I am shocked to read this by my friend Cristy, who
I've watched garner endorsements for candidates in the
past.
This is a special election in a DFL city, this is
where the endorsement is actually strongest. Stick
with me for a second:
In a real-time, or regular election period there is
time to raise money to educate voters on who you are
and what you stand for through mail, phones and
canvassing.
In a special election, turnout is very low and because
of the election period, the general voting public is
usually unaware far too long. So what? Well that means
that one must convey who they are and what they stand
for quickly. Having the DFL endorsement to many voters
in that area means that this person holds the same
values as you do. It also means a built in number of
automatic supporters (which is great if that number is
2508 out of 4237 voters). You also have the known
party supporters calling through the pary faithful
list to come out and vote.
In the past most, or maybe just some people who
poo-poo the endorsement either have gone for it, or
made an attempt and fell short- or got the endorsement
and expected it to sail them into office without the
candidate doing much else.
In a regular time election, a candidate needs 3
overall plans:
1. Endorsement
2. Primary
3. General
All three have to be solid or you need to drop number
1 and gage your viability on just focusing on 2 and 3.
Now back to Cristy's point:
You can win without the endorsement in this race. Yes
SD 64 has the highest DFL index in the state (or close
to it), and yes the comfortable voters of St Paul's
toney neighborhoods are in this district and lean DFL
pretty hard, it can still be done. You're still
running as a DFLer.
I do believe this district also includes Ward One, the
city's most diverse ward(third white, third black,
third new citizens). I haven't caught wind or a sign
of anyone trying to organize a couple of these groups
that may not ordinarily turn out. Maybe some are, I
can think of three who may be doing just this, but if
you don't go for the endorsement, you need to double
up on the voter contact and voter turnout of some of
these overlooked and hard to motivate voters who are
DFL leaners.
Mogen and Iosso do have a good chance at the
endorsement, because of their service within the DFL
and the community. There are others too, Toni Carter's
community service is par with none others and she is
actually a governing DFLer(endorsed) as chair of the
St Paul School Board. Joe Samargia also has experience
running a state job agency (appointed by our last DFL
Governor), working with children/family help programs
and creating jobs for people across the board.
Sounds to me like there are several people who could
actually get the endorsement on their own merits
without foul play.
I'm going to sit back and watch this one with you
Cristy.
Eric Mitchell
Payne Phalen
--- CRISTY DELACRUZ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Advice to the next Ramsey County Commissioner
> replacing Sue Haigh:
>
> Do not agree, before you have been to an endorsing
> convention, to abide by
> the endorsement. As a former member of the DFL I can
> tell you that the
> process is flawed unless tremendous changes have
> taken place, since
> newcomers to the party are usually kept out of party
> business, despite their
> creativity and fresh perspective.
>
> I'm expecting the DFL to endorse either Mogen or
> Iosso, good ol' boys who
> have surely served their time and are "next in line"
> to serve. A very
> old-fashioned way to choose candidates, but one
> time-honored by all the
> politicians who tell me they know better than my
> naive self.
>
> Based on my reading of the newspaper, Joanne Mooney
> seems to be a great fit
> for the Ramsey County Commissioner. Based on her
> extensive work with
> children and families, she appears to have the
> background and skill set for
> this job. Joanne, I beg you, do not necessarily
> abide by the endorsement. If
> you believe it is a fair process then by all means,
> follow your own heart
> and make this decision. However, if you believe that
> certain individuals
> will get a "pass" simply because they have served
> their time with the DFL,
> then please RUN ANYWAY without the endorsement.
>
> At least this winter will not be boring because
> we'll soon have an election
> process to watch. I want to see how many candidates
> will brave the sub-zero
> weather to go doorknocking!
>
> Cheers, Saint Paul-ites
>
> Cristy A. De La Cruz
> Highland Park resident
>
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The all-new My Yahoo! - What will yours do?
http://my.yahoo.com
_____________________________________________
To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
____________________________________________
NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [email protected]
To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit:
http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul
Archive Address:
http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
