Hello everybody.
If you are a Minnesota resident, it is election time once again - Tuesday, November 7th. Minnesota is one of those states that has an election every year, and it is important to vote in those elections. And as John Oliver reported, local governments get more done than the federal government - unfortunately, people tend to not focus as much on what is happening locally. So I am here to help you find out what is on the local elections. For more precise information, make certain to go to the State Secretary of State's website to look at a sample ballot. If you know your address, this will give you all of the information on the ballot itself, including a PDF to download to bring with you.
Now, Minnesota has 87 counties and 854 incorporated municipalities - also, 1,785 governmentally functioning townships, 56 unorganized territories, and many other areas [4] that I will not get into here. Now, I am not going to go into every single election happening - I am just going to do a few municipalities that people have requested that I look into. These will be in order of city population - however, if anybody wants me to make an addendum, it’ll be first come, first served. The cities that have been requested are Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Edina, and Saint Louis Park - the 1st, 2nd, 12th, and 20th largest cities in Minnesota.
It is important to vote and to know who you are voting for, because you are voicing your opinion on how things should be run. Your elected officials work for you - they are not your leaders, but the reverse. You are the leaders, and you need to be informed. From State Governor to District Court Judges, you are deciding what elected officials are enforcing, legislating, and ruling on. Be informed, and make it count. If you're not involved, you may find that your city has placed you in, as John Oliver puts it, "the fuck barrel." So be involved. On Tuesday, November 7th, get out there and vote.
City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County (population 413,651) [1] [5]
Mayor:
Captain Jack Sparrow (Basic Income Guarantee)
Gregg A. Iverson (DFL)
Betsy Hodges (Incumbent) (DFL)
Jacob Frey (DFL)
David Rosenfeld (Socialist Labor Party, Socialist Workers Party Endorsed)
Troy Benjegerdes (Farmer Labor)
David John Wilson (Rainbows Butterflies Unicorns)
Charlie Gers (Libertarian Party)
Tom Hoch (DFL)
Al Flowers (DFL)
Raymond Dehn (DFL)
Nekima Levy-Pounds (DFL)
L.A. Nik (Independant)
Ronald Lischeid (People Over Politics)
Ian Simpson (The Idea Party)
Aswar Rahman (DFL)
Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board:
Park & Recreation Board At Large (Elect 3): Devin Hogan (DFL Endorsed), Bob Sullentrop (GOP Endorsed), Londel French (DFL Endorsed), Mike Derus (DFL), Russ Henry (DFL Endorsed), Charlie Casserly, LaTrisha Vetaw, Jonathan Honerbrink (GOP Endorsed), Meg Forney (Incumbent) (DFL)
Park & Recreation Board District 1: Billy Menz (Green Party Endorsed), Mohamed Issa Barre, Chris Meyer (DFL Endorsed)
Park & Recreation Board District 2: Mike Talley Tate (DFL), Kale Severson (DFL Endorsed)
Park & Recreation Board District 3: AK Hassan (DFL), Abdi Gurhan Mohamed (DFL), Charles Exner (Green Party Endorsed)
Park & Recreation Board District 4: Jono Cowgill (DFL Endorsed, Labor Endorsed), Tom Nordyke (DFL)
Park & Recreation Board District 5: Steffanie Musich (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed), Bill Shroyer (DFL), Andrea Fahrenkrug
Park & Recreation Board District 6: Brad Bourn (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed), Jennifer Zielinski (GOP Endorsed), Bob Fine, Robert Schlosser
City Council:
Ward 1: Kevin Reich (Incumbent) (DFL), Jillia Pessenda (DFL), John Hayden (Independent)
Ward 2: Cam Gordon (Incumbent) (Green Party Endorsed)
Ward 3: Tim Bildsoe (DFL), Steve Fletcher (DFL Endorsed), Samantha Pree-Stinson (Green Party Endorsed), Ginger Jentzen (Socialist Alternative)
Ward 4: Barbara Johnson (Incumbent) (DFL), Phillipe Cunningham (DFL), Stephanie Gasca (DFL), Dana Hansen (Libertarian Party Endorsed)
Ward 5: Blong Yang (Incumbent) (DFL), Jeremiah Ellison (DFL Endorsed), Cathy Spann (DFL), Raeisha Willliams (DFL)
Ward 6: Abdi Warsame (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed), Mohamud Noor (DFL), Fadumo Yusuf (GOP Endorsed)
Ward 7: Lisa Goodman (Incumbent) (DFL), Janne Flisrand (DFL), Teqen Zea-Aida (DFL), Joe Kovacs (GOP Endorsed)
Ward 8: Andrea Jenkins (DFL Endorsed), April Kane (DFL), Terry White (Green Party Endorsed): David Holsinger (Libertarian Party)
Ward 9: Alondra Cano (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed), Mohamed Farah (DFL), Gary Schiff (DFL), Ronald Peterson (GOP)
Ward 10: Lisa Bender (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed), Saralyn Romanishan (DFL), David Schorn (DFL), Bruce Lundeen (GOP Endorsed)
Ward 11: John Quincy (Incumbent) (DFL), Erica Mauter (DFL), Jeremy Schroeder (DFL)
Ward 12: Andrew Johnson (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed), Will Jaeger (Independent), Harrison Bullard (Independent Health Labor)
Ward 13: Linea Palmisano (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed), Bob Reuer (Independent)
Board of Estimate & Taxation (Elect 2):
Carol Becker (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed)
David Wheeler (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed)
City of Saint Paul, Ramsey County (population 302,398)
Mayor:
Sharon Anderson (GOP)
Melvin Carter III (DFL)
Trahern Jeen Crews (Green Party)
Elizabeth Dickinson (Green Party Endorsed)
Tom Goldstein (DFL)
Pat Harris (DFL)
Chris Holbrook (Libertarian)
Tim Holden (Independant)
Dai Thao (DFL)
Barnabas Y'shua
Saint Paul Public Schools School Board At Large:
John Brodrick (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed)
Jeanelle Foster (Incumbent) (DFL Endorsed)
Luke Bellville
Greg Copeland (GOP Endorsed)
Andrea Touhey
Marny Xiong (DFL Endorsed)
Saint Louis Park, Hennepin County (population 48,747) [3]
Edina, Hennepin County (population 51,350) [2]
City Council:
Ward 1: Margaret Rog (Justin Grays Endorsed), Brian Shekleton
Ward 2: Anne Mavity (Justin Grays Endorsed), Noelle Racette
Ward 3: Rachel Harris (Justin Grays Endorsed), Jim Leuthner
Ward 4: Tim Brausen (Justin Grays Endorsed)
Saint Louis Park School Board:
Bruce Cantor
Anne Casey
Christine M Johnson
Mary Tomback
Karen D. Waters
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Works Cited:
“Candidate Filings - 2017.” Candidate filings - Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services, vote.minneapolismn.gov/candidate/filing. Accessed 23 Sept. 2017.
“Edina Public Schools.” School Board / 2017 Board Election, www.edinaschools.org/Page/5041. Accessed 23 Sept. 2017.
“St. Louis Park, MN.” Elections | St. Louis Park, MN, www.stlouispark.org/government/elections. Accessed 23 Sept. 2017.
Stewart, Carolyn. “US Census Bureau Publications - Census of Population and Housing.” Census of Population and Housing - Publications - U.S. Census Bureau, 19 Aug. 2011, www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html. Accessed 23 Sept. 2017. Downloaded the PDF Census of Population and Housing, 2010 - CPH-1. Summary of Population and Housing Characteristics - Minnesota PDF Location: https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-25.pdf
“What's on the ballot?” What's on the Ballot? - Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services, vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/ballot. Accessed 23 Sept. 2017.