urbanMSP

The next block down has the old shoebox lights and feels like the set of Robert Altman's Popeye next to my block.

I don't really understand what this reference means, but I love that you made it.

Tina Smith, the Governors Chief of Staff, and the former CoS for Rybak is the name people are waiting on. If she gets in the race it's probably over.

Eh. Tina sounds great statewide, but city, not so much. Funding is there though.

I'm curious if this Mark Andrew guy will pick up any momentum or big endorsements. Does anyone here have any thoughts beyond the talking points on his website? Did he leave the county board on good terms?

Another name is officially in the hat:
http://www.startribune.com/politics/sta ... 56691.html

More than a decade after leaving political office, Jackie Cherryhomes on Saturday launched her bid for mayor of Minneapolis.

The former City Council president told a large crowd at Standard Heating and Air Conditioning on Plymouth Avenue N. that she had learned a lot since her City Hall days....

Found a new mayoral candidate from redisciple's link. Judging by the photo he chose for his site, he's got my vote!

http://www.granthaas.com/

His platform seems to consist of marketing strategy.

That pic is just priceless. I can't wait for the debates.

Kinda looks like Nick from a distance... (looking at the site on my phone)

That pic is just priceless. I can't wait for the debates.

Kinda looks like Nick from a distance... (looking at the site on my phone)

Boo, hiss.

Probably a good idea? http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collec ... ayor.shtml

Definitely a good idea.

I love the Instant Runoff Voting, but I worry that the debates are going to be bad enough with the serious candidates, let alone trying to accommodate the vanity campaigns. Alternately, they could keep the fee the same but require everybody to fulfill the petition process.

I know all of us smart people are supposed to be on board with it, but does anyone have a feeling that IRV is going to be confusing as hell to the 75% of voters who don't know anything? [/elderlycirca2000Floridian]

Definitely a good idea.

I love the Instant Runoff Voting, but I worry that the debates are going to be bad enough with the serious candidates, let alone trying to accommodate the vanity campaigns. Alternately, they could keep the fee the same but require everybody to fulfill the petition process.

Well there's definitely a certain dullness in the beige liberalism of this mayoral campaign (and I say that as a liberal Democrat). Every candidate basically has the same ideology and opinion on city's issues. How are they actually going to have a real debate? Having a few quirky candidates running might add some color.

Well there's definitely a certain dullness in the beige liberalism of this mayoral campaign (and I say that as a liberal Democrat). Every candidate basically has the same ideology and opinion on city's issues. How are they actually going to have a real debate? Having a few quirky candidates running might add some color.

Point taken, and I do wish that we had some serious candidates that pushed the political spectrum a bit. And perhaps some will emerge. But color for the sake of color is just a distraction. If people remember the 2001 pre-primary debates, they were a mess and there wasn't nearly enough time given to candidates that were viable (and I know it's difficult to determine viability).

In the end, Minneapolis being Minneapolis, we know that the elected candidate will be some shade of beige liberal, so I'd rather the debates help me determine which particular hue I ought to be supporting.

I'd forgotten this particular incident from the 2001 election, which occurred when TPT tried to cull down the candidates invited to a forum:

According to forum organizers, the candidates selected to participate were considered the leading four candidates out the field of 22 registered to run. Before the evening's debate, Earth Protector candidate Leslie Davis tried to enter the studio but was restrained by police officers. Davis vowed to be included in the debate or get arrested trying. Davis left the building voluntarily and was not arrested.

I'd forgotten this particular incident from the 2001 election, which occurred when TPT tried to cull down the candidates invited to a forum:

According to forum organizers, the candidates selected to participate were considered the leading four candidates out the field of 22 registered to run. Before the evening's debate, Earth Protector candidate Leslie Davis tried to enter the studio but was restrained by police officers. Davis vowed to be included in the debate or get arrested trying. Davis left the building voluntarily and was not arrested.

Sounds more like San Francisco politics!

It would be nice if, for once in my life, I could see a candidate run for mayor that wasn't a democrat or a leftover hippie. This is the one election that I have avoided because, in 30 years of voting I've never seen a candidate I like, not one. I'm not really even asking for a republican, just someone who is a little more fiscally conservative.
I know most people here love Rybak, but he lost my respect years ago when he tried to strong arm Mary's Place and force them out for a potential stadium site, then tried to back pedal once it started getting more press.

It would be nice if, for once in my life, I could see a candidate run for mayor that wasn't a democrat or a leftover hippie. This is the one election that I have avoided because, in 30 years of voting I've never seen a candidate I like, not one. I'm not really even asking for a republican, just someone who is a little more fiscally conservative.
I know most people here love Rybak, but he lost my respect years ago when he tried to strong arm Mary's Place and force them out for a potential stadium site, then tried to back pedal once it started getting more press.

No doubt. One Party rule is unhealthy, regardless of the power structure. It would be refreshing if a more conservative voice had some say. I always joke that candidates in MPLS are left of crazy, against left of looney.

Barbara Carlson ran in 1997 and Mark Stenglein in 2001, both with modest success. While neither of those would fit into today's RINO hunting Republican Party (and while Stenglein has always considered himself a Democrat as far as I'm aware, if a fairly conservative one), it's wrong to suggest that there's no place for alternate voices in the mayoral process.

The truth is, though, that there is enough latitude in the DFL party to allow for a fairly diverse set of voices to operate within the system, and given the clout of the party, a candidate is much better off running as a fiscally pragmatic Democrat than as an Independent or a socially progressive Republican (would that there were such a thing).

Barbara Carlson ran in 1997 and Mark Stenglein in 2001, both with modest success. While neither of those would fit into today's RINO hunting Republican Party (and while Stenglein has always considered himself a Democrat as far as I'm aware, if a fairly conservative one), it's wrong to suggest that there's no place for alternate voices in the mayoral process.

The truth is, though, that there is enough latitude in the DFL party to allow for a fairly diverse set of voices to operate within the system, and given the clout of the party, a candidate is much better off running as a fiscally pragmatic Democrat than as an Independent or a socially progressive Republican (would that there were such a thing).

they had no success!

LOL. If the city was run by conservatives...and only right wing conservatives that would be an issue...with most everyone. The sad state of minneapolis politics is the the left thinks it's perfectly fine to not allow an large demographic any say at all, about anything.