Minneapolis 2023 Elections - City Council

[Bakken2016]

Since many candidates have started to announce retirements and campaigns thought it would be good to get this discussion going.

Does anyone have a list of all candidates running so far?

Also, thoughts on the City Council swinging back progressive again, especially since the police question isn't on the ballot?

[COLSLAW5]

axios twin cities has been keeping a list

https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities ... ction-2023

[Blaisdell Greenway]

Josh Martin is also keeping a list https://docs.google.com/document/d/12xx ... ue&sd=true

[Bakken2016]

Minneapolis DFL Endorsements So Far:
Ward 2: No Endorsement
Ward 3: Michael Rainville
Ward 9: Jason Chavez
Ward 12: Aurin Chowdhury
Ward 13: Linea Palmasino

[twincitizen]

It's nuts that no one in Ward 2 wants to run for Council against Wonsley. Especially crazy considering that Wonsley doesn't even seek the DFL endorsement. Anyone that had run for the DFL endorsement would have only needed to beat "no endorsement" and they'd have the party apparatus behind them, probably making them the favorite to win.

In Ward 12, Luther Ranheim is running in the general. I'm not sure about the other candidates who sought the DFL endorsement, Jerome Evans and Nancy Ford. Of those 3, Luther had the better showing at the endorsement convention, though Jerome had been endorsed by the 'DFL Senior Caucus'...which didn't do much for him at the endorsement convention.

[amiller92]

Thoughts and prayers for the Ward 12 residents about to be inundated with low-quality, but glossy, mailers funded by the chamber of commerce.

[twincitizen]

As someone not particularly enthused to add another 25-year old DSA member to the City Council, I hope someone at least gives Aurin a run for her money. If she wins and conducts herself like Andrew Johnson e.g. being a swing vote between the progressive* wing and the more moderate wing, she'll be a great rep for the area. If she wins and goes on to act like Jason Chavez or Robin Wonsley, aligning herself with the 30 loudest Twitter activists still wearing masks in mid-2023 and taking votes that the City Attorney says will result in the City being sued, she's gonna have a tough time winning a 2nd term in a ward like 12.

*y'see, IMO the whole problem with city-level politics in Minneapolis now is that the so-called "progressive" wing of the Council are all 25-year old anarcho-socialists / DSA kids fresh out of grad school. Think back to the 2013 election as far as who was being celebrated as the "new generation of progressives" that started to take power away from the old guard Barb Johnson wing. Folks like Lisa Bender, Andrew Johnson, Alondra Cano, and yes even Jacob Frey were seen as this new vanguard of young progressives, vs. Barb & co. Furthermore, the current "moderates" on the Council, perhaps aside from Rainville, are still pretty dang left-wing/progressive. Like nobody can say with a straight face that Andrea Jenkins is some kind of moderate...it's simply false. But nowadays if you don't align with with Chavez-Ellison-Wonsley wing, you get called "conservative" on Twitter. It's all gotten really dumb and off-putting.

[Bakken2016]

As someone not particularly enthused to add another 25-year old DSA member to the City Council, I hope someone at least gives Aurin a run for her money. If she wins and conducts herself like Andrew Johnson e.g. being a swing vote between the progressive* wing and the more moderate wing, she'll be a great rep for the area. If she wins and goes on to act like Jason Chavez or Robin Wonsley, aligning herself with the 30 loudest Twitter activists still wearing masks in mid-2023 and taking votes that the City Attorney says will result in the City being sued, she's gonna have a tough time winning a 2nd term in a ward like 12.

I really like her positions on public transit and she has a lot of endorsements from local politicians. I'd take a look at her website, she definitely seems poised to win.

[amiller92]

As someone not particularly enthused to add another 25-year old DSA member to the City Council, I hope someone at least gives Aurin a run for her money. If she wins and conducts herself like Andrew Johnson e.g. being a swing vote between the progressive* wing and the more moderate wing, she'll be a great rep for the area. If she wins and goes on to act like Jason Chavez or Robin Wonsley, aligning herself with the 30 loudest Twitter activists still wearing masks in mid-2023 and taking votes that the City Attorney says will result in the City being sued, she's gonna have a tough time winning a 2nd term in a ward like 12.

*y'see, IMO the whole problem with city-level politics in Minneapolis now is that the so-called "progressive" wing of the Council are all 25-year old anarcho-socialists / DSA kids fresh out of grad school. Think back to the 2013 election as far as who was being celebrated as the "new generation of progressives" that started to take power away from the old guard Barb Johnson wing. Folks like Lisa Bender, Andrew Johnson, Alondra Cano, and yes even Jacob Frey were seen as this new vanguard of young progressives, vs. Barb & co. Furthermore, the current "moderates" on the Council, perhaps aside from Rainville, are still pretty dang left-wing/progressive. Like nobody can say with a straight face that Andrea Jenkins is some kind of moderate...it's simply false. But nowadays if you don't align with with Chavez-Ellison-Wonsley wing, you get called "conservative" on Twitter. It's all gotten really dumb and off-putting.

It is hell to get old.

[grant1simons2]

*laughs in 25 year old anarcho-socialists / DSA kid*

[alexschief]

If somehow I had been appointed to the city council as a 25 year-old, I would not have been a good city councilmember for reasons largely related to being 25 and lacking a good deal of life experience.

Now that said, it can cut both ways. I think as you get older, you come to appreciate the extent to which the adults in your life really were winging it a lot of the time and that a lot of what passes for the wisdom of old age is actually just being stuck in habits.

My ideal candidate (or, for that matter, how I try to develop my own thinking) is confident in what they know and confident in what they don't know. I observe that some people find their way to an understanding of this earlier than others, the plurality of people probably get to that point only after some seasoning, and many many people never really end up getting there.

[Nick]

I am going to call all of your parents.

[Tiller]

Hey, us 25 year old anarcho-socialists / DSA kids pay taxes!!

[SurlyLHT]

On Saturday, there were supposed to be two Ward Conventions. Ward 5 was canceled because they couldn't figure out logistics will have no endorsement and Ward 10 had a fight and ended with no endorsement decided yet. Seems like the Mpls DFL is becoming a burden on the MN DFL and struggling to endorse candidates without chaos.

[Silophant]

It would be better if the conservative "DFLers" in Minneapolis could accept a loss without resorting to delegate fraud and outright violence, but here we are.

[Bakken2016]

It would be better if the conservative DFLers in Minneapolis could accept a loss without resorting to delegate fraud and outright violence, but here we are.

THIS! The Minnesota DFL should ban Warsarme from being able to receive the endorsement, and honestly he should end his campaign. The video clearly shows his campaign instigated the violence.

[Blaisdell Greenway]

Yeah it's not the Minneapolis DFL's fault that a candidate purposely and constantly lied to their supporters and stoked a mob. I was at the convention working with Warsame's campaign all day to make sure their delegates were correct. The campaign did one thing and said another to their people. Saw it with my own eyes.

There's a lot of evidence this was planned. For example, why did they bring 400 people to the event when they only had ~120 delegates and alternates? Why was the campaign so adamant that these extraneous several hundred people had to be seated in the room? Why were these extraneous people suddenly trying to get into the room again just before Nasri delegates stormed the stage?

The question is, how far up does this go? We won't have an idea until the Warsame campaign files a campaign finance report, which they've been out of compliance on for at least two months. His campaign manager was integral to the Feeding our Future scam, which raises other questions.

Thankfully the state party is taking this seriously and will likely ban Warsame and other agitators like his campaign staff from DFL spaces and seeking endorsement.

[SurlyLHT]

It's not just this Ward or this election. They've been issues across the city and across elections. The Mpls DFL isn't capable of orchestrating proper caucuses.

[Bakken2016]

It's not just this Ward or this election. They've been issues across the city and across elections. The Mpls DFL isn't capable of orchestrating proper caucuses.

Should just not have caucuses then? We have rank choice voting and the races are technically non-partisan.

[Blaisdell Greenway]

Where is your evidence, SurlyLHT? The last convention to break down was SD62 in 2018. That was put on by SD62, not Minneapolis DFL. Can you name any other examples?

Participation in Minneapolis DFL specific caucuses and conventions has been steadily increasing since 2018. More people are getting involved, not fewer.