Re: [Mpls] School Board Endorsement

[Bert1956]

The whole point of the DFL endorsement process was and is to do exactly what Michelle objects to.  It is to stifle all but the endorsed candidates.

There are good reasons for this, in the present, in the past, and specifically in Minneapolis' past.

Until relatively recently, Republicans were a strong and often controlling force in this city and state. The only way to assure a shot at election for DFLers was to eliminate all but one candidate per office, to assure unity against the Republicans.

That is still the case outside the core central cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and , to a certain degree, Duluth.

Inside Minneapolis, in the recent past, there have been no Republican officeholders, with the exception of Denny Schulstad. The last Republican school board member in Mpls was Jim Pommerenke, and that was many years ago.

But as a statewide matter, Mpls cannot have a different system than the rest of the state.

As a result of our one-party success, we have suffered through many ills and dysfunctional behavior. The cult of personality has taken over, to the detriment of public policy.

We were a better party, and a better city, when we had the good civic debate that organized opposition provides.


Bert Black
King Field
'Retired' DFLer