Interesting posts re: the current mayor from Jacob and Eric. Good food for thought, thanks.
Even though I'm leaving town for spring break, my late-night writing self can't resist jumping in at this point to pitch my $0.02. Having seen the mayor in action at a Streetbeat, and having campaigned with progressives who have worked against the mayor's policies, it can only be said that he is no democrat.
He openly supports the floodwall that serves the interests of the downtown corporate CEOs. His Housing initiative (which was underfunded to start with) was actually started by the nonprofit community's activism back in 2000 before he was even elected. Wilder Foundation, Housing MN, CommonBond Communities and many other organizations were the leaders on that issue and Kelly merely jumped on the bandwagon (and pretended he was the conductor!).
Randy threatens other public officials, including representatives and council members, when he doesn't get his way. Though he appears polished when he is in front of a crowd of potential voters, this is only the result of three decades (or is it more?) of being in the political arena and knowing how to open his mouth and say nothing at all.
Kelly is not seeking the endorsement because in the last 3 (4?) mayoral elections, the endorsed DFL candidate did not win. I believe Benanav got the closest in terms of breaking the "curse" with only a few hundred votes shy of a win.
Coleman and Ortega will have a hard battle ahead, regardless of who gets the endorsement. I often wonder why candidates do not more often pursue multiple party endorsements. What would happen, for example, the DFL endorsee could also win over the Greens and/or the Independents? Could that cover a broader spectrum of views, and also give these two other parties wider access to the process?
Could a mayor have the vision to integrate some of the best of the Green and Independent views by hiring some of their staff from within those parties? (I mean no disrespect to Republicans; I'm simply more in line with the other three parties than with the R party as it currently stands.)
An update on calls from campaigns, BTW. Chris Coleman was very gracious and did give me a call to talk about his agenda and to listen to my opinion on some city issues. Though I am waiting to decide who to work for (against Randy) in this race, I found the personal call to be courteous and respectful. I do know several people working with the Ortega campaign and this may be why he hasn't called personally to ask for my support, or it could be that I've vowed to stay neutral at least through April 30.
Cheers & don't forget to turn your clocks by an hour on Saturday night.
Cristy
Residing in Highland Park, but liking West 7th the more I check out all the cool artsy shops and cafes
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