Runoff Elections

Having failed to gain a clear verdict from voters, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles teachers union braced Wednesday for a costly and divisive runoff election that will determine whether Villaraigosa gains a friendly majority on the Board of Education -- and a long-sought measure of control over the sprawling, troubled school system.

Re "No way to run an election," Opinion, May 17 Steven Hill and Lynn Serpe are right on with recommending ranked-choice voting. It's not just San Francisco but other countries, such as Ireland and Australia and increasingly Britain, successfully using it. Not only does it save money by eliminating the need for runoff elections, it captures the complexity of voter opinion. Voters can pick their first-choice candidate and party without fear because the whole concept of a "spoiler" is eliminated in that system.

Let's begin by agreeing that the Los Angeles City Council's Rules and Elections Committee is not exactly Comedy Central. That's not saying committee Chairman Eric Garcetti isn't a host with a sense of humor. He is. But hey, it's Rules and Elections. Short of passing out whoopee cushions and nachos, you can only do so much. But this Wednesday's meeting may be different because the committee is going to discuss instant runoff voting.

At a Long Beach coffee shop Wednesday morning, Green Party candidate Daniel A. Brezenoff held a news conference to remind voters that the race for the 37th Congressional District is not over. Assemblywoman Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach) outpolled Brezenoff and 16 others in the special election Tuesday to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald.

Finland's first female head of state failed to win enough votes to secure reelection, forcing a runoff against a conservative challenger. Final results showed left-leaning President Tarja Halonen won 46% of the vote, well ahead of her main challenger, but short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. Finland prides itself on egalitarian values and was the first nation in Europe to give women the vote a century ago. "It's a pity ...

The gap between two candidates battling for a runoff spot in Peru's presidential race narrowed as votes cast abroad moved conservative Lourdes Flores closer behind left-leaning former President Alan Garcia. The two are separated by 95,619 votes cast in the April 9 election that gave former army commander Ollanta Humala first place, with about 31%, according to the National Electoral Processes Office.

C. Ray Nagin will have to maintain the support of black voters, regain the trust of whites and come up with specific ideas for rebuilding New Orleans if he wants to stay in the mayor's office, analysts here said Sunday. Nagin, who won 38% of the 108,000 ballots cast in Saturday's mayoral election, nevertheless is not considered the favorite in his May 20 runoff with Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who garnered 29% of the vote.

The third-place finisher in the New Orleans mayoral race endorsed the runner-up, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, over Mayor C. Ray Nagin in next month's runoff election. Ron Forman, head of the organization that runs the city's zoo and aquarium, said Landrieu had his "full support" in the contest to decide who should lead the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Landrieu said he was pleased to get Forman's endorsement. The city "needs all of its people to come together.

Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney, the Georgia Democrat renowned for her strident rhetoric as well as her recent scuffle with a Capitol Police officer, lost a runoff election Tuesday. McKinney, 51, won 41% of the vote, trailing far behind challenger Hank Johnson, a moderate and soft-spoken attorney, in the Democratic runoff in Georgia's 4th Congressional District.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces a tough runoff election this month after his stunning fall from prohibitive favorite to co-survivor in Sunday's vote. The charismatic Lula, whose cries of "I was betrayed!" seemed to carry him relatively unscathed through sundry other corruption cases, could not overcome a "dirty tricks" scandal that broke two weeks before the election and left many Brazilians appalled.