PebbleCreek Democratic Club President Vicki Barber (far left) and Vice President Jim Sheard (far right) with Kazz Fernandez (second left), Mark Cable (center), and two Voter Choice Arizona volunteers (photo by Gillian Driscoll)
The May meeting of the PebbleCreek Democratic Club took place at Tuscany Falls Ballroom on May 3. Members were treated to an interesting presentation on the topic of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).
Kazz Fernandez, the Organizing Director for Voter Choice Arizona, explained how RCV works and the benefits it can offer to both voters and candidates alike. RCV gives voters more choice by allowing them to rank candidates from their favorite to their least favorite. The candidate with the least votes on the first round is eliminated and their votes are distributed to the other candidates according to voters’ choice. RCV encourages more positive campaigning by candidates as they vie not only for voters’ first choice but failing that, for their second or even third choice. This leads to more positive interaction between candidates as they compare themselves favorably to each other.
Club members were able to take part in a sample Ranked Choice Voting session using their cell phones with the results displayed on the big screen for all to see. We ranked our favorite Mexican dishes and the winner was … enchiladas!
Kazz Fernandez, a former national organizer on the issue of RCV with Rank the Vote, has managed his own energy auditing and consulting business and also worked as an industrial sales engineer. Also present was Mark Cable, a middle school teacher of the civics program We the People to 8th graders, and a member of Voter Choice Arizona.
The May meeting was the final meeting of the season for the Democratic Club as many members leave for the summer to cooler climates. Our meetings, which, as always, are open to all will resume on Wednesday, Sept. 6, with social hour from 6 to 7 p.m. and the meeting at 7 p.m.
Club information can be found at pcdemclub.org. We wish our members and all PC residents a fun and relaxing summer. See you in the fall.