Are Minneapolis’ school board seats being bought?

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Will a seat, or two, on the Minneapolis school board be sold to the highest bidder?The amount of money flowing into the 2014 Minneapolis school board race is enormous, according to the campaign finance reports that were submitted by candidates and various advocacy groups.Of the four at-large candidates running for the two open citywide seats on the school board, Don Samuels has raised the most money, with a total of $65, 103. Next up is Iris Altamirano, who shares the DFL endorsement with incumbent Rebecca Gagnon. Altamirano’s report shows that she has raised over $41,000, which is more than twice as much as Gagnon’s totals. Candidate Ira Jourdain has raised just over $3,000.What may be more interesting is the amount of money from outside of Minnesota that is flowing into the race, through groups such as the 50CAN Action Fund, the Students for Education Reform Action Fund, and a group calling itself the Minneapolis Progressive Education Fund (MPEF).While the most recent totals for both the 50CAN Action Fund, which is the advocacy arm of the education reform group MinnCAN, and the Students for Education Reform Action Fund are under $40,000, the MPEF has amassed a huge war chest, to the tune of more than $200,000, according to a campaign finance report filed on Oct. 28.Looking at the reports, the money MPEF has raised is mostly coming from a handful of billionaires and millionaires from outside of Minnesota. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example, gave the MPEF $100,000, while California billionaire Arthur Rock gave $90,000.Daniel Sellers, who is the director of MinnCAN and its 501c4 advocacy group, the 50CAN Action Fund, is also the chair of the MPEF. Continue Reading

VIDEO: “I would like more of the Latino community to vote”

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Many nonprofits participated in Get out the Vote this year, and they’re sharing why voting is important to them on video.Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES) launched their very first civic engagement program, adding voter education to their long list of community services. The program, which started earlier this year, provides educational outreach services to Minneapolis residents who may not know about the voting process, or why it’s important.“I think as CLUES, it’s our responsibility and it’s our obligation to advocate for our community members,” said Joel Martinez, who runs the new program. “Not just in direct services … but also equip leadership within our community members.”Recently, the program took to the streets around Franklin and Chicago, Martinez said, teaching community members how to vote, and even how they can get involved if they can’t vote yet. Even if some community members can’t vote for legal reasons, he said, they can still get involved and make a difference in their community.Mercedes Moreno with CLUES hopes to see the Latino community get more involved in politics. Check out her video and see what voting means to her below. In EnglishEn Español Coverage of the 2014 elections is funded in part by a grant from The Minneapolis Foundation. Continue Reading

Loeffler running for sixth legislature term

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The Minnesota House of Representatives District 60A includes 15 neighborhoods in Northeast and Southeast Minneapolis. This year’s race has two candidates: DFL incumbent Diane Loeffler, who is running for her sixth term, and Republican challenger Brent Millsop.

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