When you vote in Astoria, Bob, then you vote for your Ward representative.

That alone already means you vote in the English voting system. You were divided first, and that means that your ward will get a representative that the majority picked.

Then, the four ward members (plus Mayor) make a majority decision as well for various political items.

So, your city has (most often) minority rule because it uses majority rule twice.

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Thomas Jefferson’s proportional voting system is pure.

With four seats, the minimum representation by cast votes is 80%, not 50%.

With five seats (and picking a Mayor from among the five), the minimum level of representation is 83.33% and not 50%.

That should show you that power is taken away from your hands and yet it appears that you do not see that it was taken from you. You are missing out on 30%–33.33% of your natural empowerment because of the English voting system that concentrates power in the hands of fewer groups.

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Disclaimer: if all items in Astoria are decided on by the voters through initiatives and ballot measures, then the council is not empowered to make decisions. Yet why have that council then, right?

As long as they make decisions, they took power from your hands and gave it to specific groups.

The English voting system is deeply flawed. The American voting system is not flawed (when used at the local levels).

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Thank you for your reply. As always, I appreciate your views and insights.