The Genius of Non-Partisan Elections (from www.DallasBlog.com) By Judd Bradbury, 6/8/7

In his farewell address the father of our nation George Washington implored his citizens with the clear and present danger of splitting our new nation into factions. In his own words, ? You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart burnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. To the efficacy and permanency of your union, a Government for the whole is indispensable?.

This year I have had the pleasure of traveling to one of our nations greatest cities in the service of a client. In my travels, I like to listen in on local political races and lately I have taken a keen interest in the Mayoral contest in Philadelphia and the contrast it provides with our own local election.

In many respects the City of Dallas is an idyllic place where the governmental system has its factions but for the most part runs on a non-partisan basis. Our top ballot mayoral election typically requires a million dollars to be competitive and our candidates have no requirement to swear allegiance to any political party. Our only candidate requirements are to be a citizen and seemingly to ?do good? whatever good may be prescribed at that moment.

Contrast that approach with the current mayoral election in Philadelphia where all five Democratic candidates Michael Nutter, Tom Knox, Dwight Evans, Bob Brady, and Chaka Fattah have all raised more than 2 million dollars, and the combined contest should easily top $25 million dollars. Before running for that esteemed office, all candidates must also stop by Democratic Party headquarters and kiss the ring of the permanently installed faction. Apparently Republican Al Taubenberger didn?t get the memo as his fundraising has yet to surpass a few thousand dollars and he has no primary opponents. Now to be clear, I don?t think that money is the root of all evil, and I don?t think having a lot of money is any kind of sin. I just think that money and the root of all evil play poker together more often than a democracy should be comfortable with. And most importantly, what is a city that renders party above citizen?

While I pay homage to Philadelphia as the great cradle of our nation, I believe many of its constitutional congress would display great alarm at the extent to which factions now control the city. It seems that never again could the independent breath that gave our country life emerge as a mayoral candidate in the city of Philadelphia. One might ask what in the world the City of Philadelphia has to do with the City of Dallas. I would argue that Philadelphia is an example that Dallas can learn from. In a few short years the City of Dallas will have a population equal to that of Philadelphia. Already there are rumblings on the prairie of ?turning this city Democratic? or ?being a good Republican? and ?this citizen is unfit, he is a partisan?. We are at the dawn of a big decision.

Above all the objectives found in our constitutions, charters and governmental constructs we have attempted to form the most perfect union of representation. If you are from Dallas you are no stranger to the principle of one-man one vote. And if you just cannot quite get your head around that principle, the supreme court of the land has held that as nearly a practical one man?s vote must be worth as much as another man?s vote. Now I do not hold that any political party or faction has a monopoly on preserving these traditions and I think it is great for people to get involved in any group that is trying to work through the details of government. But we need to keep an eye on what we give up for partisan familiarity.

No sooner had we formed a nation than we began to split into camps. There were Republicans, and Federalists, and a hundred more packs of wolves since that time. It is my belief that the more true we stay to the course of Washington, the better off the citizen will be. It is no crime to be a member of a political party and to the extent that it energizes, motivates, and enlightens the uninvolved, I would support that membership. It is only the priority and the operation that I take issue with. We are Americans first and partisans second. Our government, explicitly meaning our candidates and our citizens, should make every effort to preserve such fine traditions.

If current polls are accurate, it suggests that our population is distributed among three equal components, one third Independent, one third Republican, and one-third Democrat. What of those that swear no allegiance to a political party? Should they live disenfranchised for the implied crime of following the example of the father of our nation? What of those that must live browbeaten under the views of their own political party? Must they live forevermore without an open spirit of liberty, forever Balkanized into common opinion? From my vantage point, it is good people with diverse points of view that we seek. We get the most value from citizens stepping forward unvarnished in the ways of faction. As a populace we should hold this value sacred.

The maintenance of liberty could take a number of paths. The more arduous path would have us set upon a course of reconstructing our governmental system with an electoral college and protect our idyllic system from factions. Or we could simply take a breath, take stock in what we have, and ask our candidates and our political parties to do the same.

Larry Eichel of the Philadelphia Inquirer contributed to this article. Judd Bradbury is the president of Maverick Consultant Management, Inc. a private management consulting firm founded in 1994. Maverick Consultant Management operates as a business advisory firm providing consulting services to midsize and Fortune 500 clients. His areas of expertise include international business, corporate governance, strategic planning, business process re-engineering, and information systems management. Mr. Bradbury currently serves on the Commission for Productivity & Innovation for the City of Dallas.