Tag: party lines

Analysis: Three years, two parties on Bloomington’s all-Democrat city council

Whenever there’s a 5-to-4 or 4-to-5 tally on the nine-member Bloomington city council, it’s become a pretty standard joke: Did the vote fall along party lines?

The ornaments correspond to councilmembers in a statistical plot showing similarity of voting patters to other councilmembers. The same plot is provided below with names, and without the distraction of a Christmas tree.

It’s only funny because all nine members of the city council are Democrats.

And the make-up of “the five” and “the four” has been consistent enough that it will draw a knowing chuckle from close watchers of the council.

It’s not just a gut feel. There’s statistical support for the idea that there’s a “party of five” and a “party of four” on the Bloomington city council.

In 2022, there were 16 votes that split the council on a one-vote margin—5–4 or 4–5.

In 13 of the 16 votes, the breakdown of “the five” was: Susan Sandberg; Jim Sims; Sue Sgambelluri; Ron Smith; and Dave Rollo.

Making up “the four” were: Matt Flaherty; Kate Rosenbarger; Isabel Piedmont-Smith; and Steve Volan.

When close observers of the city council refer to “the four” and “the five,” that’s the grouping they mean. Continue reading “Analysis: Three years, two parties on Bloomington’s all-Democrat city council” →

Analysis of Indiana legislative voting patterns: Who’s outside the corral?

Analysis of information available on LegiScan—a website that provides robust tools for monitoring and tracking legislation in all 50 states—shows that legislators in the Indiana House and the Senate tend to vote along party lines.

Lawmakers voting along party lines is not exactly a revelation. But plotting out the voting patterns of individual legislators, to see how they cluster, might reveal some insights beyond the two clearly discernible herds. Which legislators are mavericks—clearly a bit outside their own party’s corral? Continue reading “Analysis of Indiana legislative voting patterns: Who’s outside the corral?” →