On Thursday, September 24th, the Independence Party held a special meeting in the 4th Congressional District to fill a couple vacant leadership positions. We had an impressive turnout with about a dozen delegates and several guests in attendance. State party Director Kari Johnson-Robinson, who rose to her state position through her involvement in the 4th CD, ran a very smooth meeting, even with the political theater near the end of the meeting.
Several former delegates were in attendance. As the party is always happy to welcome back old friends, a motion was passed to seat the former delegates as current delegates so they could have a say in the meeting. The delegate's first order of business (after the requisite procedural stuff) was to elect individuals for the vacant Chair and Vice Chair positions.
The new Chair of the Independence Party's 4th CD is Earl Johnson. Earl has been one of those party members who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes without ever seeking recognition for his efforts. I am excited to see him get some well deserved recognition for his work, and the opportunity to take on greater responsibility within the party. Earl seems genuinely excited about the opportunity before him.
Tom Klas, a longtime leader in the 4th CD, was elected as Vice Chair. I had the honor to serve as Tom's Vice Chair when he was Chair a couple years ago. Earl's fresh perspectives and enthusiasm in concert with Tom's years of experience will serve the district and the party well.
The Secretary position was vacated when Tom Klas, the sitting Secretary was elected Vice Chair. (I'm wondering if there is a CD 4 position that Tom hasn't served the party in.) That position is still open if there are any readers who want to have a voice in the leadership of the Independence Party's 4th CD.
I was honored to address the meeting for a few minutes to share my enthusiasm for the future of the 4th CD and my campaign. I really do believe that the district, the party and our campaign are poised for growth and success in 2010.
The meeting ended after a savvy show of political gamesmanship and a bit of political theater. Maplewood Mayor Diana Longrie and a number of her supporters attended our meeting. Several of her supporters were former IP delegates and had been seated today as current delegates. Under New Business, delegate Margaret Behrens introduced her friend, Mayor Longrie, to those in attendance and asked the Mayor to say a few words. After the Mayor's campaign speech, Margaret asked for a resolution of support for the Mayor. After some discussion to clarify that we could not "endorse" her, it was agreed that we could pass a resolution of support if a motion was made and passed by the delegates present. A motion was made and seconded. I saw this as a politically gutsy move. The political theater began when the floor was opened to questions for the Mayor. One by one, her supporters tossed out softball questions to the Mayor as if it wasn't obvious to the rest of us what was taking place. I did take the opportunity to ask her how she planned to end the acrimony between members of the Maplewood City Council. She answered by saying that she thought it was more important to identify the cause. While she made a case for what (or who) she thought was the cause, in my eyes, she did not give any plan on how to solve the problem. After one more question, the resolution of support was put to a vote. The Mayor's supporters all voted in favor of the resolution as did 2 or 3 other delegates. That brought the number of delegates in favor of the resolution to 7 out of 12 votes, and the resolution passed. I did not support the resolution for several reasons. The first reason, and the one I explained to the Mayor, was that I have not made up my mind on who I will support in the Mayor's race. Another reason is that I have very strict criteria for cross endorsing (or supporting) any candidate who is not a member of the Independence Party. She had not been vetted as to her standing on the party's platform, and I could not support the resolution for that reason.
Before this meeting, I had already seen the footage of Mayor Longrie seeking a resolution of support and then an endorsement from the DFL. She did not get either. Friends of mine in the Republican Party say that she used to be active in the party up until 2008 when she ran for the Minnesota House as a Democrat. To the best of their knowledge, she has not sought the support of the Republican Party in the current election.
I am very interested in how the Mayor will use the IP's resolution of support in her campaign. While I feel that the party was taken advantage of, I respect the fact that she pulled this off completely within the rules of the party and the meeting. The Mayor's move does show me that the Independence Party carries enough influence that a candidate from another party (whichever one that may be) would seek our support for their campaign.
Before I wrap this up, I want to send special thanks to Sally Paulson and Brian Faas from the state party Executive Committee for all of their work to make the evening a success. You two are true leaders in the party, not just by your titles, but by the example you set for others in the party. Thank you, and thanks to all of the people who attended the meeting.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Maplewood Primary Election Results
Well, round one of the Maplewood city elections are done and the result appears to be 7 weeks of acrimony and vitriol. While there were a few candidates who seemed to be neutral parties to the ongoing council wars, none of them survived the first round.
For City Council:
We have 2 council candidates whose politics I don't exactly line up with and 2 council members whose political maturity I seriously question. Right now, I am leaning strongly towards voting for Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas. While they are more willing to tax and spend than I am usually comfortable with, they are also articulate, reasoned and willing to listen to opposing viewpoints. Rebecca Cave and Dave Hafner appear to focus more on attacking the opponent than defending a reasoned policy or proposal. With Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas placing first and second in the primary, it appears to be their race to lose in November. Unfortunately, I fear their perceived lead will only generate more attack ads and slander from Rebecca Cave and Dave Hafner.
Note: I said that I was "leaning strongly". I did not say that I had made a firm decision. If Rebecca Cave or Dave Hafner run professional, issues-based, campaigns and abandon personal attacks, I could be swayed to vote for one or both of them. Likewise, some of the Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas joint campaign collateral was thinly veiled attack ads themselves. If either of them lowers their campaign standards much further, they too could influence a shift in my vote.
For Mayor:
Where the Council race has strong potential for controversy, the Mayor's race is guaranteed to be ugly and embarrassing for all involved. This means that I am now forced to make a choice between two exceptionally qualified and flawed candidates for Mayor.
Mayor Diana Longrie:
Before I attended my first Maplewood City Council meeting, I envisioned Mayor Longrie to be petty and amateurish. This perspective was based on media reports of Council dysfunction and her own writing in the Maplewood Monthly. After attending many city council meetings, I actually find her to be intelligent and diligent in her duties as Mayor. She is also a pro at "working a room". She tries to introduce herself to everyone in the council chambers and tries hard to make everyone feel welcome. With all of these skills, I am still disappointed that she and her supporters spend so much effort on tearing down their opponents instead of trying to sell their vision to the citizens.
Council Member Will Rossbach:
My first impression of Mr. Rossbach was an intelligent and concerned council member. We spoke at several forums that he held in Maplewood's "south leg". We didn't always agree on issues, but he listened and defended his view without attacking mine. I was also impressed with his ability to stay out of the political mudslinging that took place in several Council Member's columns in the Maplewood Monthly. He focused on topics that concerned citizens daily lives, not the political acrimony at City Hall. My attendance at City Council meetings also shed new light on Council Member Rossbach's behavior in the council chambers. I soon found Mr. Rossbach to be a bit thin skinned and quick to point out when he feels slighted by another member of the council. Now, I'm not justifying Mr. Rossbach's behavior in the chambers, but there is at least one council member and a number of citizens who seem to have made it their life's mission to make Mr. Rossbach's life a living hell. Unfortunately, it appears to be working. I think that Council Member Rossbach has been slowly dragged into the political mud by the incessant attacks he is subjected to.
With that, I can not support either candidate for Mayor at this time. I am going to wait and see which Mayoral candidate focuses on what is the right vision for Maplewood, not what is wrong with the other candidate. There is no question that Mayor Longrie has been more aggressive in her attacks on Council Member Rossbach than he has been towards her. Yet Mr. Rossbach's veiled attack ads and council chamber acrimony still exceed my comfort level. I am also worried about the direction the city will take if the entire City Council is comprised of just one political vision. I would prefer reasoned debate and discussion of multiple visions over a 4 to 0 majority. Unfortunately I don't believe the players left on the field are capable of reasoned debate or discussion with members of the "other team". Please prove me wrong or I'm thinking that my decision for Mayor may take until November.
For City Council:
We have 2 council candidates whose politics I don't exactly line up with and 2 council members whose political maturity I seriously question. Right now, I am leaning strongly towards voting for Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas. While they are more willing to tax and spend than I am usually comfortable with, they are also articulate, reasoned and willing to listen to opposing viewpoints. Rebecca Cave and Dave Hafner appear to focus more on attacking the opponent than defending a reasoned policy or proposal. With Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas placing first and second in the primary, it appears to be their race to lose in November. Unfortunately, I fear their perceived lead will only generate more attack ads and slander from Rebecca Cave and Dave Hafner.
Note: I said that I was "leaning strongly". I did not say that I had made a firm decision. If Rebecca Cave or Dave Hafner run professional, issues-based, campaigns and abandon personal attacks, I could be swayed to vote for one or both of them. Likewise, some of the Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas joint campaign collateral was thinly veiled attack ads themselves. If either of them lowers their campaign standards much further, they too could influence a shift in my vote.
For Mayor:
Where the Council race has strong potential for controversy, the Mayor's race is guaranteed to be ugly and embarrassing for all involved. This means that I am now forced to make a choice between two exceptionally qualified and flawed candidates for Mayor.
Mayor Diana Longrie:
Before I attended my first Maplewood City Council meeting, I envisioned Mayor Longrie to be petty and amateurish. This perspective was based on media reports of Council dysfunction and her own writing in the Maplewood Monthly. After attending many city council meetings, I actually find her to be intelligent and diligent in her duties as Mayor. She is also a pro at "working a room". She tries to introduce herself to everyone in the council chambers and tries hard to make everyone feel welcome. With all of these skills, I am still disappointed that she and her supporters spend so much effort on tearing down their opponents instead of trying to sell their vision to the citizens.
Council Member Will Rossbach:
My first impression of Mr. Rossbach was an intelligent and concerned council member. We spoke at several forums that he held in Maplewood's "south leg". We didn't always agree on issues, but he listened and defended his view without attacking mine. I was also impressed with his ability to stay out of the political mudslinging that took place in several Council Member's columns in the Maplewood Monthly. He focused on topics that concerned citizens daily lives, not the political acrimony at City Hall. My attendance at City Council meetings also shed new light on Council Member Rossbach's behavior in the council chambers. I soon found Mr. Rossbach to be a bit thin skinned and quick to point out when he feels slighted by another member of the council. Now, I'm not justifying Mr. Rossbach's behavior in the chambers, but there is at least one council member and a number of citizens who seem to have made it their life's mission to make Mr. Rossbach's life a living hell. Unfortunately, it appears to be working. I think that Council Member Rossbach has been slowly dragged into the political mud by the incessant attacks he is subjected to.
With that, I can not support either candidate for Mayor at this time. I am going to wait and see which Mayoral candidate focuses on what is the right vision for Maplewood, not what is wrong with the other candidate. There is no question that Mayor Longrie has been more aggressive in her attacks on Council Member Rossbach than he has been towards her. Yet Mr. Rossbach's veiled attack ads and council chamber acrimony still exceed my comfort level. I am also worried about the direction the city will take if the entire City Council is comprised of just one political vision. I would prefer reasoned debate and discussion of multiple visions over a 4 to 0 majority. Unfortunately I don't believe the players left on the field are capable of reasoned debate or discussion with members of the "other team". Please prove me wrong or I'm thinking that my decision for Mayor may take until November.
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