials who administer Pennsylvania’s election processes.
REGISTER: Online registration on Common Cause's website at:
http://www.commoncause.org/pa
THE PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS COALITION is a network of more than 70 organ...izations and issues experts working to protect and expand Pennsylvanians’ voting rights, to make the voting process more voter-friendly, and to enhance the integrity of our election systems.
SYMPOSIUM GOAL: Elections improvement advocates and experts from across Pennsylvania will assemble to discuss observations and experiences from recent elections and prepare for the upcoming 2010 election cycle. The strengths and weaknesses of our current system, as well as threats to the system and opportunities for change will be examined. The end goal is to identify potential improvements to Pennsylvania’s electoral process that will further strengthen accessibility and accuracy for all voters. At this symposium participants will:
Establish stronger relationships with fellow voters’ rights advocates and public officials;
Share and enhance knowledge on key issues;
Build a more effective information and response network with kindred advocates; and
Construct an action agenda for 2010.
STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA ELECTIONS:
The Honorable Pedro Cortes, Pennsylvania Secretary of State will address the forum and hold a Q&A on Pa. elections.
DISCUSSION GROUPS:
A. Building a Voter Friendly Registration System
Leader: Steve Strahs, Election Reform Network
Current Condition of Pennsylvania’s Voter Registration System
Alternative Approaches to Strengthening the System -- State & National Levels
How Do We Move Forward to Implement Solutions?
B. Strengthening Relationships with County Election Officials
Leader: Lora Lavin, League of Women Voters of PA
Powers and Duties of County Boards of Elections
Powers and Duties of County Election Directors
Avenues for Citizen Participation
C. Election Protection & Policy Solutions
Leader: Celeste Taylor, Regional Equity Management Project, BPEP
Ideas for Greater Coverage & Coordination Around the State in 2010
Turning Election Protection into Effective State and Federal Policy
Opportunities to Plug Voters into Official “Complaint” Mechanisms
D. PA’s Voting Machines: Safe & Accurate or Still at Risk & Getting Riskier?
Leader: Marybeth Kuznik, Vote PA
Status and Threats to PA’s Voting Systems for the 2010 Elections
Steps to Protect the 7 Million PA Voters Lacking Voter-Verified Paper Ballots
Ensuring Secure, Accurate, Accessible, and Verifiable Voting Systems for PA Voters
E. Protecting the “Voting Vulnerable”
Leader: Paul O’Hanlon, Disability Rights Network of PA
Monitoring and Supporting Counties’ Duties to Visit Every “Public Institution” to Process Absentee Ballot Voting
Election Protection in Hospitals on Election Day
HB-6 of 2009 – Expanding Election Protection to “private institutions”
LEGISLATIVE PANEL: (Invited Panelists)
The Hon. Chuck McIlhinney, Chair, Senate State Government Committee
The Hon. Babette Josephs, Chair, House State Government Committee
The Hon. Anthony Williams, Minority Chair, Senate State Government Committee
The Hon. Kerry Benninghoff, Minority Chair, House State Government Committee
PARKING: Meter parking around the perimeter of the Keystone Building and also across the street from the Keystone Building. The Seventh Street Parking Garage is open to the public. It is approximately 1½ blocks from the Keystone Bldg. at Forster Street and Seventh St.
AMTRAK: Station is about six blocks from the Keystone Building.
HOTELS: A block of rooms has been reserved at the Harrisburg Crowne Plaza Hotel, a few blocks from the meeting site. They will be available at the state discount rate of $103 until November 20th. Call 1-800-2CROWNE, or 717-234-5021 for reservations. Mention Common Cause/PA to get your discount. A variety of less expensive hotels and motels are available near the Turnpike Interch
2nd Annual Pennsylvania Voters Coalition Elections Symposium
Time:9:00AM Friday, December 4th
Location:Keystone Office Building in the Capitol Complex

Committee of Seventy
Inquirer Editorial: Pretty offices, all in a row - echos Seventy's call for the elimination of six elected positions in Philadelphia - read our report on our website http://www.seventy.org/OurViews_Needless _Jobs.aspx
www.philly.com
Opinion, editorial columns, and commentary from todays edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Committee of Seventy Philadephia Elections: Turnout was 10w (~12%). See city results here: http://www.phillyelectionresults.com/
www.phillyelectionresults.com

Committee of Seventy Election Day across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Any questions or problems call our Election Day Hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE

Committee of Seventy
Tuesday's ballot: http://bit.ly/12d4BI
Candidates are also on Facebook!
DA candidate Seth Williams http://bit.ly/41QJt4
DA candidate Michael Untermeyer http://bit.ly/32IZBv
City Controller incumbent Alan Butkovitz http://bit.ly/28O17I
City Controller candidate Al Schmidt http://bit.ly/1u18N7
PA Supreme Court Candidate Jack ...Panella http://bit.ly/3WK8w7
PA Supreme Court Candidate Joan Orie Melvin http://bit.ly/24YPB0

Committee of Seventy You'll be voting on Tuesday. Besides the D.A. and the City Controller - there will be a lot of judges on the ballot - Inquirer article good starting point for understanding judges races:
www.philly.com
Complete coverage of local news and regional news from todays edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Committee of Seventy NJ voters must have their mail-in ballot applications sent in by TODAY. Otherwise, apps. must be turned in to county clerk's office by 3pm on Nov 2nd.
www.njelections.org
In New Jersey, any voter can now vote by mail in any election. You do not need a reason to Vote by Mail. Don't feel like going to the polls? Simply vote by mail. Now there is "no excuse" not to vote!
















