SOMERVILLE

Governor:

Deval Patrick (D)  16004 (73 percent)

Kerry Healey (R) 4101 (19 percent)

Christy Mihos (I) 1086 (4.9 percent)

Grace Ross (GR) 727 (3.3 percent)

Secretary of State:

William Galvin (D) 15341 (75 percent)

Jill Stein (GR) 5077 (25 percent)

Treasurer:

Timothy Cahill (D) 14489 (72 percent)

James O'Keefe (GR) 5618 (28 percent)

Auditor:

Joseph DiNucci (D) 15035 (76 percent)

Rand Wilson (WF)4632 (24 percent)

Question 1 (wine sales) YES 10749 (48 percent), NO 9633 (43 percent), BLANK 1921 (9 percent)

Question 2 (fusion voting) YES 8442 (38 percent), NO 11114 (50 percent), BLANK 2747 (12 percent)

Question 3 (child care workers) YES 12211 (55 percent), NO 7182 (32 percent), BLANK 2910 (13 percent)

Question 4 (Out of Iraq) YES 7599 (58 percent), NO 4021 (31 percent), BLANK 1520 (11 percent)

Question 5 (Right of Return): YES 5111 (39 percent), NO 6242 (47 percent), BLANK 1787 (14 percent)

Question 6 (Divestment): YES 3530 (27 percent), NO 7747 (59 percent), BLANK 1863 (14 percent)

Somerville Divestment Project says, "Despite the visible opposition of mainstream political figures including now Governor Deval Patrick, and Lt. Governor Kery Healey, the mayor and the popular local congressman Capuano, 40% of the people of Somerville stood for fundamental human rights with 30% going as far as favoring sanctions on Israel. That's more than enough a to drive forward a social change movement. Which is exactly what we plan to do."

CAMBRIDGE   

Governor & Lieutenant Governor:

Patrick and Murray (D) 26269 (81.5 percent)

Healey and Hillman (R) 3878 (12.0 percent)

Mihos and Sullivan (I) 977 (3.0 percent)

Ross and Robinson (GR) 1070(3.3 percent)  

Secretary of State:

William Galvin (D) 21870 (73.1 percent)

Jill Stein (GR) 7965 (26.6 percent)  

Treasurer:

Timothy Cahill (D) 22759 (78.4 percent)

James O'Keefe (GR) 6204 (21.4 percent)  

Auditor:

Joseph DeNucci (D) 23239 (82.8 percent)

Rand Wilson (WF) 4754 (16.9 percent)

Ballot Questions (excluding blanks)

Question 1 - Sale of Wine by Food Stores

Yes    17183    (57.7 percent)

No     12588    (42.3 percent)  

Question 2 - Fusion voting

Yes   13651    (48.9 percent)

No    14265    (51.1 percent)  

Question 3 - Family Child Care Providers

Yes   18160   (65.2 percent)

No     9677    (34.8 percent)

Question 4 (24th Middlesex District) - Withdraw from Iraq

Yes   2820   (77 percent)

No      856   (23 percent)  

Question 4 (29th Middlesex District) - Withdraw from Iraq

Yes   2529   (71 percent)

No    1050   (29 percent)

Marijuana Policy Project reports (U.S.):

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Strong results for state and local marijuana reform ballot initiatives, including an apparent all-time record vote in Nevada to end marijuana prohibition completely, demonstrate increasing voter willingness to reconsider our marijuana laws, officials of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in Washington, D.C., said tonight.

Despite intense campaigning by officials from the White House drug czar's office, Nevadans appeared to have cast an all-time record vote for a complete end to marijuana prohibition. With 85 percent of precincts reporting, over 44 percent of Nevada voters backed Question 7, an MPP-sponsored initiative to tax and regulate marijuana much like alcohol. Meanwhile, local reform measures were heading toward victory across the country.

"Today, a record number of Nevada voters called for an end to marijuana prohibition, the highest vote ever to end prohibition, and local voters in Montana, Massachusetts, and California called for major changes in marijuana policies," said MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia. "The momentum is with us. Major social change never comes easily, but change in our failed marijuana laws is coming because prohibition does nothing but harm. Prohibition funds criminals and guarantees that teens have easy access to marijuana, and voters have begun to see through the drug czar's lies. We've made huge progress since our 39 percent to 61 percent loss on a similar ballot measure in Nevada four years ago. We plan to try again with another marijuana initiative in Nevada in November 2008 or 2010."

In Massachusetts, voters in the first and twelfth Plymouth Representative Districts overwhelmingly passed nonbinding measures urging that possession of up to one ounce of marijuana be a civil violation subject only to a $100 fine. Voters in Missoula County, Montana, passed a law directing local law enforcement agencies to make marijuana possession arrests their lowest priority by a 53-47 percent margin, while similar measures were headed toward landslides wins in Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Santa Monica, California.

SD voters reject abortion ban

By 55-45, South Dakota voters approved a referendum against the absolute ban on abortions passed in a bipartisan push by the State Legislature several months ago.

The politicians had billed their measure as a challenge to Roe v Wade, expecting that women's rights defenders would initiate legal action which would end up before an increasingly male supremacist US Supreme Court.

Instead, the defenders decided to take their case to the State's voters, and that strategy succeeded.

IRV yes, fusion no

Robert Winters' Cambridge Civic Journal reports: Instant Runoff Voting was on the ballot in four places on Tuesday (Oakland and Davis in California, Pierce County in Washington, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota). It won in all four places—two by landslide (Oakland and Minneapolis). In Minneapolis, the referendum included a change to Cambridge-style proportional representation elections for several local boards.

Ballot question #2 to establish Fusion voting was rejected by Massachusetts voters 2 to 1. It was sponsored by the Working Families Party (WFP) and opposed by the Green-Rainbow and Libertarian parties.

In Oregon, rather than initiate a ballot question, WFP will try to persuade the Legislature to pass Fusion in 2007.