After this November’s ranked choice voting, Minneapolis will have a new Mayor and any number of city council seats may have new occupants.
DFL Party operators say they have set things up such that sitting politicians have to decide what seat they’re running for and not have feet in two camps.
Current Fifth Ward Council Member Don Samuels is choosing to run for mayor.
Most sitting politicians in Minneapolis are DFLers; in future articles on the various races NorthNews will seek Republican, Green Party and other information as well.
Precinct caucuses will be held April 16 at various locations, and the Fifth Ward DFL endorsing convention is May 18 at North Commons. Various wards will hold their conventions between April 27 and June 14. The City convention is set for June 15, at which candidates for Mayor, Park Board, and Board of Estimate and Taxation will seek the party’s endorsement.
Candidates will file their candidacies with the city from July 30 through August 13. There will be no separate primary, and all candidates regardless of party designation will all be on the same ballot Tuesday, Nov. 5. For ranked choice voting, voters indicate their first choice, and then second and third choices. The first time this was used in Minneapolis was 2009.
From the City of Minneapolis website: “Ranked Choice Voting combines the municipal Primary and the General Election into one event, so there is no Primary in 2013. In Ranked Choice Voting, voters may also rank a different 2nd and 3rd choice candidate on the same ballot, in the columns just to the right of a voter’s first choice. Additional details on the 2013 Election Calendar, how to file for office, and on the Minneapolis Ranked Choice Voting method will be published as they come available.”
Jackie Cherryhomes, the other Northsider who so far has announced interest in the mayor race, told NorthNews that she is assembling her campaign committee and about two weeks away from a formal announcement. She and current 13th Ward Council Member Betsy Hodges and Grant Haas are listed on the city DFL’s website as seeking endorsement. Several others have expressed interest and been interviewed in the Minneapolis media.
Cherryhomes was city council president when Sharon Sayles Belton was mayor. She was Fifth Ward City Council Member from 1990 to 2002.
In the Fifth Ward, Brett Buckner kicked off his campaign for City Council before incumbent Mayor R.T. Rybak announced he would not seek another term. He stated his objectives and avoided criticizing the incumbent. His website is www.brettbuckner.com.
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