While most of the national media's election coverage is focused on the upcoming 2018 elections, there are many contentious races happening right now.

One such race that independents should pay attention to is in Manitou Springs, Colorado, where the mayoral race is heating up. Incumbent independent Mayor Nicole Nicoletta is being challenged by Democrat Ken Jaray.

Earlier this month, we reported on the uncertain fate of a ballot access reform bill in North Carolina. That bill has now passed, liberalizing ballot access laws in North Carolina, but also carrying with it controversial elements related to judicial elections.

The words “campaign finance reform” saturate the airwaves every election season, but is this really something we need or just another talking point? If campaign finance reform is so important for conservatives and liberals alike, why do we have so much trouble implementing it?

If you believe that elections can be bought with enough money, it becomes clear why so many folks dislike our current methods of funding political campaigns.

It’s just wrong.

Go to the websites of major polling organizations and look at their measurements of “party identification.” You’ll find something interesting: Sometimes the graphs will show two lines: one for Democrats and one for Republicans. But sometimes, they show three lines. Democrats, Republicans, and independents.

A funny thing happens when they include that third line. More often than not, those who don’t identify as either Democrat or Republican almost always equal or exceed those who do.

T.J. O’Hara is joined by Verna Williams, Interim Dean and Nippert Professor of Law at University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Verna published a Law Review article titled “Guns, Sex, and Race: The Second Amendment Through a Feminist Lens,” where she explores the racial and gender history of the Second Amendment.

T.J. discusses her Law Review article extensively, delving into historical cases regarding the Second Amendment and applying these concepts to today’s discussion.

Our political system is failing because our government has become little more than a perpetual banquet for selfish interests that feed themselves first, and worry about the health of the nation later, if at all (See part 1 in this series).

This is the situation in which we now find ourselves, and it must be reversed.

For "we the people" to fix the system, here is an uncontroversial, common sense, and unifying organizing principle:

The death toll continues to climb.

The county Health and Human Services Agency updated its hepatitis A outbreak numbers which inluded an additional death to bring the total to 19 and increased the number of cases to more than 500 at 507.

Efforts are underway to vaccinatate, sanitize and educate the public on the crisis.

Many of the voters who are becoming the most disenchanted with parties are those who live in “one-party states,” and have experienced closed partisan primaries and/or politically gerrymandered districts.

They know how it feels for their vote not to count, having experienced the injustice of being shut out from primary elections or of belonging to a substantial group of politically like-minded people whose votes have been diluted such that they have no representation in Congress.

There’s no argument that candidates affiliated with the major political parties have tremendous, built-in structural campaign advantages over independent candidates. The range of major-party advantages is long:

District One City Councilmember Barbara Bry was elected last November to replace termed out Council President Sherri Lightner. Early in her first term, Bry has proven to be a leading voice on key city issues including: what to do with the Mission Valley site, how to handle the growing concerns of  short-term vacation rentals, and working to pass comprehensive marijuana legislation.

Bry took time to chat with IVN San Diego about the many important subjects facing the community.

SHORT-TERM RENTALS