Latest reality TV show pits candidates in fake election
By Joanna Weiss
Published June 9th 2004 in Boston Globe
If running for president were a game show, it might well look like this: There are issues to discuss, but there are also tasks such as the one Malia Lazu had to accomplish this week. Organize a kickoff rally in two days, she was told. If the turnout is too low, you could be eliminated.
That's the way it's played on the reality television series "American Candidate," a faux-presidential race set to premiere on Showtime Aug. 1. And this is also life for Lazu, 27, who founded the voter-participation group Boston Vote and learned last week that she and about nine others made the final cut, out of 1,500 applicants.
The show's publicists suggest, rather earnestly, that the winner could launch a bona fide presidential candidacy. And for the past two days, Lazu has been wading through the rituals of reality television and leading the sometimes humbling life of a politician. She answered the doorbell Monday to find a black briefcase containing her first task. She trolled Downtown Crossing and the Prudential Center, begging people to show up at Slade's Bar and Grill in the South End.
There were some promising signs. She drew support from some real-life political figures, who seemed happy to play along: Councilor Felix Arroyo, who shouted, "Who is the person in this nation who can make a difference for you?" (Answer: "Malia!") and state Senator Dianne Wilkerson, who declared that Lazu had already "changed the face and the course of our politics."
Finally, Lazu took the microphone, promising "not just to change the game but to flip it." The crowd cheered wildly. Lazu beamed.
It's not clear whether her candidacy will continue. But for a moment at least, it seemed almost real.
That's the way it's played on the reality television series "American Candidate," a faux-presidential race set to premiere on Showtime Aug. 1. And this is also life for Lazu, 27, who founded the voter-participation group Boston Vote and learned last week that she and about nine others made the final cut, out of 1,500 applicants.
The show's publicists suggest, rather earnestly, that the winner could launch a bona fide presidential candidacy. And for the past two days, Lazu has been wading through the rituals of reality television and leading the sometimes humbling life of a politician. She answered the doorbell Monday to find a black briefcase containing her first task. She trolled Downtown Crossing and the Prudential Center, begging people to show up at Slade's Bar and Grill in the South End.
There were some promising signs. She drew support from some real-life political figures, who seemed happy to play along: Councilor Felix Arroyo, who shouted, "Who is the person in this nation who can make a difference for you?" (Answer: "Malia!") and state Senator Dianne Wilkerson, who declared that Lazu had already "changed the face and the course of our politics."
Finally, Lazu took the microphone, promising "not just to change the game but to flip it." The crowd cheered wildly. Lazu beamed.
It's not clear whether her candidacy will continue. But for a moment at least, it seemed almost real.
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.