Jason: R.T. Rybak attended the convention too. (And, by the way, was the top vote-getter.) Laura Sether Standish-Ericsson FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lisa McDonald Upbeat, Focused after convention Contact: Jason Amundsen, Campaign Manager, (612) 644-5247 On Saturday, May 5th, the Minneapolis City DFL Convention adjourned after four ballots without an endorsement for Mayor of Minneapolis. The result is widely seen as a significant setback for the reelection campaign of eight-year incumbent Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton. �This is a clear call for a change in the way we do business in Minneapolis,� said Council Member Lisa McDonald. �It�s time for a new vision and new leadership in the Mayor�s office. The misguided priorities of the past eight years will not be tolerated in this year�s election for mayor, not even among the DFL Party�s strongest supporters.� McDonald is an active candidate for Mayor, but chose to conserve her campaign�s expenditure of funds and effort for this event. �Our showing at the convention is exactly what we expected,� said McDonald. �Knowing that our campaign would not be endorsed by a small number of party activists, we have concentrated our resources on the greater audience of primary and general election voters in Minneapolis.� Fewer than 900 delegates participated in Saturday�s final convention ballot. McDonald says that she continues her strong and focused campaign in the many neighborhoods of Minneapolis. Her Sunday schedule included appearances at Powderhorn Park�s May Day celebration and at a Cinco de Mayo festival event. �I have run and won without the DFL Party�s official endorsement before. I believe that my vision for the city will be widely accepted by Minneapolis� voters,� McDonald said. �This is a crushing defeat for Sharon Sayles Belton,� said Jason Amundsen, McDonald�s campaign manager. Amundsen suggests that this loss is especially hard after the Mayor�s pronouncement that she would likely receive the party�s endorsement on the first ballot at the convention. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
