Tamir Nolley wrote:
> <snip>
> If this is supposed to be a non-partisan election, it doesn't
> really feel like it. On the list you can see a lot of partisan shots taken
> by people very committed to the parties they support, but sometimes in that
> debate the actual residents that those parties are trying to serve get lost
> in the whole discussion. Though I am a candidate seeking third party
> endorsements, I really like the idea of the non-partisan election. It forces
> each candidate to run on their issues and how they would best serve the city.
Good morning, Tamir -- In the context of municipal electoral
verbiage
"non-partisan" does not mean what you and/or I might construe it to mean. For many
years I
also labored under the weight of thinking that this word meant "non-party" and I
couldn't
figure out why candidates still seemed to spend so much time differentiating
themselves by
political party. Recently, a kind soul enlightened me. I hope I do them justice in how
I
am now going to explain it to you, as it's really very simple.
In the context of Minneapolis city elections, the term refers to
the
type of primary election that will be held in the city. All non-partisan means in this
case is that there is a "General" primary which includes candidates from all parties --
hence the word: "non-partisan." This is one example of how to run a primary election
(not
every state and/or municipality uses primary elections to narrow the field of
candidates,
nor this type of primary election; why the field needs to be narrowed down before the
general election day in November is a question for a scholar). There are obviously
other
ways to run a primary election that are "partisan" in nature. I hope this helps clarify
why you're hearing a lot of partisan debate where you think there should be none.
And I trust that anyone from the Issues list who has additional or
corrective information will jump in and add to this topic. I am especially curious to
know
about the history leading up to Mpls.' decision to have this type of primary election
and
why our ancestors thought that this method was preferable over others.
Jenny Heiser
East Phillips/Ward 6/Precinct 8
Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people
who want crops without plowing the ground; they want rain without thunder
and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters.
The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be
both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a
demand; it never has and it never will. --Frederick Douglas
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