urbanMSP

It was very fitting Frey announced his candidacy at a brewery, given he is, in fact an IPA (immaterial performative ally).

What did he say?

It wasn't what he said, it was how he said it. Just too much not-obviously-sincere passion and enthusiasm.

For me, Frey's alliance with Alondra Cano disqualifies him for mayor. I was on the fence between Frey and Hodges, even leaning Jacob's way after he reached out to me before the convention, but no longer. I like Frey a lot as a person, but I always felt he couldn't fully be trusted as mayor. Some of that I was willing to overlook for the "good stuff" of his excitement, personality, etc. There are things I don't like about Hodges (general personality, energy level, communication issues) but I trust her plenty to always do what is right. I also trust that she will surround herself with the right people. Lisa Bender's strong endorsement of Hodges goes a long way for me, and it should for everyone on this forum as well.

This is odd to me. She has been mayor for four years. It does not seem she has always done what is right.

Just more broadly, watching many people who complained about Betsy for years coalesce around her has really been something. It seems to me that, on almost every issue, she just splays out and tries to give a little bit to every camp - an approach all but guaranteed to preserve the status quo. I have seen it in action over and over and it always feels paralyzing. I've spoken to her directly about the fair housing stuff I care most about, and it always feels like she's saying "everyone's a little bit right." If there's a vision behind that, I sure don't know what it is. Enough muddling - Minneapolis's politics are complicated but its problems mostly aren't. Say what you will about Frey and Dehn but they have clear ideas about the way forward and aren't afraid to promote those ideas, loudly and forcefully. In a system where the mayor's institutional power is limited, that seems awfully important.

"In Minneapolis, Liberal Isn’t Good Enough for the Left"
http://www.governing.com/topics/politic ... crats.html

Most surprising was seeing John Quincy actually quoted in an article.

Tom Hoch getting blasted for donating $500 to MN Republicans in 2016.

As well he should.

Good job John / WedgeLIVE!

http://www.citypages.com/news/minneapol ... /446060093

Hodges campaign broke ($6000 left in bank), staff quitting en masse, polls looking grim.

It's important to remember that the author of this piece, Cory Zurowski, is behind every "DAE think Minneapolis is Crime City?" article from City Pages in the past few months, as well as a puff piece on his own hometown of Savage MN. And there's some unsited 'poll numbers' in this article. Don't help him write crap.

I don't know. You can put a lot to spin, but if Hodges is really that broke and really did just lose her entire campaign staff, then she's in trouble no matter who's writing the story.

But I'd rather take in that information from a staff journalist at a respected local newspaper, not the place I check concert listings.

Also, two people is not 'her entire campaign staff'

Strib is reporting it was six who left.

EDIT: Whoops, they actually are referencing the City Pages article saying "a half dozen".

They apparently tried to call them, though, and five didn't call back. Perhaps meaningless, but I think if you were on the campaign, you'd want to clear that up right away. <shrug>

The Strib is reporting a spokesperson said six.

As the incumbent and Hodges is always a threat to win, because of name recognition if nothing else. But man, does she ever have a lot of weird personnel issues on both the official and campaign side.

If only she'd supported the soccer stadium.

I was gonna just vote for her but if she falls apart....Dehn? I used to like Frey but several emails with him and some of his recent social media posts have turned me off.

I think Hodges path to victory is contingent on a large majority of Dehn voters ranking her second (or third after Levy-Pounds?). I do not think Dehn's chances of coming out ahead of Frey, Hodges, and Hoch are very high, but I suppose he should still be considered a dark horse. My worry is that too many Dehn voters are dumb Bernie Bros and will do some illogical shit like ranking Frey/Hoch ahead of Hodges (which does not square up politically at all, if you're a Dehn supporter).

I have voted early in the last several elections (2013, 14 and 16) but I might be taking this one to the wire. My current ranking is Hodges first, then Frey/Dehn (exact order of who is 2nd/3rd TBD). My Councilmember is Andrew Johnson, so that's easy. I'll be voting Steffanie Musich for the Park Board district seat. I suppose I need to research Park Board at large. I am extremely wary of the DFL / Our Revolution candidates for Park Board...something doesn't smell right

{EDIT: Ensuing Park Board discussion was moved to the proper thread}

This is a challenging election for mayor for me because I don't really like any of the candidates.

One of the things that seems to be going wrong in Minneapolis politics right now is that it is a city full of left wing voters who are frustrated by national politics and are pouring their frustrations into local politics. I understand that, because I feel it myself, but we have too many people in city government who check all the boxes ideologically but lack administrative experience. The result is that the city is adrift at the nuts and bolts level. This is why the implementation of police body cams has been so problematic. Anything to do with getting a license for a business is a horrible experience compared to other municipalities in the metro. When I was running a restaurant over in Northeast and the sick time ordinance was being put together we asked them what the system would be for tracking the sick time of people who changed jobs in the middle of the year and it was obvious that they hadn't thought about it.

The city government is full of people who's hearts are in the right place but lack the skill set and competence to execute their vision. What we need in the mayor's office is somebody who has the experience of running a large organization combined with values that reflect the city, but I don't know who that would be. Sadly, Hodges comes closest.

Mayoral endorsements by current (and future*) councilmembers
Frey: Warsame, Cano
(surely Barb Johnson and Lisa Goodman are supporters, but I don't know if they have endorsed)

Hodges: Bender, Quincy, Jenkins*
(Both Glidden and Palmisano were Hodges backers in '13, dunno about now)

No official endorsements are likely to come from: Blong Yang (likely Frey), Kevin Reich (likely Frey), Andrew Johnson (neutral/Hodges?), Cam Gordon (very likely Hodges; longtime policy aide Robin Garwood is a strong Hodges supporter)

Who have I missed? I'll edit the post if there are more

Levy Pounds has updated her housing policy and it's pretty strong: http://www.minneapolisfornekima.com/housing

I was already considering her in my top 3 but that probably solidifies it.

I would say that makes her my #2. Though as usual the "solutions" for gentrification are vague and hand-wavey. Does anyone out there have solid ideas on this?

I really like how she explicitly calls out making more housing types feasible.

The g-word section is actually one of the better ones. That she had the opportunity to use the usual g-word scare tactics but didn't is a pretty big credit in my book.

I read it as defining the gentrification we care about as that which results in rents rising faster than an appropriate for existing units. That might even be a compromise definition people can agree on. She says we should target the NOAH preservation techniques outlined elsewhere in the neighborhoods where rents are rising fastest.