Doug Mann wrote:
There is also the matter of 2 Emails that I sent to the mpls issues and local
Green Party listservs prior to the GP's most recent endorsing meeting: One
asking Kari Tauring to clarify her position on some issues, and another Email
stating that I was disinclined to support Ms. Tauring due to statements in her
screening report, including stances on policy issues and the admission that she
had initially sought support from current school board members, and backed
away from seeking the DFL endorsement when support from current school board
members was not forthcoming.
There is truth to this. That is, when Kari first raised the idea of running for school board to friends - some of whom had experience working on political campaigns - she was told that the way to "win" was to get the DFL endorsement. She was never certain that that's what she wanted to do, but since she knew some members of the school board she did decide to talk to them about the process. Had they reacted positively and offered support I'm not sure what Kari would've done. I do know what she was always disinclined to get a party endorsement for what she sees as a non-partisan office.
The process that she observed, however, left a bad taste in her mouth. She was told by school board members that they were "grooming" two candidates for the positions. She sought endorsements from labor and quickly realized that three candidates seemed "pre-ordained" to get those endorsements (they did). She expected that the same three would get the DFL endorsement and two of them did. Also, after initially considering whether or not she would run the Board announced its school closings plan - without first seeking any kind of community input. That made Kari disinclined to seek support from any current board members. From her perspective the current board had all mentioned "community involvement in schools" as being important - and they proceeded to ignore that in one of their most far reaching decisions (later delayed or not).
So, yes, Kari did talk to the current board when considering running. It was only after her feeling that the process was "fixed" that she decided that support from a party would be important for getting her message out. At that point she turned to The Greens - The party she feels closest to politically. And it wasn't her first involvement with the Greens - As a musician Kari has played for them at fundraisers in the past (One I remember for sure - I believe there may have been more).
Still, there's nothing misleading about Doug's statement on this. Kari did speak with school board members while considering whether or not to run. I know she was never seriously considering seeking the DFL nomination, but had the process felt open and supportive she may have decided to try. It didn't so she chose not to seek the DFL endorsement.
Jim McGuire
Como
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