FOMO, FOBO, and RCV: acronyms to know in upcoming mayoral election
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A BTR PR. 30-MAY 6, 2021 13
oped
BY PATRICK J. MCGINNIS,
NEW YORK CO-CHAIR AND
STEERING GROUP MEMBER OF
THE LEADERSHIP NOW PROJECT
It appears that nearly everyone
who is suffering from
FOMO (the Fear of Missing
Out) on the chance to be mayor
of our fair city has thrown
their hat into the ring. With
more than 40 contenders offi -
cially in the race, the fi eld is as
large and fervent as the throng
on the Verrazano Bridge at the
starting line of the New York
Marathon. But this race is perhaps
even more chaotic. From
the establishment candidates
to unconventional entrants
like Paperboy LOVE Prince,
a rapper and artist whose Instagram
declares “I Love You,”
there is something for everybody.
Seriously, everybody.
Voters are spoiled for
choice, but as New Yorkers,
they expect nothing less. This
is a city that fi ercely demands
variety, whether you’re picking
a restaurant or fi nding the
perfect book to read. The problem
is that New Yorkers are
also notoriously picky. You can
spend hours scrolling through
Seamless, debating who serves
the best slice (RIP Famous
Ray’s), or trolling the “18 Miles
of Books” at The Strand but despite
a city full of perfectly acceptable
– or even fantastic options
letters & comments
– you can spend so much
time looking for the perfect option
that you end up choosing
nothing at all. That’s called
FOBO, short for Fear of a Better
Option, and it’s the reason
that having so many good options
can make choosing just
one feel impossible.
How do I know? I coined the
terms FOMO and FOBO back
in 2004 in an essay for Harvard
Business School’s student
newspaper. Little did I know at
the time, the words that so powerfully
described the culture of
my classmates and I would now
apply so perfectly to New York
City politics. But with a FOMOfueled
fi eld so packed that it
feels more like a Netfl ix queue
than a political process, the upcoming
June primary could be
a perfect storm for FOBO, as
voters avoid committing to a
candidate in hopes that the perfect
candidate comes along,
even though no such person exists.
It’s already happening: as
of March 25, “Undecided” is
polling at 50%, while the frontrunner
Andrew Yang has of
just 16% of likely Democratic
voters.
Luckily, help is on the way
in the form of RCV (Ranked
Choice Voting), which makes
choice a virtue, not a threat.
Here’s how it works: Voters will
rank up to fi ve candidates (fi rst
choice, second choice, etc.) and
once the polls close, ballots will
be counted in rounds under
what’s called an “instant runoff”
system. At the end of each
round, the last-place candidates
will be eliminated, and their
votes reallocated to each voter’s
next choice based on their
ranking. This process will be
repeated until one candidate
gets a majority of the votes and
is proclaimed the winner.
With RCV, you can avoid
FOBO by acting with your
heart fi rst and your head later.
For example, you can rank a
long-shot fi rst-choice candidate
who really excites you
fi rst while knowing that if that
person is eliminated, your vote
will be transferred to another
candidate who is more likely to
win. In that way, you are never
forced to compromise. What
system of voting could be better
for famously uncompromising
New Yorkers? As long as
you rank more than one candidate
– and you can rank up
to fi ve – you can have a greater
say in this election than ever
before.
RCV also helps to weed out
candidates with divisive or extreme
views that appeal to a
minority of the electorate. A
candidate that has strong factional
support of just 30 to 40
percent of voters but is fi rmly
rejected by the rest of the electorate
will not accumulate
enough voters during the process
to win a majority. Instead,
a rival candidate that has tried
to appeal to a broader set of voters
and thus is the fi rst, second
or third choice of the majority
of voters will pick up support
through the process. And
while the winning candidate
may not be the “fi rst choice”
of the majority of voters, he or
she will have received affi rmative
support from the majority
and will thus have a mandate
to lead.
It’s important to note that
the introduction of RCV has not
been without challenges. After
it was approved by nearly 75%
of voters in 2019, RCV overcame
a series of logistical and legal
challenges before debuting in
a February 2021 special election
for City Council District
31in Queens. Since the city had
not yet implemented tabulation
software, the city conducted a
time-consuming hand-count.
Regardless, RCV did exactly
what it was supposed to do:
The ultimate winner, Selvena
Brooks-Powers, won just 38%
of the vote after round one but
crossed 51%, and secured herself
a mandate, after the ninth
round of counting.
Despite concerns that RCV
would be too new or too complicated
to succeed at this
most complicated of times, the
Queens special election proved
that voters are ready for more
choice and less FOBO. There’s
still more work to do in the runup
to June. The city must continue
to push voter education
and ensure a timely roll-out of
new tabulation software. You
can do your part by familiarizing
yourself with the new ballot
format and even practicing
RCV with your friends with
the rankedchoice.co online simulator.
You can also encourage
those in your circle to get to
know more than one candidate
in order to truly take advantage
of the option to rank up to fi ve
individuals. And while you’re
eliminating your FOBO, don’t
hesitate to give in to a little
FOMO. This election is too important
to sit on the sidelines.
Don’t miss out on your chance
to help make New York City
history.
REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
Toby Project
Bronx Jewish Center
Hosts Community Dinner My Niece Josephine Hession
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Please join us for our next community
Shabbat dinner on Friday May 7th starting
at 7:00 pm at the Bronx Jewish Center located
at 1969 Haight Avenue Bx NY 10461. .
The B J C will be welcoming back the entire
Bronx community . All of your traditional
style dishes will take center stage! We look
forward to seeing you! Enjoy a delicious 4
course dinner with your fellow neighbors.
Turn your Friday night Shabbat into an evening
of spiritual awakening, inspiration, Jewish
songs and culinary delight. Come join us
!! All are welcome .Social distancing will be
strictly enforced .
Please RSVP@718-812-1701 to let us know
you are coming .Shabbat dinners are held the
fi rst Friday of every month.
When: Friday May 7th..
Where: 1969 Haight Avenue Bx, NY 10461
Cost: Free of charge and all are welcome
to join!
Website:www.BronxJewishCenter. org
Contact: offi ce@bronxjewishcenter.org
Telephone: #718-812-1701
who wants to be a veterinarian
in the future brought
her pet Phoebe~Snuggles
to be Spayed/Neutered
early 7am this am thanks
to Councilman Gjonaj’s offi
ce providing free access to
this Toby Project (Animal
Care Centers) event at Wallace
Avenue and Pelham
Parkway North.
Josephine is currently
a student at Villa Maria
who received an Academic
Scholarship to Preston High
School.
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