There will be two elections after Nov. 8th that many politicos will be following because they have a strong potential to have a strong impact on Minneapolis due to the impact of state issues on the city.
Two upcoming special elections for state senate to be held November 22nd are close enough to Minneapolis that they have the potential to draw many volunteers as well as dollars from Minneapolis activists and there is already some Minneapolitans and listmembers involved in the District 43 race which is the closest. District 43 covers northern Minnetonka and most of the city of Plymouth and only two candidates have filed and each has been awarded their respective parties' endorsement. Plymouth Mayor Judy Johnson has the Republican Party endorsement and Minnetonka Planning Commission member and noted successful organizer for school funding referendra in Hopkins School District organizer Terri Bonoff has the endorsement of the DFL. Judy Johnson's website is at http://www.voteforjudy.com Terri Bonoff's website is at http://www.terribonoff.org There are no Independence or Green Party candidates filed in this race. We all know that the legislature doesn't always treat Minneapolis' concerns as we would like. One of my personal and political concerns is the proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman and ban legal recognintion of any relationship between unmarried persons as the "legal equivalent" of marriage, an issue that these individuals appear solidly footed in relation to the prevailing positions of their respective parties. As 73% percent of households in Minneapolis are headed by unmarried adults according to the 2000 census and similiar constitutional amendments in other states have resulted in domestic violence suits involving unmarried heterosexual couples being thrown out of court(OH), varying results in challenges to the legality of offerring domestic partnership benefits to public employee's(MI) and even domestic partner benefits being offerred by private businesses within a state(KS), I think Minneapolis has a clear interest in opposing this amendment-- particularly as currently drafted with that ambigous "legal equivalent" language. What's more, enough DFL'ers in the Senate are thought to be supporters of the constitutional amendment(only one Republican has publicly opposed the amendment)that is believed that the amendment could possibly pass a vote of the Senate at this time if the amendment were to make it to a floor vote and a change of one two votes could mean it won't be on the ballot. I would also like to point out the probable cost and drain in political energies and monies of many Minneapolitans including glbtiq community members, domestic violence activists and others concerned about this proposed amendment who would have their attentions diverted from other city concerns and issues to work on what would likely be a multimillion dollar effort to defeat such an amendment. That energy would be better spent proactively elsewhere. In other states where such amendments have been on the ballot, hate crimes have also increased significantly, sometimes doing much more than doubling. Interestingly, an antigay constitutional amendment in Oregon in the early '90's which was broadly opposed by many religious groups resulted in a rise in hate crimes against Catholics and members of other religious groups which spoke against the amendment in question resulting in many houses of worship being vandalized as well as several murders of opponents of the amendment in the state and other acts of violence. There are many other reasons why I believe Minneapolitans should be interested in the outcome of this race. It's fairly obvious that the dominant tone at the state legislature is often not particularly friendly to Minneapolis or Minneapolis' concerns. I think it's important that we support candidates in other parts of the state that are willing to respect Minneapolitans needs which are not contrary to those of their own community though perhaps different. Being able to work across those differences of need and respect that all parts of the state are not the same or have the same needs is necessary for Minneapolis to continue to be successful as part of a succesful Minnesota. The other special election is in District 19 which covers most of east and southern Wright County much of which is in the process of morphing from exurbs to a near suburban texture. There will be a primary Nov. 1st which will narrow the field from five to three candidates including one DFL'er, one Independence party candidate and one Republican candidate for the general on Nov 22nd. The candidates are Ross Bennett Democratic-Farmer-Labor 110 Ash St. E. Buffalo, MN 55313 320-963-7056 [EMAIL PROTECTED] John Deitering Democratic-Farmer-Labor 1310 29th St. SE Buffalo, MN 55313 763-682-3662 www.votejohndeitering.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] Del Haag Independence Party 714 9th Street N.W. Buffalo, MN 55313 763-682-3925 www.haagforsenate.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] Amy T. Koch Republican 806 Natalie Dr. Buffalo, MN 55313 763-682-8982 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pat Sawatzke Republican P.O. Box 778 Monticello, MN 55362 763-295-3311 [EMAIL PROTECTED] I urge my fellow listmembers to see if they can sustain some energy for these campaigns after our own local one's are said and done Nov. 8th and spend a little more time on politics prior to the beginning of the busy holiday season. David Strand Loring Park __________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - Make it your home page! http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 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