Allow me to perhaps utterly confuse some by making a few more observations. As I suggested, I believe Randy Kelly believes Chris Coleman is his most serious competitor. Maybe Chris Coleman is his Kelly's serious competitor, maybe not. There are many unknowns.
One of the bigger unknowns is Rafael Ortega and the direction of his grassroots campaign. Victory depends, as I wrote in a post last week, how well a candidate can bring new voices into the political process. As I reflect on it, Rafael's multicultural campaign shows a clearly promising start.
"Fire on the Prairie" by Gary Rivlin is a book which documents the incredible life and significance of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. It is a book which I read, absolutely riveted in the summer of 1996, riding Chicago's el to work, and which I recommend highly to anyone.
The amazon.com website contains an overview:
"The first black mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington, welded a multiracial coalition that replaced the corrupt political machine put in place by ex-mayor Richard Daley during his 21-year tenure. Washington's administration was, in the author's judgment, "a grand experiment with national ramifications," an assessment not entirely borne out by the facts in this engrossing behind-the-scenes account of the mayor's narrow electoral victory in 1983..." (Publishers Weekly) But Washington's Mayorship was hardly just about race. In fact, he defied the racially-charged atmosphere in Chicago by reaching out routinely to the traditional white community. Washington's tenure was marked by a dedication to grassroots politics, neighborhood planning and priorities, outreach to a wide variety of cultural groups, and a commitment to reform the morally bankrupt but entrenched political machine left over from the Daley years. Washington suffered a massive heart attack in office, just after being reelected to a second term in 1987.
There is no absolute parallel between St. Paul in 2005 and Chicago in 1983 - overt racism, at least, is not terribly common in St. Paul. But I think there are certainly still a few commonalities. So, I wouldn't easily underestimate the momentum that Rafael is building through his grassroots organizing. Give Rafael a DFL endorsement. Give it a few months. Surprising things may happen...events which defy expectations. Already, Rafael has surprised people by pulling slightly ahead of Chris Coleman in the numbers committed delegates at the convention. But much more needs to be written in this story, and the next chapters could build on what have been a few early surprises...
Bob Spaulding Downtown
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