Rebecca Gagnon: Wrong for Minneapolis School Board

It has nothing to do with schools, but here's an under the radar story from last year that explains what's wrong with Rebecca Gagnon, who is running for re-election to the Minneapolis school board. It's a story about billboard regulations. How does a school board member get mixed up with billboard regulations? Up until this year, Gagnon had been the school board's representative on the City Planning Commission.

Irene Fernando for Hennepin County Board, District 2

It will be no surprise that I am endorsing Irene Fernando over Blong Yang for the open seat on the Hennepin County Board in District 2. There are many reasons you should vote for Irene Fernando, which you can read in the second half of this post. You're fortunate if you have the chance to vote for her. But first, I have unpleasant memories of Blong Yang in his previous job that I must share with you.

Mark Haase for Hennepin County Attorney

Wedge-brand apparel is available in the Wedge LIVE! store;
criminal justice reform is available on your ballot.

Mark Haase is running against longtime incumbent Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. If you're overlooking an important local race in 2018, it's probably this one. This one has the highest stakes. Elected prosecutors have a lot of power, and a lot of discretion in how they choose to use that power.

Dave Hutch for Hennepin County Sheriff

Dave Hutch is available on your ballot. "WEDGE" hat is available in the Wedge LIVE store.

Hennepin County Sheriff is a non-partisan office. But that only applies to what's printed on the ballot; the candidates really do have political affiliations.

Rich Stanek is the Trump-supporting, ICE-cooperating, Republican incumbent, who once admitted to using racial slurs while on the job. The admission about racial slurs came in a deposition when he was sued for police brutality (the case ended in a settlement). In 2006, Stanek used $30,000 in sheriff's office training funds to produce a "not-so-thinly-veiled campaign video," depicting events in the aftermath of the I-35 bridge collapse. In 2016, Stanek sent officers to North Dakota to assist in putting down the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

Dave Hutch is the DFL-endorsed challenger, a Metro Transit Police sergeant who works on the north side and surrounding suburbs. His official bio includes humanizing details like the fact that he lives in Bloomington with his husband and his dog. Left out of Dave Hutch's bio is the fact that he is not Rich Stanek, who, I should reiterate, is a pretty bad guy who supports Trump and a bunch of other hateful policies.

Angela Conley for Hennepin County Board, District 4

There's a lot of talk this year about Hennepin County never having had a person of color serve on the board. It's a big deal, if not surprising. It needs to change. But if you haven't entirely tuned into the campaign in District 4, you might have the false impression that the arguments here are entirely about identity. They're not.

Local Elections are Happening in 2018

We're less than two months from election day on November 6. As you're likely aware, this is a pretty important national election. A great way to get involved during this critical time is with a local campaign. Turning out voters for local DFL candidates (as the Democratic Party is known in Minnesota) means you've likely turned out votes for Democratic candidates all the way up the ballot: for governor, the state legislature, and US House and Senate races.

If you live in Minneapolis, the most consequential 2018 races are for offices in Hennepin County. If you care about policing, there's the sheriff's race. If you care about criminal justice issues, there's the county attorney. If you care about housing, transit, health care, and human services, there are two competitive races for the Hennepin County Board, which controls a massive budget of $2.4 billion (for context, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey recently proposed a 2019 budget of $1.6 billion). You should find a reason to feel strongly about one or more of the candidates below. They need your help over the next two months.

MN House 62A Endorsement: Jen Kader

My first impression of District 62A candidate Jen Kader has stuck with me since watching her at a candidate forum back in January. Jen is among a handful of first-time candidates competing in 62A, and she stood out as far and away the most prepared person on that stage. It's the mark of someone who has been working on -- and passionate about -- the issues since long before she considered becoming a candidate.

St. Paul City Council, Ward 4 Endorsement: Mitra Jalali Nelson

I got up early last Sunday and traveled from the Wedge to St. Paul's Ward 4 to spend the morning with City Council candidate Mitra Jalali Nelson. The next day I watched her answer questions at a 90-minute forum. I worried this was too much time to spend, and in such a short period, with a stranger I met on the internet who only wears pink pants.

But I learned a few important things. Mitra is unreservedly pro-city, pro-housing and pro-transit. She's a renter who chose her apartment because she wanted to live on the light rail in a vibrant neighborhood. She wants a city budget that invests in people -- in things like rec centers -- rather than hiring more cops. She's called for funding the remainder of the St. Paul bike plan. She feels a sense of urgency about passing a minimum wage ordinance right away, without exceptions or carve-outs, because "it's time to pour cement under our feet of sinking wages." She's thoughtful, she's compelling, she's experienced. I understand why such a broad and diverse coalition of people have been drawn to help get her elected.

Meet the Wedge: Mitra Jalali Nelson

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to speak with Mitra Jalali Nelson, who is running for City Council in St. Paul's Ward 4. I came to St. Paul loaded with the ultimate gotcha question, which turned suddenly into two gotcha questions. By the end of the interview Mitra had got gotten. Below is that portion of our conversation (read my endorsement of Mitra here).

MN Congressional District 5 Endorsement: Ilhan Omar

Ilhan Omar is a state representative who's amassed a lot of political capital, and a large national following in a relatively short career. She hasn't been shy about using that power to lift up new leaders, as when she took the unusually bold step of endorsing Phillipe Cunningham's successful 2017 campaign against powerful longtime Minneapolis City Council President Barb Johnson.