Our mayor has just thumbed his nose at the MPD rank and file and destroyed what little morale is left in the department by going outside the city for a chief. historically the chief job went to the cop who did the best job of pounding lawn signs for the winning mayor. The police federation can no longer deliver a couple thousand Minneapolis voters for their anointed candidate, so R.T. can probably get away with this snub.
Which raises the question of how R.T. got to be mayor in the first place. R.T. put himself on the map when his major opponent was unable to get an endorsement at the 2001 DFL city endorsing convention. R.T. had nowhere near the support of half the delegates in that room, but was the beneficiary of some shenanigans of supporters of a candidate that had already been dropped and some devious supporters of a republican candidate who was camped just outside the convention. After a few ballots the Machiavellians won and threw the race into a primary. This was in fact a repeat of the 1993 endorsement battle, when supporters of dropped candidate Jeff Jefferson and others blocked an endorsement of Sharon Sayles Belton. IIRC some of the same Machiavellians were involved in both shenanigans.
Fast forward to the recent botched appointments... our school board started this fad of attempting to bypass the deliberative selection process we have entrusted them with. Despite the public outcry that bit of favoritism brought, a bare majority of the park board has attempted a copycat crime, hurriedly entrusting our civic legacy of parks to someone we've never heard of. Pardon me, but I think we can get by for a few months without a Park Superintendent while the Park Board conducts a proper search and selection process.
2004 will of course with a presidential election be a big year for shenanigans. Again the gold, silver, and bronze medals go to the Republicans- on our north city limits the Bush administration's misnamed "Defense Department" has managed to "save" 300 jobs at United Defense with a multi billion dollar contract. After a couple decades of layoffs (check out United Defense's parking lot) most every one of these 300 workers hair grayed long ago. We "tax and spend" Democrats could have given then a generous early retirement, retraining programs, etc. and saved the taxpayers billions...
One must give the democratic "machine" their due though... A couple months back the DFL state central committee met in Willmar. On the agenda was a proposal to move the caucus date to early february, making Minnesota a major player in the presidential selection process. Minneapolis was virtually unrepresented at that meeting. My own Northside district, the 58th, was totally unrepresented. I was there only because I received an e-mail from the State Central Committee mailing list informing me of the meeting, I received no mailed notice. Being a member in good standing of the democratic wing of the Democratic Party I of course attended, only to be told that I was no longer a delegate...
The national election is 10 months away, so grab a chair and enjoy the shenanigans. Already a couple folks are plotting a takeover of the Minneapolis based Stonewall DFL caucus, their barely publicized screenings are over and their slate is set. Stonewall DFL members may note that the membership renewal notice was missing from the annual meeting notice- that way if you forget to renew you may be denied the right to vote at the annual meeting. The meeting is also scheduled for January 10th in Minneapolis, when many Dean supporters will be campaigning in Iowa. Stonewall DFL could have had that meeting concurrent with the state central committee meeting on the 24th, but then all those pesky outstate members and the DFL wing of the party might be in attendance...
So settle back and get ready for a big year of political shenanigans. Meanwhile, perhaps we should start an award for best politician shenanigan of the year- any nominations?
hack'n in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
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