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TruthToTell, Monday, Nov 19 - 9AM: OVERCOMING RACISM: Historical and Current Struggles; TruthToTell, NOV 12: THE BILLION-DOLLAR ELECTION: The Media Got Rich-Again

UPCOMING SHOW

Tune in this coming Monday from 9:00 am to 10:00 am on KFAI, (90.3 FM in Minneapolis, and 106.7 FM in St. Paul) to catch our upcoming program:

Monday, November 19, 2012
TruthToTell, Monday, Nov 19 - 9AM: OVERCOMING RACISM: Historical and current struggles - KFAI FM 90.3/106.7/KFAI.org

Remember – call and join the conversation – 612-341-0980 – or Tweet us @TTTAndyDriscoll or post on TruthToTell’s Facebook page.

HELP US BRING YOU THESE IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST – PLEASE DONATE HERE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As this is written, the this year’s sold-out 4th Annual Overcoming Racism Conferencewas under way Friday and Saturday at Metropolitan State University’s East Side St. Paul campus. Titled Decolonizing Minnesota & Beyond: Historical & Current Struggles, the lineup of keynoters & workshops for the conference include several from Greater Minnesota and take on more Native perspectives in this 150th year commemorating theDakota War of 1862.....
...

Monday morning, both keynote speakers are with us live, as well as a founding co-chair of the Facilitating Racial Equity Forum (FREC), Dr. Herb Perkins, Co-founder and Co-director, Antiracism Study-Dialogue Circles, or ASDIC Metamorphosis. FREC has sponsored these annual conferences.

Those keynoters are two of this region’s, nay, the country’s most eloquent speakers on issues of lingering colonialism and racial inequity. From the conference program:

Waziyatawin is a Dakota writer, teacher, and activist committed to the development of liberation strategies that will support the recovery of Indigenous ways of being, the reclamation of Indigenous homelands, and the eradication of colonial institutions. She is the Indigenous Peoples Research Chair of the Indigenous Governance Program at University of Victoria. Waziyatawin is also author of What Does Justice Look Like?

Dr. Rose Brewer is professor of African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota and co-author of The Color of Wealth. 

This excellent conference may be sold out, but, perhaps our show is one way to visit the conference without the ability to be there in person. At least some important highlights can be revisited with our guests, and TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and MICHELLE ALIMORADIwelcome these three racial justice heavyweights to the program.

  WAZIYATAWIN – Dakota writer, teacher, and activist; author of What Does Justice Look Like.


 DR. ROSE BREWER – professor of African American and African Studies,  University of Minnesota; co-author of The Color of Wealth




 DR. HERB PERKINS, Co-founder-Co-director, Antiracism Study-Dialogue Circles, or ASDIC Metamorphosis; founding Co-chair of the Facilitating Racial Equity Forum (FREC)


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MOST RECENT SHOW

Listen to our most recent show here, or browse our archives >

Monday, November 12, 2012
TruthToTell, NOV 12: THE BILLION-DOLLAR ELECTION: The Media Got Rich-Again - AUDIO PODCAST HERE

 

This week, it’s the community-based media’s turn to react to the billions spent in campaign bucks and in PAC money, freed from all constraints by Citizens United, which was merely the crown on top of a series of rulings removing limits on how much campaigns and outside groups could raise and spend on electing people to office – not to mention the millions thrown into the ring on behalf of the now-failed amendment proposals to theMinnesota state constitution.

The presidential campaign and those amendments really sucked most of the air out of the room – so much so that, yet again this year, as in 2010, the all-important legislative majority switched parties – from Republican to DFL control. And again, the surprise was theMinnesota House of Representatives, which now sports a 12-vote majority of DFLers headed by newly elected Speaker of the House Paul Thissen and Majority Leader Erin Murphy (my rep).

The Senate was less a surprise, since those with political ears to the ground were predicting a majority turnover there. Sure as hell – it came – and for the first time in 20-odd years, DFLers are driving all three governing entities – both houses and the Governor’s office.

Some attention was given to the heavy races in the 6th and 8th Congressional Districts, but the other incumbents generally sailed through and were ignored. We do that. We pay little attention to races with token or no opposition, many of the local races and a ballot question or two, and almost none of the judicial races, including the state Supreme Court, and certainly the most invisible of all – Watershed District Commissioners. What’s that? Watershed District what?

What about the St. Paul Schools Levy Referendum? It passed, 2 to 1, even though voters could have confused it with yet another Amendment and voted NO.

We try to get a handle on all this and examine the entire commercial nature of political campaigns and why this commerciality represents a conflict of interest for media who cover those campaigns with one penciled hand while taking the massive campaign dollars with the other. What happened in this country to turn campaigns for public office into just another advertising scheme for used cars and detergent?

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and MICHELLE ALIMORADI toss these questions and more to a panel of local and community-based media outlets rarely heard from in the campaign cacophony consuming our airwaves and the printed page for over two years running.

GUESTS:

 BETH HAWKINS – Reporter, MinnPost.com, covering primarily the Constitutional Amendments and Education this year

 MARY TURCK – Editor, Twin Cities Daily Planet

 

 


 CHARLES HALLMAN – Reporter, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 PAUL DEMKO – Reporter, Dolan Media Company (Politics in Minnesota and the Legal Ledger, etc.)

 MILA KOUMPILOVA – Education Writer, St. Paul Pioneer Press

 

 

 


Tags:

TruthToTell, Monday, NOV 12 − 9AM: THE BILLION-DOLLAR ELECTION: The Media Got Rich-Again; TruthToTell, Nov 5: HANDICAPPING ELECTIONS: What to Do to VOTE/Who might Win?

UPCOMING SHOW

Tune in this coming Monday from 9:00 am to 10:00 am on KFAI, (90.3 FM in Minneapolis, and 106.7 FM in St. Paul) to catch our upcoming program:

TruthToTell, Monday, NOV 12 − 9AM: THE BILLION-DOLLAR ELECTION: The Media Got Rich-Again - KFAI FM 90.3/106.7/KFAI.org

Remember – call and join the conversation – 612-341-0980 – or Tweet us @TTTAndyDriscoll or post onTruthToTell’s Facebook page.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVE TO THE MAX DAY IS COMING NOV. 15TH!

ARE YOU READY TO GIVE TO THE MAX FOR CIVICMEDIA and our Community coverage work?

HELP US BRING YOU THESE IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST – PLEASE DONATE HERE ON NOVEMBER 15th: Give to the Max Day. Put us on Top of the Small Nonprofits Pile! THANK YOU!!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week, it’s the community-based media’s turn to react to the billions spent in campaign bucks and in PAC money, freed from all constraints by Citizens United, which was merely the crown on top of a series of rulings removing limits on how much campaigns and outside groups could raise and spend on electing people to office – not to mention the millions thrown into the ring on behalf of the now-failed amendment proposals to theMinnesota state constitution.

The presidential campaign and those amendments really sucked most of the air out of the room – so much so that, yet again this year, as in 2010, the all-important legislative majority switched parties – from Republican to DFL control. And again, the surprise was theMinnesota House of Representatives, which now sports a 12-vote majority of DFLers headed by newly elected Speaker of the House Paul Thissen and Majority Leader Erin Murphy (my rep).

The Senate was less a surprise, since those with political ears to the ground were predicting a majority turnover there. Sure as hell – it came – and for the first time in 20-odd years, DFLers are driving all three governing entities – both houses and the Governor’s office.

Some attention was given to the heavy races in the 6th and 8th Congressional Districts, but the other incumbents generally sailed through and were ignored. We do that. We pay little attention to races with token or no opposition, many of the local races and a ballot question or two, and almost none of the judicial races, including the state Supreme Court, and certainly the most invisible of all – Watershed District Commissioners. What’s that? Watershed District what?

What about the St. Paul Schools Levy Referendum? It passed, 2 to 1, even though voters could have confused it with yet another Amendment and voted NO.

We’ll try to get a handle on all this and examine the entire commercial nature of political campaigns and why this commerciality represents a conflict of interest for media who cover those campaigns with one penciled hand while taking the massive campaign dollars with the other. What happened in this country to turn campaigns for public office into just another advertising scheme for used cars and detergent?

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and MICHELLE ALIMORADI toss these questions and more to a panel of local and community-based media outlets rarely heard from in the campaign cacophony consuming our airwaves and the printed page for over two years running.

GUESTS:

 BETH HAWKINS – Reporter, MinnPost.com, covering primarily the Constitutional Amendments and Education this year

 MARY TURCK – Editor, Twin Cities Daily Planet

 


 CHARLES HALLMAN – Reporter, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder


 PAUL DEMKO – Reporter, Dolan Media Company (Politics in Minnesota and the Legal Ledger, etc.)

 MILA KOUMPILOVA – Education Writer, St. Paul Pioneer Press

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MOST RECENT SHOW

Listen to our most recent show here, or browse our archives >

Monday, November 5, 2012
TruthToTell, Nov 5: HANDICAPPING ELECTIONS: What to Do to VOTE/Who might Win? - Audio PODCAST HERE!

Election Night, I was privileged to anchor a great team of reporters and analysts at KFAI under News Director Dale Connelly that brought you election results, analysis and conversation from the moment polls closed at 8:00PM until Midnight. Look for an audio podcast of that four hours of conversation elsewhere on this site soon. We'll try to highlight some of the good stuff from that evening's conversations and post those tidbits later as well.

But, before that came Monday’s TruthToTell…

TruthToTell covered a number of the election issues voters confronted last Tuesday.

Minnesota voters, thank god, turned out in record numbers once again – and in almost every precinct in the state - to the tune of some 79% of the eligible electorate. Now, if we could only repeat those numbers for local races, next year and thereafter – perhaps we can really claim that our local governments represent a majority of the whole city or county or school district.

Elected officials respond to the constituents who put them in office, but even more to those who show up beyond Election Day and insist that the public interest is served by that official’s work in office.

An important function of the Minnesota Secretary of State is to provide Voter Information – and that website is loaded with it.

And, thanks to the defeat of the Voter ID Amendment, you will still need only walk in to your precinct polling place and vote, if pre-registered, or to register right there if you’re not by simply showing something with your current address on it and voting then and there. 

In addition to the much-discussed and critical State Constitutional Amendments proposed, all of Minnesota’s Legislative offices and three State Supreme Court Justices were up for election this year, along with all Federal offices.

While most major cities and school districts elect their board and council members in odd-numbered years, some Minneapolis and suburban Metro cities and school board races and a St. Paul Schools Levy Referendum are on the ballot in this even-numbered year. So some, not all, of you will elect local officials in 2013.

Over the course of the horrendously fatiguing campaign season, we heard and saw almost too much about the Presidential candidates, a bit less about the US Senate race, even less about our Congressional races unless there are battles royal under way – such as that for the 6th(Bachmann/Graves) and 8th (Nolan/Cravaack) Districts – and almost nothing about some very important contests, especially about your state and local judges and justices – truly important people who determine the application of the law and its impact on our lives. So buried are these elections, it’s a wonder that anyone bothers to make them elected – until someone tries to take that power away.

TTT’S ANDY DRISCOLL and MICHELLE ALIMORADI consult four elections and political experts and analysts to generate some enlightened interest in some of the more obscure races and handicap the Legislative make-up to come. Now we know who will be in charge after last Tuesday? It will be you, and me - US.

GUESTS:

DR. JOSIE R. JOHNSON – former University of Minnesota Regent; retired University of Minnesota Associate Vice President for Minority Student Affairs; Founder, UofM Office of Diversity & Equity and Honoree - Josie R. Johnson Human Rights and Social Justice Award; Principal, Josie Robinson Johnson & Associates Consulting


TOM HORNER – former Independence Party Candidate for Governor; former GOP Spokesperson; Founding Principal, NextMinnesota Public Policy Advocacy nonprofit.

 


BOB MEEK – Founder & Executive Secretary, Sweet Reason Discussions; DFL Communications Operative and Analyst; Founder/consultant, NewsBridge Connections/Tunheim Associates, Public Relations;


ELISE CHAMBERS – Election Protection Organizer, Common Cause Minnesota

 

 

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TruthToTell, NOV 12: THE BILLION-DOLLAR ELECTION: The Media Got Rich-Again - AUDIO PODCAST HERE

Sat, 11/10/2012 - 2:31am | by Andy
On-air date: 
Mon, 11/12/2012
Listen to or download this episode here: 

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

audio/mpeg iconttt1246-nov_12-mediaelectionpost-mortem.mp3

Just a few hours left to GIVE TO THE MAX for TruthToTell and CivicMedia/MN!

PLEASE DONATE HERE before Midnight Thursday! Help keep CivicMedia bringing you TruthToTell all next year! And THANK YOU!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week, it’s the community-based media’s turn to react to the billions spent in campaign bucks and in PAC money, freed from all constraints by Citizens United, which was merely the crown on top of a series of rulings removing limits on how much campaigns and outside groups could raise and spend on electing people to office – not to mention the millions thrown into the ring on behalf of the now-failed amendment proposals to the Minnesota state constitution.

The presidential campaign and those amendments really sucked most of the air out of the room – so much so that, yet again this year, as in 2010, the all-important legislative majority switched parties – from Republican to DFL control. And again, the surprise was the Minnesota House of Representatives, which now sports a 12-vote majority of DFLers headed by newly elected Speaker of the House Paul Thissen and Majority Leader Erin Murphy (my rep).

The Senate was less a surprise, since those with political ears to the ground were predicting a majority turnover there. Sure as hell – it came – and for the first time in 20-odd years, DFLers are driving all three governing entities – both houses and the Governor’s office.

Some attention was given to the heavy races in the 6th and 8th Congressional Districts, but the other incumbents generally sailed through and were ignored. We do that. We pay little attention to races with token or no opposition, many of the local races and a ballot question or two, and almost none of the judicial races, including the state Supreme Court, and certainly the most invisible of all – Watershed District Commissioners. What’s that? Watershed District what?

What about the St. Paul Schools Levy Referendum? It passed, 2 to 1, even though voters could have confused it with yet another Amendment and voted NO.

We try to get a handle on all this and examine the entire commercial nature of political campaigns and why this commerciality represents a conflict of interest for media who cover those campaigns with one penciled hand while taking the massive campaign dollars with the other. What happened in this country to turn campaigns for public office into just another advertising scheme for used cars and detergent?

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and MICHELLE ALIMORADI toss these questions and more to a panel of local and community-based media outlets rarely heard from in the campaign cacophony consuming our airwaves and the printed page for over two years running.

GUESTS:

 BETH HAWKINS – Reporter, MinnPost.com, covering primarily the Constitutional Amendments and Education this year

 MARY TURCK – Editor, Twin Cities Daily Planet

 CHARLES HALLMAN – Reporter, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder


 PAUL DEMKO – Reporter, Dolan Media Company (Politics in Minnesota and the Legal Ledger, etc.)

 MILA KOUMPILOVA – Education Writer, St. Paul Pioneer Press

Tags:

TruthToTell, Mon.,Oct 31@9AM: ST. PAUL ELECTIONS: VOTE! Wards 5 & 6; Last Week:Ward 1 Candidates-VOTE!

Remember – call and join the conversation – 612-341-0980 – or Tweet us @TTTAndyDriscoll or post on TruthToTell’sFacebook page.

Watch us from Studio 5! TruthToTell is now seen live on Livestream and later on Blip.tv or in iTunes

HELP US BRING YOU THESE IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST – PLEASE DONATE HERE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TruthToTell, Mon.,Oct 31@9AM: ST. PAUL ELECTIONS: VOTE! Wards 5 & 6 This Week - KFAI FM 90.3/106.7/KFAI.org

November 8th approaches and the moment of reckoning for candidates will face the city’s the new voter-approved Ranked Choice Voting system. With no primary to whittle the fields to two per race, multiple candidates will vie in a single November general election. Voters may mark their first, second, third and fourth choices until one candidate attains a majority (or substantial plurality) in each of the council races ONLY. Meanwhile, as tradition dictates, the top four vote-getters out of ten candidates will win seats on the school board. (See Wards 5 and 6 ranked-choice sample ballot.) 

TruthToTell is devoting four successive weeks to St. Paul’s elections – with the unabashed goal of getting voters to stop giving their local government(s) election the air and get themselves to the polls November 8th. The unacceptably common 15%-35% turnouts must give way to at least half the eligible electorate showing up to pick their cities’ leadership – in St. Paul, yes, but in several suburban elections as well. We’ve now presented candidates from St. Paul Wards Two, Three and One. This week, we present candidates in the Ward 5 and Ward 6 races. The remaining races have nominal or no opposition for the incumbents. November 7th, the day before the election, Jeanne Massey of FairVote/Minnesota will be on hand to explain the Ranked Choice Voting process, which should no longer require an hour’s worth of discussion.

As with Ward 1 last week, two candidates are competing in each of the two wards – 5 & 6. While the DFL, Green and Libertarian parties have endorsed in most city races, all city offices are NONPARTISAN, so no party ID will be seen next to a candidate’s name. Key issues in the North End’s Ward 5 and the Upper East Side’s Ward 6 is who can best represent the interests of increasingly diverse constituencies. It’s likely safe to say that economic development and housing issues in this lingering recession are probably the key issues in these two wards, along with infrastructure problems.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and MICHELLE ALIMORADI engage these candidates in conversation about why they should hold their respective offices.

CANDIDATES:

Ward 5:

LEE HELGEN - Incumbent


AMY BRENDMOEN - Challenger; Chamber of Commerce Endorsed

 

 

Ward 6:

DAN BOSTROM - Incumbent; DFL Endorsed


BEE KEVIN XIONG - Challenger; Green Party Endorsed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TTT1143–Oct 24-StPaulElectionsWard1– Audio HERE; Video HERE

The St. Paul City Council and School Board elections are edging closer. November 8th will tests the city’s the new voter-approved Ranked Choice Voting system for City Council races only. Passed in 2009, and eliminating a primary for a single November general election, voters may mark their first, second, third and fourth choices until one candidate attains a majority (or substantial plurality) in each of the council seats. As has always been the case, the four top vote getters in the school board race will win the available seats in which two of the candidates are incumbents.

This week we speak with three of the four candidates for Ward One. (Ward One ranked-choice sample ballot here.) One – James McEiver – has failed to respond to our invitation.

Starting with the crowded Ward 2 field, TruthToTell has been devoting four successive weeks to St. Paul’s elections – in the fervent hope that voters will stop giving their local government(s) short shrift and get to the polls in numbers higher than the all-too-common 15%-35% turnouts. We’ve now presented candidates from Wards Two and Three. The following week we present candidates from Wards 5 and 6 on the 31st. On November 7th, the day before the election, Jeanne Massey of FairVote/Minnesota will be on hand to explain the Ranked Choice Voting process. The remaining races have nominal or no opposition for the incumbents.

As with Ward 3 last week, four candidates are competing in Ward 1. One is DFL-endorsed in this NONPARTISAN race, another represents the Green Party. Two others are running as independents. Again, no party association accompanies a ballot name in city elections. A key issue in Ward 1 is who can best represent the best interests of a vastly diverse electorate. Furthermore, it is through Ward 1 that a lengthy chunk of the Central Corridor will run. It’s an issue that has divided the African American community and raised hackles on the backs of University businesses – many of them Asian and East African – over the disruptions caused by light rail construction.

Ours is one of the last meetings these candidates will attend. These three will participate in the final face-to-face debate of the season at 7:00 
tomorrow night, Tuesday, Oct. 25th at Mt. Olivet Church,
 451 Central Ave. W., between Dale St. and Western Ave.

The Candidates Committed:

 MELVIN CARTER III – Incumbent (one term); DFL-Endorsed

 JOHNNY HOWARD – Neighborhood Activist (Thomas-Dale/Frogtown); Green Party-endorsed

 ANTHONY FERNANDEZ – Neighborhood Activist and Member, St Paul Planning Commission; Independent


Tags:

TruthToTell Oct 31: ST. PAUL ELECTIONS: Wards 5 & 6 This Week - VOTE! - Audio Below.

On-air date: 
Mon, 10/31/2011

Watch us from Studio 5! TruthToTell is now seen live on Livestream. This week's show is up on Blip.tv and in Our Archives Above

HELP US BRING YOU THESE IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST – PLEASE DONATE HERE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November 8th approaches and the moment of reckoning for candidates will face the city’s the new voter-approved Ranked Choice Voting system. With no primary to whittle the fields to two per race, multiple candidates will vie in a single November general election. Voters may mark their first, second, third and fourth choices until one candidate attains a majority (or substantial plurality) in each of the council races ONLY. Meanwhile, as tradition dictates, the top four vote-getters out of ten candidates will win seats on the school board. (See Wards 5 and 6 ranked-choice sample ballot.) 

TruthToTell devoted four successive weeks to St. Paul’s elections – with the unabashed goal of getting voters to stop giving their local government(s) election the air and get themselves to the polls November 8th. The unacceptably common 15%-35% turnouts must give way to at least half the eligible electorate showing up to pick their cities’ leadership – in St. Paul, yes, but in several suburban elections as well. We’ve now presented candidates from St. Paul Wards Two, Three and One. This week, we present candidates in the Ward 5 and Ward 6 races. The remaining races have nominal or no opposition for the incumbents. November 7th, the day before the election, Jeanne Massey of FairVote/Minnesota will be on hand to explain the Ranked Choice Voting process, which should no longer require an hour’s worth of discussion.

Two candidates are competing in each of the two wards – 5 & 6. While the DFL, Green and Libertarian parties have endorsed in most city races, all city offices are NONPARTISAN, so no party ID will be seen next to a candidate’s name. Key issues in the North End’s Ward 5 and the Upper East Side’s Ward 6 is who can best represent the interests of increasingly diverse constituencies. It’s likely safe to say that economic development and housing issues in this lingering recession are probably the key issues in these two wards, along with infrastructure problems.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and MICHELLE ALIMORADI engage these candidates in conversation about why they should hold their respective offices.

CANDIDATES:

Ward 5:

LEE HELGEN - Incumbent


AMY BRENDMOEN - Challenger; Chamber of Commerce Endorsed

 

 

Ward 6:

DAN BOSTROM - Incumbent; DFL Endorsed


BEE KEVIN XIONG - Challenger; Green Party Endorsed



58:00 minutes (53.1 MB)
Tags:

TruthToTell, Mon.,Oct 24@9AM: VOTE! - ST. PAUL ELECTIONS: Ward 1 This Week; Last Week, Oct 17: Ward 3 - VOTE!

Remember – call and join the conversation – 612-341-0980 – or Tweet us @TTTAndyDriscoll or post on TruthToTell’s Facebook page.

Watch us from Studio 5! TruthToTell is now seen live on Livestream and later on Blip.tv or in iTunes

HELP US BRING YOU THESE IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST – PLEASE DONATE HERE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TruthToTell, Mon.,Oct 24@9AM: ST. PAUL ELECTIONS: VOTE! Ward 1 This Week - KFAI FM 90.3/106.7/KFAI.org

The St. Paul City Council and School Board elections are edging closer when November 8th tests the city’s the new voter-approved Ranked Choice Voting system, passed in 2009, eliminating a primary for a single November general election. Voters may mark their first, second, third and fourth choices until one candidate attains a majority (or substantial plurality) in each of the council seats and four top vote getters in the school board race. This week we speak with three of the four candidates for Ward One. (Ward One ranked-choice sample ballot here.) One – James McEiver – has failed to respond to our invitation.

Starting with the crowded Ward 2 field, TruthToTell has been devoting four successive weeks to St. Paul’s elections – in the fervent hope that voters will stop giving their local government(s) short shrift and get to the polls in numbers higher than the all-too-common 15%-35% turnouts. We’ve now presented candidates from Wards Two and Three. The following week we present candidates from Wards 5 and 6 on the 31st. On November 7th, the day before the election, Jeanne Massey of FairVote/Minnesota will be on hand to explain the Ranked Choice Voting process. The remaining races have nominal or no opposition for the incumbents.

As with Ward 3 last week, four candidates are competing in Ward 1. One is DFL-endorsed in this NONPARTISAN race, another represents the Green Party. Two others are running as independents. Again, no party association accompanies a ballot name in city elections. A key issue in Ward 1 is who can best represent the best interests of a vastly diverse electorate. Furthermore, it is through Ward 1 that a lengthy chunk of the Central Corridor will run. It’s an issue that has divided the African American community and raised hackles on the backs of University businesses – many of them Asian and East African – over the disruptions caused by light rail construction.

Ours may be one of the last meetings among these candidates.

The Candidates Committed:

 MELVIN CARTER III – Incumbent (one term); DFL-Endorsed

 JOHNNY HOWARD – Neighborhood Activist (Thomas-Dale/Frogtown); Green Party-endorsed

 ANTHONY FERNANDEZ – Neighborhood Activist and Member, St Paul Planning Commission; Independent

 

INVITED BUT NOT RESPONDING: JAMES MICHAEL MCEIVER. Mr. McEiver's listed number has been disconnected; he does not respond to his email messages. He WILL appear on the ballot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TruthToTell, Oct 17: ST. PAUL ELECTIONS: VOTE! Ward 3  - AUDIO ONLY HERE - VIDEO HERE - VOTE!

(Ward Three ranked-choice sample ballot here.)

Ward 3’s Pat Harris is departing, opening up that race in way it hasn’t for nearly 20 years given that Harris’ predecessor was his brother, Mike. The only race without an incumbent means a high-stakes scramble for Harris’ successor, given his penchant for consistently supporting his old friend Mayor Chris Coleman’s agenda. Deep schism has surfaced within the DFL over this seat, despite the official nonpartisan nature of city elections.

Four candidates are competing in Ward 3. Three of the four have old DFL ties, but just one is endorsed in this NONPARTISAN race. The DFL endorsement convention was something of a donnybrook of “outsider” involvement, including Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and Mayor Chris Coleman, who lives on St. Paul’s West Side.  No party association accompanies a ballot name in city elections. A key issue in this race should be the future of the Ford Assembly Plant site, which goes vacant very soon after nearly 88 years of operation with few stoppages. Of all the city’s council districts, Ward 3 boasts the highest per capita income and remains a slight swing district politically, able to still elect a more conservative candidate when it suits the electorate.

JOHN MANNILLO – Business Owner; Downtown Redeveloper, Preservationist; Independent

TYLOR SLINGER – Banking Communications Specialist; Political Activist; Libertarian Endorsed

EVE STEIN – High School Teacher, Debate Coach; Neighborhood Activist; Independent

CHRIS TOLBERT – Hennepin County Attorney; DFL-Endorsed

 


Tags:

TruthToTell Oct 24: ST. PAUL ELECTIONS: VOTE! Ward 1 This Week VOTE!

On-air date: 
Mon, 10/24/2011

Watch us from Studio 5! TruthToTell on Blip.tv or in Our Video Archives

HELP US BRING YOU THESE IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST – PLEASE DONATE HERE!

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The St. Paul City Council and School Board elections are edging closer. November 8th will tests the city’s the new voter-approved Ranked Choice Voting system for City Council races only. Passed in 2009, and eliminating a primary for a single November general election, voters may mark their first, second, third and fourth choices until one candidate attains a majority (or substantial plurality) in each of the council seats. As has always been the case, the four top vote getters in the school board race will win the available seats in which two of the candidates are incumbents.

This week we speak with three of the four candidates for Ward One. (Ward One ranked-choice sample ballot here.) One – James McEiver – has failed to respond to our invitation.

Starting with the crowded Ward 2 field, TruthToTell has been devoting four successive weeks to St. Paul’s elections – in the fervent hope that voters will stop giving their local government(s) short shrift and get to the polls in numbers higher than the all-too-common 15%-35% turnouts. We’ve now presented candidates from Wards Two and Three. The following week we present candidates from Wards 5 and 6 on the 31st. On November 7th, the day before the election, Jeanne Massey of FairVote/Minnesota will be on hand to explain the Ranked Choice Voting process. The remaining races have nominal or no opposition for the incumbents.

As with Ward 3 last week, four candidates are competing in Ward 1. One is DFL-endorsed in this NONPARTISAN race, another represents the Green Party. Two others are running as independents. Again, no party association accompanies a ballot name in city elections. A key issue in Ward 1 is who can best represent the best interests of a vastly diverse electorate. Furthermore, it is through Ward 1 that a lengthy chunk of the Central Corridor will run. It’s an issue that has divided the African American community and raised hackles on the backs of University businesses – many of them Asian and East African – over the disruptions caused by light rail construction.

Ours is one of the last meetings these candidates will attend. These three will participate in the final face-to-face debate of the season at 7:00 
tomorrow night, Tuesday, Oct. 25th at Mt. Olivet Church,
 451 Central Ave. W., between Dale St. and Western Ave.

The Candidates Committed:

 MELVIN CARTER III – Incumbent (one term); DFL-Endorsed

 JOHNNY HOWARD – Neighborhood Activist (Thomas-Dale/Frogtown); Green Party-endorsed

ANTHONY FERNANDEZ – Neighborhood Activist and Member, St Paul Planning Commission; Independent

NOT RESPONDING: JAMES MICHAEL MCEIVER. Mr. McEiver's listed number has been disconnected; he does not respond to his email messages. He WILL appear on the ballot.


53:29 minutes (48.97 MB)
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