Michael writes:
>
> The Minneapolis DFL machine has been the total
> domination of the council, supported by neighborhood
> "activists," funded by the NRP, which in turn was supported
> by a DFL legislature.
> A couple of years ago I told Dore Mead that the election
> of Venture signaled the displease of the electorate with
> the DFL. At the time she disagreed. I don't think that
> anyone (including me) could have predicted the success
> of the Green Party in the primary. I hope with all my
> heart that these changes will also be reflected in the
> new council. This city has been run under a one party
> system for far too long. Power corrupts, absolute
> power...
The Greens did a fine job and deserve all the kudos they get. There was
a yawning gap for a another party and they have filled it stirringly.
But Michael sets a ridiculous standard for judging electorate
displeasure: no DFLer believes the party captures 100 percent of the
electorate, or should it. I would not call this election a repudiation
of the DFL, but one power bloc within it.
Look closely at the results. Hooray for Cam Gordon, but he got 32
percent and a DFLer (Paul Zerby) beat him and the two DFLers (Zerby &
Campbell) received 61 percent of the vote. In the 6th, Dean Zimmerman
won with 26 percent, but a gaggle of DFLers received 68 percent of the
vote. In the 8th, the independent with a strong prior history of
vote-getting (former school board member Sandra Miller) finished third;
despite the Herron scandal, DFLers Vickie Brock and Robert Lilligren
received 69 percent.
Displeased with the DFL? I don't think so. Ventura may have signaled
something on the state level, but in Minneapolis, his "nearly-endorsed"
candidate (Lisa McDonald) received a disappointing 18 percent and
finished out of the money.
It's possible in the next election, more candidates will feel "safe" to
embrace the Green label, rather than playing it safe with the DFL.
But the story last night (side-by-side with the more-noticed Green
emergence) is a DFL one: the most pro-neighborhood, more-pro-NRP DFLers
cleaned up their own party - Zerby over Campbell, RT over SSB, etc. Not
only was it not a repudiation of the DFL, it wasn't a repudiation of
NRP.
The emergence of a strong Green party is terrific on many levels -- but
they are taking the place of a vacuum, at least based on last night's
results. The DFL is still looking, very, very good - maybe better,
depending on your view of intra-party results last night.
David Brauer
King Field - Ward 10
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