Houston Corporate Bigwig, Bill King Spreads Disinformation about Top Two Primary Systems

HOUSTON – Houston corporate bigwig Bill King recently wrote an article for the Houston Tribune which repeated much of the disinformation about Top Two primary systems.

King’s first misrepresentation is his claim that third party candidates are unlikely to place first or second in a primary and “would rarely be represented on the November ballot.” King also claims, “… if a third party candidate cannot muster enough votes to come in second in the primary, there would be little chance of that candidate winning in the general election.”

King failed to mention that Jesse Ventura won the general election for Governor of Minnesota in 1998 despite the fact that he only received 3% of the vote in the state’s open primary that year. Again, he failed to mention that Green Party nominee Audie Bock received only 8% in the first round of a blanket primary for a 1999 California legislative race, after which she was permitted to advance to the final round, under more permissive blanket primary rules, and won the election.  Phrases such as “little chance” are often used to mislead or distract from the importance of events, such as Ventura’s gubernatorial win, which made headlines nationwide.

Another falsehood mentioned by King is that Top Two systems favor “moderates”.  In a comment which the Houston Chronicle declined to publish, elections expert Richard Winger noted that “two political scientists, who have actually studied primary systems and whether it affects polarization and partisanship, concluded that there is no relationship between type of primary system and whether legislators are polarized and partisan. Anyone can Google Boris Shor and Seth Masket and see for themselves.” This follows the California pattern where media outlets refuse to correct false statements regarding Top Two, which they had published.

Opponents of Top Two have repeatedly called attention to such misrepresentations and falsehoods when they appear in the media, yet the talking points continue to be parroted by big business and entrenched political players.

King, a wealthy corporate investor, is one such person. The website for Politicalendar, LLC., one corporation with which King is involved, states, “visitors to the site will typically not be casual or accidental users” but rather “registered lobbyists” and “high net worth individuals.”

Emlogis, on whose advisory board King serves, provides workforce management, particularly in the healthcare industry.  King is also invested in Global FBO Holdings, about which little is known, save that it appears to serve the transportation industry, and GBTech, Inc., which was founded to pursue management services for the aerospace industry.

Christina Tobin, Free & Equal founder and chair, noted that health insurance providers were among the top PAC contributors to the campaign to establish Top Two in California, where the true cost to voters is only just being discovered.

“It would behoove Bill King to educate himself regarding the facts surrounding Top Two primaries, before he advocates imposing his vision of ‘workforce management’ on voters by force of law,” Tobin said.

We Appreciate Your Support!

Dear Supporter, American democracy is under threat like never before. California’s ‘Top Two’ system, which excludes all but the two most well-funded candidates from the general election ballot, threatens to spread across the nation. Powerful lobbyists are convincing state legislatures to make the petitioning process even more restrictive and the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in [...]

Free & Equal on Blog Talk Radio – 7/6/10 Green Party of Texas, more from Illinois

Tonight 9pm-11pm Central: Free & Equal’s Christina Tobin and Jeff Trigg will share hosting duties this week. From the Green Party of Texas, Deb Shafto for Texas Governor and kat swift join us to. Independent candidates for IL State Rep. Jason Rice and Ted Leverenz. Libertarian State Rep. candidate Steve Funk. Doug Marks, Libertarian for [...]

Free and Equal Elections Congratulates Green Party of Texas, Scolds Democratic Party

The Green Party of Texas has been facing Democratic Party lawyers and court challenges to their ballot access for statewide candidates in the November election and the Texas Supreme Court released a ruling July 2, 2010 that denied Democratic Party efforts to block Green Party candidates from participating in this election. Christina Tobin, founder and [...]

Free and Equal Issues Statement in Response to Recent Texas Media Reports

Free and Equal Elections is proud to stand next to the Green Party of Texas today to release this joint statement concerning Texas media reports involving Boyd Ritchie’s anti-democratic attack on the Green Party’s recent petition drive in Texas. The statement from Free and Equal Founder and Chair Christina Tobin follows: “Boyd Ritchie’s anti-democratic and [...]

More Articles

MEDIA ADVISORY: Green Party of Texas Holds Press Conference and Turns in over 90,000 Signatures to Secretary of State on Monday

Texas Committee Holds Hearing on Ballot Access Bill