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With all due respect to David, our erstwhile List
Manager, I must dissent when he writes, "Number one:
If it's politically expedient for candidates to say
that they'll bow out if someone else receives a
coveted DFL endorsement, they'll say it. They'll just
make sure no candidate gets the endorsement, so they
can run after the convention and technically not break
any promise."
Having been through two conventions, here in Saint
Paul in the last 8 weeks and I can say that certainly
is not true over here.
In the 4th District Ramsey County Board race, (created
when Sue Haugh left the Board to run Habitat for
Humanity), a number of DFL'ers pledged they would drop
out if they did not get the endorsement, including Ken
Iosso (aide to Raphael Oretga), Jim Mogen (St. Paul
DFL Chair) and Toni Carter (St. Paul School Board
member who got the endorsement). Two others sought the
endorsement, Anne Harris and Joe Semarga, but did not
promise to abide by it.
Before the convention, the "smart money" was on Iosso
or Mogan, but Carter surprized a lot of us and walked
away with it. Iosso and Mogan did not try and block
the endorsement process, graciously bowed out and did
not run against Carter in the special primary
election.
Similarly, this past Saturday, both Chris Coleman and
Raphael Oretga promised to abide by the endorsement
for Mayor in Saint Paul. Now Coleman in the past has
not honored the endorsement and ran against Betty
McCollum for Congress after he lost the endorsement in
1998(?), endorsed Randy Kelly for Mayor 4 years ago
over Jay Benanav, the DFL endorsed candidate, and in
2003 endorsed Christine Nelson, the Chamber of
Commerce endorsed candidate over Dave Thune, the DFL
endorsed candidate, for his former seat.
So there was a question in my mind what Coleman would
do this time, if he did not get the endorsement.
However, that question became moot, when Coleman
bested Oretga and Oretga dropped out prior to the 3rd
ballot.
So I can't speak for Minneapolis, but I have not seen
many candidates over here promising to honor the
endorsement and then trying to block it, if they
couldn't get it. The last one was Norm Coleman in
1993, when he ran for Mayor. When it became clear he
wouldn't get the endorsement, his campaign told his
people to vote for Andy Dawkins, denying Bob Long the
endorsement, because Coleman thought that it would be
easier to beat Dawkins than Long. Of course, that
turned out to be true, Coleman became Mayor and the
rest is history.
I've seen quite a few seeking the endorsement and then
running, i.e. Anne Harris and Joe Semarga, but they
did not promise to honor the endorsement.
My view from this side of the river.
Dann Dobson
Summit Hill - Saint Paul
--- List manager <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> The drama that unfolded at Saturday's 8th Ward
> Convention carried some
> hard political lessons. Number one: If it's
> politically expedient for
> candidates to say that they'll bow out if someone
> else receives a
> coveted DFL endorsement, they'll say it. They'll
> just make sure no
> candidate gets the endorsement, so they can run
> after the convention
> and technically not break any promise.
>
> Hard political lesson number two: In a racially
> divided part of town,
> even a black veteran of Minneapolis politics can't
> necessarily count on
> the support of white voters.
>
> ..."What's happening here is obviously an example of
> political
> strategy," [candidate Titi] Bediako declared,
> adding, perhaps a bit
> hyperbolically, "but also straight-up white
> nationalism."
>
>
http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1274/article13261.asp
>
> David Brauer
> List mananger
>
> REMINDERS:
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>
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>
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