Straight-ticket voting doomed my run
By: Jeff Toste for the Providence Phoenix Editorial (link to article online)
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 26, 2007
With the recent discussion of straight ticket voting in the (RI) press, I would like to offer my personal experience.
I ran for state Senate District 5 (Providence) as a Green Party candidate. In votes cast for the individual, I won the election with 1,469 votes. The Democrat received 1,156 votes by name, while the Republican received 89.
But when adding straight-ticket votes, I lost. The Democrat received 1,994 straight party votes and the Republican received 184. With all due respect, both of my opponents received more "party" votes than "person" votes.
As a third-party candidate, I received no straight-party votes. Third-party candidates must work to overcome difficult ballot access laws to gain straight-party status – for which the Green Party did not qualify for in 2006.
However, even if acquired, straight-ticket status does not help third parties that lack name recognition. More importantly, independent candidates cannot qualify for straight-ticket status.
Straight-ticket voting hurts our democracy. It gives an unfair advantage to candidates of major parties who benefit from top-of-the-ticket advertising. In 2006, with Rhode Island a battleground state for the U.S. Senate race, we saw tremendous money spent on party promotion, which worked against independent and third-party candidates.
In my race, straight-ticket voting was nearly 40 percent of the vote. Democracy shouldn't be about "marketing" a political party but about electing individual candidates who best embody the values of their community.
Rhode Island is one of only 17 states that still uses straight-ticket voting in some form. It's time Rhode Island did away with straight-ticket voting to improve our democracy.
JEFF TOSTE
Providence
Rebels in the general assembly
Important races in NovemberJeff Toste (I-District 5, Providence). Toste is running for a third time for the Senate seat now being vacated by Senator Frank Caprio. As a Green Party candidate, Toste has built a large neighborhood coalition and he hopes to use grassroots power to become the first Green in the General Assembly. His campaign got a boost, thanks to a recent endorsement from the state workers’ union, Council 94, of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The third time could prove the charm for Toste, who faces Democratic primary winner Paul Jabour, a former state representative, and Republican Bob Berrillo, in the general election.(link to full story)
RILPAC Announces Endorsements for General Elections
Providence, RI – Tonight, the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee (RILPAC) voted to endorse the following candidates and referenda questions in the General Elections to be held on November 7, 2006:
Governor – Charles Fogarty
Lt. Governor – Elizabeth Roberts
Sec. of State – Ralph Mollis
Attorney General – Patrick Lynch
General Treasurer – Frank Caprio
RI Senate District 2 – Juan Pichardo
RI Senate District 5 – Jeff Toste
RI Senate District 6 – Harold Metts
RI House District 9 – Anastasia Williams
RI House District 10 – Thomas Slater
RI House District 11 – Grace Diaz
RI House District 12 – Joseph Almeida
Providence Mayor – David Cicilline
Providence City Council Ward 9 – Miguel Luna
Providence City Council Ward 10 – Luis Aponte
Providence City Council Ward 11 – Balbina Young
Providence City Council Ward 13 – John Lombardi
Cranston Mayor – Allan Fung
Under RILPAC's Endorsement Review process, candidates were asked to submit responses to a questionnaire regarding health care, education, housing and other issues that affect the Latino community. In addition, every candidate who submitted a questionnaire was asked to participate in an interview with the RILPAC membership. Members voted to support those candidates who they feel will best represent and address the interests of the Latino and urban community.
RILPAC is a nonpartisan political action committee. RILPAC's goals are two-fold:
A. to endorse candidates who support issues benefiting Latinos and other individuals from urban communities while raising awareness on issues and/or candidates that could adversely impact the Latino community; and
B. to ensure that elected officials, political leaders and candidates have a broad understanding of the concerns and priorities among Rhode Island Latinos.
RI Future Blog
“Council 94 Endorses Toste in Senate District 5 ” (link to original article)
A surprising endorsement has emerged in the Senate District 5 race between Democratic primary winner Paul Jabour and Green Party candidate Jeff Toste: the state workers union, Council 94 AFSCME, has endorsed Toste. Council 94 has over 8,000 members in the state.
“Jeff shares our values,” says AFSCME organizer Gladys Gould,
“he’s
someone who embraces working families.”
Toste, who is contesting the seat for the third time, garnered nearly 30% of
the 2004 vote in a race won by Democratic mainstay Frank Caprio Jr. With Caprio
now seeking the post of State Treasurer, Toste’s experience and name
recognition provide him an excellent shot at becoming the first Green elected
at the state level in Rhode Island…
Third Party Watch
“Candidate of the Day”, By Austin Cassidy (link to original article)
Jeff Toste, Green Party candidate for Rhode Island State Senate in District 5. This is Toste’s third run for this Senate seat. In 2002 he received 22% of the vote in a one-on-one race and in 2004 he improved that to a 29% showing. This year, however, there’s a big difference. The Democrat has dropped out of the race and the party must name a replacement nominee. With any luck, Toste can use his familiar name to his advantage and defeat whoever the Democrats put up against him.
Time for new faces, comebacks
By: KAREN A. DAVIS for the Providence Journal (link to article online)
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, June 29, 2006
PROVIDENCE – Judging from the candidates who filed papers to run for legislative office, this political season could be one of newcomers and comeback bids.
The city Board of Canvassers office was
abuzz yesterday as candidates rushed to file their declarations of candidacy
by the 4 p.m. deadline. Office workers were so deluged with last-minute filings
that they worked into the evening to compile the list.
Candidates for seats in the House and Senate have until July 14 to file nomination
papers with the signatures of 50 and 100 registered voters, respectively…
Also in the race are fellow Democrat and potential primary opponent Alexis Gorriaran, 33; Republican Robert Berrillo, 58; Green Party candidate Jeff Toste, 41; and Andrew H. Panciotti Sr., 45, an independent.
More Dangerous Greens: Campaigns for Governor, State Office to Watch in 2006
from the Green Party of the United States
Full text at www.gp.org/press/pr_2006_05_22.shtml
Greens to watch in 2006: Green candidates run strong campaigns for governor and other state offices across the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Green candidates are making news in dramatic campaigns for state office throughout the U.S.
A state-based list of campaigns to watch in the 2006 mid-term elections is [selected] below. Other candidates will be featured in future releases.
RHODE ISLANDJeff Toste is running unopposed for State Senate in District 5 (Providence), after the Democrat dropped out of the race; the Democratic Party is expected to name another candidate, but Mr. Toste now has a strong head start.
Toste makes another Green bid for state Senate
Talking Politics
By: TIM LEHNERT for the Providence Phoenix (link to article online)
7:04:52 PM on March 29, 2006
After making two credible challenges to state Senator Frank Caprio, Jeff Toste of the Green Party has developed his name recognition among the voters of Providence’s District 5, which encompasses much of the West Side. But even though Caprio is yielding the seat while pursuing an unopposed bid for state general treasurer, a third-party candidate like Toste can still expect to face an uphill battle.
Craig O’Connor, 31, a left-of-center Democrat, recently unveiled his campaign for the state Senate post, and a similar effort by the more mainstream Paul Jabour, a lawyer and former Democratic state representative, is expected imminently. O’Connor, the director of organizing for Ocean State Action, has won the backing of a broad swath of local activists, nonprofits, and progressive Democrats. Like Toste, he is an advocate for civil rights, environmental protection, universal health-care, and same-sex marriage.
Toste suggests that disenchantment with the two-party system resulted in only 4000 of District 5’s 19,000 eligible voters casting ballots in 2004. “We’re giving people a reason to vote,” he says of his latest campaign. If O’Connor becomes the Democratic nominee, the challenge for Toste will be convincing District 5’s left-leaning voters that he is worthy of their support, given his opponent’s progressive message, solid organizing credentials, and membership in the state’s ruling party.
Toste argues that progressive Democrats, regardless of their intentions or policy statements, are ultimately compromised. “Their effect is limited by their leadership,” he says. “You’ve got a corporate stranglehold on the two-party system.” Toste touts ground-level support as the key to his election bid. “I’ve got my neighbors working on my campaign,” he says, emphasizing his backing from individuals within the district. The Green candidate also points to his eight years of political and organizational experience, including work on the Help America Vote Act Committee convened by Secretary of State Matt Brown. “I know how to work inside and outside the system,” he says.
The Green Party candidate kicked off his campaign March 29 at the Blue Grotto, the Federal Hill restaurant where he once worked as a waiter. Toste, who is co-chair of the Rhode Island Green Party, received a respectable 29 percent of the vote during his 2004 run for the state Senate seat. Providence city councilor David Segal of Ward One, who is considering a legislative run, is the only Green to have won election in Rhode Island.
Toste, 41, lives on Carpenter Street with his fiancee and her 77-year-old mother. While many associate the Green Party with environmental advocacy, Toste, a freelance artist and US Census Bureau employee, lists local job creation as a high priority. “We need a new industrial revolution,” he argues, citing companies involved in producing renewable energy as potential sources of high-paying jobs. He dismisses the idea that his candidacy is limited to offering progressive solutions to District 5’s problems, rather than actually being able to implement such initiatives as an elected senator. “My goal,” he says, “is to win.”
The Democrats control more than 80 percent of the seats in the General Assembly, rendering even the Republicans a virtual fringe party. The District 5 race bears watching, as it will be interesting to see how the Democrats respond to a continued challenge from the left in a changing district.
Hundreds rally against Iraq war
By: G. WAYNE MILLER and ALEX KUFFNER for the Providence Journal (link to article online)
10:16 AM EST on Monday, March 20, 2006
“I encourage you to continue to speak out against this war that is killing soldiers and innocent Iraqis, this war that is draining vital resources from our neighborhoods, this war that is planting the seeds of terrorism for generations to come,” said Jeff Toste, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate.
