November 14, 2007 4:40 PM

Fusion Strengthens Progressives' Voice On Election Day

A while back, I wrote an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle about how fusion parties like the Working Families Party are helping progressive causes in a huge way. Now, after the most recent election, we've got some more proof of what I was talking about.

Here's an excerpt from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:

"A minor political party is claiming victory in a Monroe County Legislature contest where a Democrat ousted a Republican lawmaker. About three weeks before the election, the Working Families Party decided to zero in on the 6th District...Despite Republicans' enrollment advantage...Democrat Richard Beebe defeated incumbent Ray DiRaddo, a Republican, with 53 percent of the vote...The 6th District is located in the eastern part of Greece and part of Charlotte. Republicans claim 49 percent of voters there, Democrats 42 percent. Working Families played a significant role in the win...Beebe received 423 votes, or 18 percent of his total votes, on the Working Families line. The Working Families' take was greater than the 284 votes separating DiRaddo and Beebe, and greater than any other minor party's votes."

In Connecticut, the party is becoming so influential, that conservatives are starting to scream and claim there's a "conspiracy." Here's a dispatch from the New Britain Herald:

"Four out of five Democrats endorsed by the party as well as their own won office, as confirmed in a recount Friday...Republican Lou Salvio won a seat on the council against cross-endorsed candidates, but he was also upset. 'I think it was a big conspiracy,' he said, meaning he thought Democrats had orchestrated the cross-endorsements in an attempt to knock him off, as they did Republican Peter Gostin, who was bumped by cross-endorsed Democrat Phil Sherwood...The party made its own decision based on interviews conducted with the Democrats, [the Working Families Party's spokesman] said. 'We are a political party,' he said. 'We endorse who we want.'"

Fusion is not legal everywhere, precisely because the two party duopoly fears that it would mean increased power for progressives. These examples suggest they are right to be afraid. Read more about fusion and how it opens up the process and expands democracy here.