Eva and all:
I am pretty far behind in the Minneapolis Issues Forum emails, and actually was given a "heads up" by a friend that my name was on the Issues list.
I want to start by saying that I believe whole heartly in the endorsement process. If the outreach is properly done (which has been lacking in the past) it is grassroots organizing at its best. We start getting our neighbors to the precinct caucuses and then we collaborate to endorse a candidate that we believe with represent our views - for me, in the 6th Ward, "our" translates to primarily the Phillips Neighborhood with had 17,000 of the 25,000 people in the Ward as of the 1990 census.
In the DFL 61st SD, David Finke, the SD Chair and Neva Walker's campaign, to name the two that I am familiar, got the largest new delegate turnout in history to the Senate District, despite the logistical problems with new Precinct Meeting/Convention process, many of those new delegates coming from the Phillips Neighborhood. The whole 6th Ward is in the 61st SD, so those candidates that were seeking the DFL endorsment most definitely benefited by a TRUE cross section of the ward making a decision on who they wanted to be their endorsed candidate. This was NOT a convention of "party hacks" but many new folks that were being introduced to the process. Party hacks only have a profound effect if the process is closed, which was not the case in the DFL SD 61 Convention.
It felt very good to see the many new citizens from the 6th ward participating in the process. This type of participation only happens in a precinct caucus/endorsement process. A primary process is more about how much money one can garner, and how can one market myself to look the best to the largest amount of people. This primary process, in my opinion, benefits those with the most money, the most political connections, and many times not necessarily the interest of the people at heart.
As all of this pertains to Jonathan Palmer running in the Primary. I am no longer his campaign manager, which was the agreement whether he won the endorsement or not. His aunt and uncle are family friends and because of that I agreed to help him with his campaign through the endorsement convention, but with the Affirmative Action duties I have, I didn't have time to assist after that.
Do I agree in anyone seeking the DFL endorsement and then deciding to run in the Primary? No! Which I have never made secret to anyone. I believe that Mark Dayton showed integrity by NOT seeking the DFL endorsement because he was committed to running in the Primary.
There seems to be a contradiction to me in seeking the DFL or for that matter any party endorsement and then deciding to go off and ignore the delegates. These delegates are PEOPLE. I believe these people deserve to be respected. They are not just names on a list, or numbers, they are people who take I believe take the process very seriously. I think it is disrespectful.
Take care,
Matthea
Eva Young <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi Folks:
Rich Stafford writes of Jonathan Palmer:
It should also be mentioned you original campaign manager and supporter,
Matthea Little Smith, pointedly scolded you about your "block endorsement"
strategy after you dropped after the second ballot. Especially, since you
had indicated up to the day of the convention that an endorsement of a
candidate was important.
---------------------------------
I'd like to hear from Matthea Little Smith on this point.
Matthea Little Smith
MN DFL Affirmative Action Officer
612-724-2997
"A friend never demands your silence." -- Alice Walker
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