Word: pr
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...PR Elections
...motion-introduced by Kenneth Arrow, professor of Economics-which the Faculty adopted provides that the 18 members of the council will be elected under a Proportional Representation (PR) system. In order to give minority candidates a better chance of election, PR systems generally require that a candidate receive only a quota of votes-less than a majority-in order to win office...
Politicization of the Faculty-Those supporting the proposal to elect council members argued that the PR system would reduce the incentive for political organization within the Faculty, while backers of the Fainsod plan replied that regular elections would inevitably "policize" the Faculty. The election proponents then retorted that having the dean select members would drag him deep into whatever Faculty polities existed...
...counterpart of minority representation is, however, often a Cambridge City Council which cannot muster a cohesive majority. Though PR candidates run at-large, the system places a premium on "number ones." To get them, candidates most often appeal to a small group. Once on the council, they are often more interested in divvying up the current pie of City services among their voters than in planning much expansion of said services...
...perfect" electoral system exists, however; PR, whatever its faults, does succeed in making Cambridge's political system mirror all the strains and divisions running through the City. As such, it seems to have found a home here. For some years to come, Cambridge will probably still be counting its ballots by the weekend after election Tuesday...