A closer look at my stances, and me

Economic Development

Many Minneapolis leaders have seemed stridently anti-business and we're feeling the effects. Business owners are shutting down or finding our near suburbs far more attractive. Will labor really grow strong if there are fewer and fewer jobs? Let's find a sensible balance here, or Minneapolis will no longer be the economic engine of the state. I retrained as an LPN in my early 40s and I can't stress enough how much we need aggressive workforce development. I agree with Council President Payne and others that innovation in evolving neighborhoods is essential. Demographic and entrepreneurial diversification is the future, but vitality and revenue growth downtown can power it all. The Downtown Council, Minneapolis Foundation and Meet Minneapolis have all published long-range plans. Other civic and business leaders are begging for council leadership and support. It’s way past time.

Community + MPD Crime-Prevention and Safety

In cities where violent crime has dropped dramatically, analysts credit (among other things) a very strong community + cops collaboration. In Minneapolis, we have leaders with great personal stake in sowing dissent. That's not helping; It's a danger in and of itself. I grant that thanks to decades of dogged critique Minneapolis police oversight is now dense and multi-faceted. It will require strong vigilance, but it also deserves room to operate. The movement to fire Chief Brian O'Hara is unimpressive, and I wonder if the majority feels the same.

Government Transparency

Minneapolis needs to streamline its missions and prioritize methodically. We can't do much of anything if we try to do everything. Past and present council members I respect have stated that we need much better program evaluation. City government has grown so quickly in the past decade that we may need a step back to move forward, and really build strong intergovernmental relations.

Increasing Democratic Vitality

The caucuses and endorsing conventions seemed flawed at best. It feels like gatekeeping in a city where Ranked Choice Voting is already in place. I'm reaching out to those who feel left out of the democratic and governmental process.

2023: Testifying to then-chair Erin Murphy's State and Local Gov/Vets Affairs bipartisan state senate committee after my prior testimony led, in part, to news coverage and high-level resignations. The whole experience restored my faith in worker bravery and solidarity, press power, and bipartisan possibilities. (It also led to staff resignations, sadly. Someone left their keys on the desk in disgust.)

A Bit More Bio

I was born in Ward 11 and attended the Hale/Field pairing as the youngest grade in the first year of the switch in 1971. From there, Susan B. Anthony Middle and old single-grade Ramsey (now Justice Page) for 9th. I graduated Washburn in 1980, but most rewarding was three years at the MPS radio broadcast magnet at old Vocational Tech, 88.5 KBEM-FM. Yet somehow I ended up in light newspaper journalism, writing about Twin Cities musicians (including Cam Gordon) for local papers and then working for Sam Goody/Best Buy Corp. until 2002. I tried to start a baseball legacy at Phelps Park. We beat McRae in a play-in game, and had Bottineau on the ropes until their ace pitcher suddenly drilled Edward square in the back. THIS AIN'T OVER BOTTINEAU!!! Fun Fact: I lived 10 years in Farmington/Dakota County/CD2 with in-laws. I was a year-round sports official working from Niemen Fields Fort Snelling to Frank Quilici Field in Shingle Creek. I umped a game with ex-mayor R.T. Rybak in the stands and son Charlie on the field. In 2008 I retrained as an LPN. If I can do it, anyone can. Since about 2017 my latent interest in Mpls. City Hall has become a primary passion, having been honored with appointments to the 2018 Racial Equity Advisory, and again now to the Minneapolis Advisory Committee on Aging. (MACA) I'm no expert on everything, but I have some ideas, and I hope to learn from others on the trail. I know I'm starting late, but I plan to `peak in the playoffs'' on November 4.

Am I a Democrat? Republican? Green? UK Loony? Yes and no.

I hate to spoil their fun but opposition researchers are bound to find photos of me in the company of Southwest Minneapolis Republicans. (The younger ones were pro-pot before it was hot.). For the record, I’ve been a small part of many parties. As a long-time worker in the state sector, I have friends in both majors because the party out of power can be your best friend for quality work and taxpayer protection. And yes, I voted in the 2020 GOP Presidential Primary, for ex-GOP and relentless Trump critic Joe Walsh just to break 45's claims of a shut out. My first political lean was actually the bright green Movement for a New Society in the late '70s. Hippie violinist-about-town Warren Peterson was my substitute history teacher. He sent me by bus to Savran’s on West Bank (now Mayday Books) with a reading list. Later I did news broadcasts for the SWP when KFAI-FM was still in Walker Community Church in Powderhorn. On the night of the 1980 presidential election friends and I we sat in the Blaisdell/Lake White Castle thinking the world was coming to an end. Of course, 45 years later we can all admit. . .WE WERE RIGHT! So much illness with American politics and economic stability unraveled that day. But in the end I've tried to be more of a balanced analyst than a group-thinker. Independent political appetite is growing nationally. I hope you'll support my uncompromised efforts for better city governance on November 4.