Illinois flap spurs R.I. bill on naming senators By Journal State House Bureau
Published February 2nd 2009 in The Providence Journal
Allegations that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama prompted the filing of legislation here to strip Rhode Island’s governor of the power to appoint replacement U.S. senators.
The bill introduced by freshman Rep. Christopher Fierro, D-Woonsocket, would require a special election to choose a successor to any U.S. senator who dies in office or resigns in mid-term.
“U.S. Senate seats belong to the voters. No one person, regardless of his or her party affiliation, should get to decide who is going to represent the entire state in the Senate,” said Fierro, in a statement issued by the General Assembly press office. “Inevitably, politics are going to play a role in that appointment, and that’s not how the Senate is meant to be constituted. The 17th Amendment was meant to stop the Senate from being a body of politically appointees and turn it into one whose members are directly elected, and in that spirit we should adopt this legislation.”
The bill (H 5094) would require that special election unless the vacancy occurs after July 1 of an election year. In that case, the vacancy would be filled during the regular general electoral cycle.
Former U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee first went to Washington as an appointee of then-Gov. Lincoln C. Almond, after the death of his father, John H. Chafee. A version of Fierro’s bill was introduced last year after speculation arose that Senator Reed, a Democrat, might step down to take a Cabinet position in an Obama administration. That would have left the appointment to Republican Governor Carcieri.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.