On Dec 6, 2004, at 10:03 AM, John Erwin wrote:
Just a note to a recent post on At-Large members of a Minneapolis organization (City Council mentioned) giving southwest Minneapolis more representation. . .
The Park Board has a mix of district and At-Large members. I note that none
of the At-Large Commissioners (Annie Young, Rochelle Berry Graves, or myself
- John Erwin) live in southwest Minneapolis. Instead, we live in East
Phillips, North/Jordan, and Seward neighborhoods respectively.
True enough - but for broader perspective, consider the geography at-large Parks and Schools commissioners elected since 1998:
Park Board 1998-2002: SW (Bob Fine), N (Rochelle) and SE (Annie). Park Board 2002-2006: SE 2 (Annie & John), N (Rochelle). Combined Total: SW 1 SE 3 N 2 NE 0
School Board (winners only, 1999-2004)
1999: SW 2 (Catherine Shreves, Audrey Johnson), N 1 (Al Gallmon), SE 1 (Judy Farmer)
2001: SW 1 (Denny Schapiro), SE 2 (Sharon Henry Blythe, Ross Taylor)
2002: SW 2 (Audrey Johnson, Colleen Morairty), SE 2 (Joe Erickson, Judy Farmer)
2004: SW 1 (Lydia Lee), SE 1 (Sharon Henry-Blythe) N 1 (Peggy Flanagan)
Combined Total:
SW 6
SE 6
N 1
NE 0
Overall: SW 7 SE 9 (maybe THAT'S who we should worry about...) N 3 NE 0 (Whazzup with NE?)
Also note all except Annie are DFLers (Annie won in 1997 as a DFLer and in 2001 as a Green). So much for small parties breaking through.
The results skew heavily south - 16 of 19 (85 percent) — a far higher percentage than the city's population split. I would argue that higher profile Council races, would skew even more toward the monied parts of town - SW and (am adding this as a friendly amendment to my analysis) the "gown" districts near the U.
Overall, I think at-large should worry small-party and North/Northeast denizens.
David Brauer Kingfield Traitor to SW dominance
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