Steven Hill (author)

Last updated
Steven Hill
Steven Hill - The Downsides of the Digital Job Market.jpg
Steven Hill
Born1958
New London, Connecticut

Steven John Hill (born 6 June 1958) is an American writer, columnist and political reformer. [1] He has authored several books on American politics and political reform, as well as a book on the European political economy (Europe's Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age). [2] Hill led the campaign to pass instant runoff voting in San Francisco in 2002, which was the first victory for electoral system reform in the United States since the 1950s, and was a leader in other campaigns for instant runoff voting and public financing of campaigns. [3] He is a cofounder of FairVote and former director of the political reform program at the New America Foundation.

Contents

Life

Hill was born in New London, Connecticut and lived there until the age of four when his family relocated up the Thames River to Uncasville, a borough of Montville. He lived there until he went to college, attending Yale University, the University of Connecticut, and Western Washington University/Fairhaven College. In the early 1990s, he cofounded Citizens for Proportional Representation (CPR) along with Rob Richie and Matthew Cossolotto. CPR soon changed its name to the Center for Voting and Democracy, and Hill and Richie became its first two employees in the mid-1990s. The Center underwent another name change in the early 2000s, and now is known as FairVote.

Work

Hill has been widely known in the United States for advancing the political reforms of proportional representation, instant runoff voting, public financing of campaigns, universal voter registration, national direct election of the president and reform of the U.S. Senate. He made the argument for these reforms and others in his books 10 Steps to Repair American Democracy (2006), Fixing Elections: The Failure of America's Winner Take All Politics (2003) and Reflecting All of Us/Whose Vote Counts (2001, co-authored with Rob Richie). He also advanced these political reforms by penning numerous op-eds and articles in leading American publications such as The New York Times , Wall Street Journal , Washington Post , Los Angeles Times , New York Daily News , Financial Times , The Guardian , International Herald Tribune and many others. [4] [5]

At the same time, Hill also wore a second hat of political reformer and campaigner. He led the campaign for instant runoff voting (IRV) in San Francisco in 2002, which was the first victory for electoral system reform in the United States since the 1950s. Hill also played a lead role in successful IRV campaigns in Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro and elsewhere, as well as successful campaigns for public financing in San Francisco and Oakland. As director of the Political Reform Program at the New America Foundation, he led the effort to pass a landmark law in California to lower the voter registration age to 17. [6] Hill also played a leading role in organizing a constitutional convention for California in 2009, which garnered widespread popular support but failed to qualify as a ballot initiative in 2010. [7] [8]

Hill began research into the political institutions and practices in Europe during trips there in the late 1990s. Initially, he studied the widespread use in Europe of proportional representation electoral systems, as well as public financing of campaigns and universal voter registration. During the course of his research, his interests broadened when he became aware of many other trans-Atlantic differences between the United States and Europe in terms of health care, social benefits and supports for families, political economy, the design of corporations/economic democracy, energy and transportation, representative government and foreign policy. Hill traveled back and forth to Europe for 10 years continuing his observations and research, and those eventually became the basis for his book Europe's Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age, which compares the "European way" to the "American way." [9]

Hill's work has been widely published in the United States and abroad. He has authored articles and op-eds for publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, The Guardian , Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News , The Nation , Salon.com, American Prospect , Le Monde Diplomatique , Hürriyet Daily News (Turkey), Prague Post , Taiwan News , Roll Call , Sierra , Ms. , San Francisco Chronicle , Miami Herald , Philadelphia Inquirer , Chicago Tribune , Houston Chronicle and many other leading publications. He writes a monthly column for Social Europe Journal . Hill has lectured widely in the United States and Europe, and is a frequent source for print, radio and television journalists.

Personal life

Hill currently lives in San Francisco, California with his partner Lucy Colvin, who is a psychotherapist and pianist.[ citation needed ]

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-round system</span> Voting system

The two-round system, also called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single winner voting method. It is sometimes called plurality-runoff, although this term can also be used for other, closely-related systems such as instant-runoff voting or the exhaustive ballot. It falls under the class of plurality-based voting rules, together with instant-runoff and first-past-the-post (FPP). In a two-round system, if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, the two candidates with the most votes in the first round proceed to a second round where all other candidates are excluded. Both rounds are held under choose-one voting, where the voter marks a single favored candidate.

Canada holds elections for legislatures or governments in several jurisdictions: for the federal (national) government, provincial and territorial governments, and municipal governments. Elections are also held for self-governing First Nations and for many other public and private organizations including corporations and trade unions. Municipal elections can also be held for both upper-tier and lower-tier governments.

Robert Richie is an American political activist who is the president and CEO of FairVote, a non-profit organization that researches and advocates election reforms. Richie has directed FairVote since its founding in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform</span> British political organisation

The Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform (LCER) is an organisation formed of members and supporters of the British Labour Party, who are interested in issues of democratic renewal and electoral reform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FairVote</span> U.S. electoral reform organization

FairVote is a 501(c)(3) organization and lobbying group in the United States. It was founded in 1992 as Citizens for Proportional Representation to support the implementation of proportional representation in American elections. Its focus changed over time to emphasize instant-runoff voting (IRV), a national popular vote, and universal voter registration. It changed its name to the Center for Voting and Democracy in 1993 and to FairVote in 2004.

In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary widely across jurisdictions.

Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a ranked voting method used in single-winner elections. IRV is also known outside the US as the alternative vote (AV). Today it is in use at a national level to elect the Australian House of Representatives, the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, the President of Ireland and President of India. In Australia it is also used for elections to the legislative assemblies of all states and territories except Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, and for the Tasmanian Legislative Council.

Electoral reform in the United States refers to the efforts of change for American elections and the electoral system used in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral reform in California</span>

Electoral reform in California refers to efforts to change election and voting laws in the U.S. state of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral reform in New York</span>

Electoral reform in New York refers to efforts to change the voting and election laws in New York State. In 2021, the New York State Legislature asked New York state voters their opinion through referendums on ballot proposals, all of which were denied by voters.

Electoral reform in Maryland refers to efforts, proposals and plans to change the election and voting laws in Maryland. In 2007, Maryland became the first U.S. state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Bills have also been introduced to implement instant runoff voting (IRV) statewide, but they have failed, largely due to legislators' concerns about complicating the election process and causing technical problems similar to those encountered by Florida during the 2000 U.S. Presidential election. However, Takoma Park, Maryland adopted IRV in 2006 after it won 84% approval in an advisory ballot measure on November 8, 2005. Maryland is the home of the electoral reform organization Fairvote. In 2007, Maryland's Board of Elections Administrator, Linda Lamone, was quoted in Diebold advertising literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranked-choice voting in the United States</span> Electoral system used in some cities and states

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) can refer to one of several ranked voting methods used in some cities and states in the United States. The term is not strictly defined, but most often refers to instant-runoff voting (IRV) or single transferable vote (STV), the main difference being whether only one winner or multiple winners are elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant-runoff voting</span> Single-winner ranked-choice electoral system

Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a single-winner, multi-round elimination rule that uses ranked voting to simulate a series of runoffs with only one vote. In each round, the candidate with the fewest votes counting towards them is eliminated, and the votes are transferred to their next available preference until one of the options reaches a majority of the remaining votes. Instant runoff falls under the plurality-with-elimination family of voting methods, and is thus closely related to rules like the exhaustive ballot and two-round runoff system.

Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Wells</span> American activist and political candidate

Laura Wells is an American political activist, perennial candidate, and financial and business analyst. She is a former candidate for U.S. Representative for California's 13th congressional district in the November 2018 election and the Green Party in the 2010 governor's race in California. She supports making significant changes to Proposition 13 and to the current super-majority voting rule in the Sacramento legislature. In 2002 she garnered nearly a half million votes in her run for California state controller. At the last 2010 gubernatorial debate in California, which excluded all third party candidates, Wells was arrested upon attempting to enter the building to watch the debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral system</span> Method by which voters make a choice between options

An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, non-profit organisations and informal organisations. These rules govern all aspects of the voting process: when elections occur, who is allowed to vote, who can stand as a candidate, how ballots are marked and cast, how the ballots are counted, how votes translate into the election outcome, limits on campaign spending, and other factors that can affect the result. Political electoral systems are defined by constitutions and electoral laws, are typically conducted by election commissions, and can use multiple types of elections for different offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 San Francisco mayoral election</span>

The 2011 San Francisco mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, to elect the mayor of San Francisco. The incumbent Ed Lee, appointed to fill the vacant mayoral seat, succeeded in his bid to become the first elected Asian-American mayor of a major American city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Kernighan</span>

Patricia (Pat) Kernighan, a politician and a lawyer, was a District 2 city council member in Oakland, California until 2014, noted for her advocacy of instant run-off voting in city elections.

RepresentWomen is a 501(c)(3) organization that argues in favor of institutional reforms to help women achieve gender parity in public office in the United States. The organization conducts research and advocacy work to advance women's representation through candidate recruitment rules, electoral reforms, and the modernization of legislative rules. Their mission, according to their website, is to "strengthen our democracy by advancing reforms that break down barriers to ensure more women can run, win, serve, and lead."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Oakland mayoral election</span>

The 2014 Oakland mayoral election was held on November 4, 2014 to elect the mayor of Oakland, California. It saw the election of Libby Schaaf, who unseated incumbent mayor Jean Quan.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2010-08-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "Europe's Promise - Steven Hill". europespromise.org.
  3. ↑ "Center for Voting and Democracy". fairvote.org.
  4. ↑ "Center for Voting and Democracy". fairvote.org.
  5. ↑ http://www.newamerica.net/people/archives/23?type=article
  6. ↑ "New America Foundation Commends Governor Schwarzenegger for Signing AB 30, Allowing 17 Year Olds to Preregister to Vote | NewAmerica.net". Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  7. ↑ "California's Revolutionaries | Le Monde | NewAmerica.net". politicalreform.newamerica.net. Archived from the original on 2011-06-17.
  8. ↑ "A smart convention plan" Los Angeles Times January 3, 2010
  9. ↑ "Capitol Weekly: Personnel Profile: Lee Kemper". Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.