I was both surprised and not surprised by the turn out numbers on Tuesday. The 20 point poll on Saturday probably did the most damage to turnout, keeping soft SSB support at home. I did a search on the Strib and found that in the days before the Carlson-SSB election the spread was only ten. They also had a lot more cash to spend before the General because there was no bruising primary fight like this year. RT and Sharon both had to exhaust many resources just to get to the dance which doesn't leave a lot left over for the General.
There also wasn't a particularly huge amount of fundraising for the council races either this time around and any incumbents that had money weren't interested in spending it to boost turnout. If someone has the time or inclination I would love to see a summary of Mayor and Council disclosure totals from this year. If there is anything that scares away contributors it is change on the grand scale such as this.
I'll be anxious to see the Precinct by Precinct votes when they get posted on the web.
Scott Persons
Lyndale Neighborhood
Ward 10
