At 08:36 PM 11/2/01 GMT, deanc wrote: >Any one ready for election predictions? Here are mine: > >MAYORS RACE: > >RT - 53 >SSB - 47 > >RT wins Wards 12, 11, 13, 10, 7 big; 1, 4 tight >SSB wins Wards 3, 5, 8, big; 9, 2, 6 tight > Aw heck, I was wrong on the Mayor's race the last time -- though I did predict that Stenglein would come in last. This time, I'd agree with Dean on this analysis. I was wrong that Brock would come in third in the 8th ward race.
>RT racks up huge numbers in 11 and 13 and SSB doesn't have the numbers >elsewhere in the City to overcome. > > >COUNCIL RACES: > >Cruising to Victory (over 55% of vote) >Ostrow (1) >Johnson (4) >Goodman (7) >Schiff (9) >Benson (11) >Lane (13) I'd move Cherryhomes to the kind of close category and Lane to cruising to victory. >Kinda Close (52% to 54% of Vote) >Biernat (3) >Cherryhomes (5) >Lilligren (8) Zimmerman (6) >Niziolek (10) >Colvin Roy (12) > >Nail-Biter (50 to 51% of Vote) >Gordon (2) > >Got a different opinion? Let's hear it. What I'm curious about is how much help the Green Party gave Natalie Johnson Lee in the 5th ward. It seems like what she could have used the most is help with paring down and using the SOS 5th ward voter list. It's also a really good question whether the Green Party endorsement helped -- or hurt Johnson Lee in the 5th ward. When I checked the Lavender Greens website: http://www.lavendergreens.org, City Council Candidates Gordon and Zimmerman filled out the questionaire. Johnson Lee and Shane Price did not. I think the Kallenbach campaign used the Sauna comment of Zimmerman's too soon to be a knock out punch. It allowed the Zimmerman campaign time to respond. I'd expect some more strongly negative material about Dean Zimmerman to be arriving at people's houses on Monday. Zack Metoyer told the Star Tribune this was a test run campaign to build momentum for a 2005 campaign. At this point, Zack Metoyer is a polarizing figure because of his role in CNIA and his closeness to Basim Sabri. Can Metoyer become a serious candidate in the next four years? That depends on how he uses the next four years. Phonics and New-whew-whew Math: Aw the arguments over phonics. This is interesting -- I think I must have learned to read by the phonics method -- because I learned to "sound words out". I also remember learning how to read the pronunciation codes in the dictionary -- and cute little rules like "i before e except after c". We also had spelling bees. In the early grades we were divided into "reading groups" -- the Alice and Jerry reading group, the Dick and Jane reading group -- which I was in -- then there was one more -- that I can't recall. Now what I hear a bit of is let's stay away from phonics because it's being pushed by the right wing wackos who want creationism taught in the schools, etc., etc. Well that makes no sense at all. It just doesn't make sense to teach reading without teaching the strategy of "sounding out" -- ofcourse in English there are tons of exceptions -- but it still helps. What GOT me to really learn to read? It was having parents and babysitters read books aloud. After hearing a bit of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, I finished that one on my own. After listening to a few chapters of the Hobbit, I finished that one on my own. What was quite interesting is when I took the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), many of the words that were used in the fantasy children's books I loved were on the GRE. Regarding Math -- there was the New Math -- and remember the Tom Leher song on the subject? The idea is to understand what you are doing rather than get the right answer. On Negative Campaigning: Actually research continues to show that negative campaigning is effective. I think if a candidate has no ideas and just complains about the other candidates ideas -- well that doesn't go far with me. However when a candidate says this is my plan -- and this is the reason it's better than my opponents -- that is fair game -- and I listen to that. I also don't think comparing oneself to one's opponent and explaining why one is a stronger candidate than the opponent is "negative campaigning." Candidates who constantly whine about criticism and call all criticism "negative campaigning" also bug me. It is important for a public official to have a thick skin. No one is ever going to please every body all the time. Eva Eva Young Central _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
