Bergen Grassroots Election, Poll Results

by Paul Eisenman [courtesy of Blog for America]

Bergen Grassroots elected the members of its 2008 Steering Committee at our meeting yesterday evening (Weds, Jan. 2) in the Ethical Culture Society auditorium.

With six candidates filing for six vacancies, there was no need for formal balloting. The 2008 team will comprise four members of the ’07 committee: Joey Dobbs, who volunteered to become the alternate member; Paul Eisenman, Bob Gulack and Beatrice Robbio, who switched places with Joey Dobbs to become the full member. The newcomers are David Dubin of Haworth and Allen Sklar of Paramus, both relative newcomers to Bergen Grassroots as well. Allen Sklar has an impressive record of public service in his resume: three terms as a member of the Paramus Council and one term as a Bergen County Freeholder.

* * * * * *

At the meeting, the results of the Bergen Grassroots 2008 Presidential Endorsement Poll were announced. Former Senator and 2004 vice-presidential candidate John Edwards was the clear winner, leading throughout the five elimination rounds.

In the raw vote, when only first-place votes are counted, Edwards had 32%, Senator Barack Obama 22% and Congressman Dennis Kucinich had 19%. These candidates, often referred to as the “progressive trio,” gained 76% of the initial vote. Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Bill Richardson were tied for third with 9% of the vote, Senator Joe Biden got 4% and Senator Chris Dodd received 2%. Former Senator Mike Gravel received no first-place votes and was therefore eliminated in the first round.

As Dodd and Biden were retired in the second and third rounds, their votes were redistributed on the basis of the rankings created by those who voted for them. In the fourth and fifth rounds, as Richardson and Clinton were dropped, the redistribution continued. At the end of the fifth round, Edwards stood at 40%, Obama at 34% and Kucinich at 23%.

That left the contest between Edwards and Obama, each of who could have won when Kucinich’s votes were distributed in the final round. But Edwards picked up about 83% of Kucinich’s total and ended with 59% to Obama’s 38%. This result contrasts with Kucinich’s recent announcement that after himself, he chooses Obama. The balance of 3% represented members who chose to declare themselves as “still undecided” when the voting was taking place.

We discussed the possibility of endorsing Edwards, based on his clear victory, but decided by a virtually unanimous vote to continue our policy of not endorsing Democrats in a contested primary.