Minneapolis City Primary Thoughts

The Minneapolis City Primary is tomorrow, September 13. Some thoughts:

The Worst Government Money Can Buy

Loosestrife has concluded his Worst Government Money Can Buy series (parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), and presents you with a sample ballot. As I expected, my man Scott Persons makes the cut for Worst of the 10th Ward.

Apparently Loosestrife feels it's necessary to take wack job candidates seriously, but aside from that he has a pretty keen insight on the state of city politics from a far-left perspective.

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Where are the Republicans?

Not like I want a Republican to win, but it would be nice if a serious Republican candidate would at least make a show of running. It would help keep the DFL honest.

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Park Board -- Throw the bums out

As a consequence of Minneapolis's retarded government structure, we are burdened to choose from a practically infinite array of Park Board candidates.

If like me, you can barely be bothered to figure out which Park Board district you live in, let alone who's running, I recommend a "throw the bums out" strategy. Vote against the incumbents. There are a few good people on the Park Board (like I can remember who...) but the majority have made a disaster out of the Board.

More info: Minneapolis Citizens for Park Board Reform, Minneapolis Park Watch, Star Tribune Voter Guide.

Now, who's going to step up to the plate and recommend trashing the Board entirely? How about replacing it with a three member board: two elected at-large, and one appointed by the mayor?

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Library Board

Again, too many candidates, not enough time. Nineteen(!) candidates are running for 6 slots on the general election ballot.

I like Alan Hooker, whom we interviewed this spring.

I also expect to vote for Samantha Smart because I know her (vaguely -- she's put on some events with my girlfriend) and I love her slogan: "Smart libraries are OPEN libraries!" As a heavy library user, I gotta agree with that.

More: Star Tribune Voter Guide.

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Flip Flopping

McLaughlin sells out to bars on the smoking ban. Campaign Manager Darin Broton said, "Peter is not sure how he would vote today if there was a vote to change the ban." Talk about trying to have it both ways. I'm not buying it. Who's he going to sell out next?

Scott Persons obfuscates his record on development...but is it a flip flop? It's to be expected that there's nothing on Persons's website about his desire to see Lake Street turned into a Woodbury-esque arterial. But his Urban Environment page left me scratching my head: "We can protect our residential neighborhoods first by eliminating the possibility of certain zoning and height restriction exceptions—thus limiting new housing in these areas to buildings that will fit with the look and feel of the neighborhood."

Huh? Scott "13 Stories" Persons?

Then I read his candidate profile in the Southwest Journal:

Persons supported the proposed 13-story Lagoon Project in Uptown. He called it a strong project that added jobs, amenities and height "in the right place." At one point, he said if he were to change anything, he would reduce the number of theater screens to reduce traffic.

Then residents gave him an earful. "There is such a palpable anxiety in the community over height issues that I think I maybe underestimated," he said later.

In a follow-up interview, he said he wanted to send a clear message that he had "a very, very high bar to cross for taller buildings in Uptown."

He still thought the Lagoon project was a good choice - "but it doesn't mean that it's the choice I will make in every situation," he said. "Realistically, I don't think that [a similar] opportunity is really out there."

A "very, very high bar"? How many dollars of developer campaign contributions is that?

At least he's flip flopping in my direction.