How much does a seat on the Minneapolis school board cost?

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For incumbent board member Rebecca Gagnon, who came in first in the Nov. 4 election, the cost was approximately $.70 per vote. Gagnon, who ran for one of the two open citywide seats, secured her spot on the board with 56,901 votes.A fundraising chart for the four at-large school board candidates—Gagnon, Don Samuels, Iris Altamirano, and Ira Jourdain—put together by Minnesota Public Radio on Nov. 3 shows Gagnon’s campaign raised or otherwise benefitted from a fundraising amount of around $40,000. By dividing her fundraising dollars by the amount of votes she got, an approximate per vote cost of $.70 is determined.For Samuels, who came in second and therefore also won a citywide spot on the board, the cost per vote was much higher. Continue Reading

Kahn will represent University area again

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Phyllis Kahn celebrated her Election Day victory months ago.“I kind of expected [Tuesday’s victory],” she said.Though the 42-year incumbent officially won the District 60B seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives on Tuesday with nearly 77 percent of the vote, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislator faced her toughest challenge in August’s primary election.On Tuesday, Kahn defeated Republican challenger Abdimalik Askar for the seat, which represents the University of Minnesota, Cedar-Riverside and other east Minneapolis neighborhoods.“I was not too surprised,” Askar said. “I know the area was DFL, but I tried my best and I worked hard.”In the primary election, Kahn went head-to-head with Somali-born Democrat Mohamud Noor, who drew a large following in the district, where nearly a quarter of the residents are Somali.Kahn topped Noor, earning nearly 55 percent of the primary vote.“I have terrific support in the Somali community,” Kahn said. “I think I have very good results throughout the district.”Though Askar’s presence in the election seemed quiet, he dedicated 50 hours per week to campaigning, adding that he felt strong student support when canvassing the district.“When I was door-knocking, I said, ‘My opponent held [her] seat for 42 years,’ and everyone was surprised — especially University students,” he said. “They said, ‘This is the time we need change,’ and they’re excited. They welcome that.”Constituents voiced a similar sentiment during the Kahn-Noor battle earlier this year. Continue Reading

DFL wins all statewide races, Franken holds onto Senate seat

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Statewide races went Democrats’ way in Minnesota with Senator Al Franken and Governor Mark Dayton easily beating their Republican opponents. Democrats also won the only statewide race without an incumbent as Steve Simon was elected Secretary of State. All statewide races – Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Secretary of State – were won by Democrats.In Congressional races Rep. Rick Nolan turned back a strong challenge from Republican Stewart Mills to win Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. Republican Tom Emmer will take retiring Rep. Michele Bachmann’s seat in congress as he easily defeated Democrat Joe Perske. Republicans were hoping they could finally defeat Rep. Collin Peterson in Minnesota’s 7th district, but Peterson won easily again.Republicans took control of Minnesota’s House winning key races in suburban and rural areas. Continue Reading

Republicans regain control of House

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One-party rule at the State Capitol is out after Republicans recaptured control of the House of Representatives during Tuesday’s elections.Two years after being swept from legislative power by a wave of DFL victories, Republicans picked up wins in a handful of key races to hold a 72-62 edge in the House.The DFL will retain control of the governorship, with Gov. Mark Dayton winning re-election. The Senate, under DFL control, did not stand for election. The Legislature is scheduled to convene Jan. 6, 2015.The District 48A race between Rep. Yvonne Selcer (DFL-Minnetonka) and former Republican House member Kirk Stensrud was decided by 36 votes in favor of Selcer. Stensrud could request a recount.State Canvassing Board members are scheduled to meet Nov. Continue Reading

Siad Ali wins Minneapolis School Board seat but other African immigrant candidates fall short

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Siad Ali, running unopposed in the East District clinched a spot in the Minneapolis School Board election on Tuesday. 10,018 people (96%) cast their vote for Mr. Ali to send him to the school board. His victory was the only good news for African immigrant candidates as they fell short in various races in Minnesota in their quest to fill school boards, state representative offices and a bid for mayor in the state’s most diverse city.A record five African immigrants were on the ballot Tuesday in Minnesota races.Brooklyn Center MayorMike Elliott, 31, a Liberian immigrant who came to America at age 11 was defeated by incumbent Tim Willson in his quest to become mayor of Minnesota’s most diverse city which neighbors Minneapolis to the west. Elliott received 3,330 (48.58%) votes to Willson’s 3,475 (50.70%).More than half of the city’s population is non-white with a quarter of them born outside the United States, a good number of them being from Africa.Mr. Elliott’s defeat by less than 150 votes brought back memories of a similar election in neighboring Brooklyn Park where Wynfred Russell, another Liberian immigrant, was defeated by a mere five votes. Brooklyn Park’s population is also majority non-white with the entire elected City Council being white.This article is reposted from TCDP media partner Mshale. Continue Reading

This week in Saint Paul: Monday, November 3–Sunday, November 9, 2014

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Tomorrow, November 4, is election day. If you are reading this, I hope you go to vote, if you have not already. I am going to tell you about a bunch of things I think you should do this week. When we show up around town, participate, co-create and enjoy our neighbors, our community, our culture, and our arts, we immeasurably improve the spaces in which we tread. Continue Reading

Why I vote

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This was originally going to be one of those bullet-point lists like “five reasons why voting matters” or whatever, particularly geared toward those of us at the more radical end of the progressive spectrum. Because there’s definitely a lot to talk about. My own views continue to evolve and become more nuanced as I get older, talk to more people, and expand my perspective. What I’ve landed on is this: Continue Reading