The Other Side is Reading this Blog - So Let's Address Social Issues Raised by an Oak Grove Republican This Week

I was surprised - alarmed - nah, more amused - that this blog was noticed by the Anoka County Republican Wizard of Oz - Henry Hamilton, the wealthy, anti-union, curmudgeonly purveyor of Republican truths and gossip at both The Minnesota Watchdog and the Anoka County Watchdog websites.   http://www.anokacountywatchdog.com/email/2014/08.22.14_update.htm

You've got to visit his Anoka County page - I love the barking bulldog you have to click on to enter.  Classic Watchdog.  And of course, if you access the link above, you'll find that Mr. Hamilton took exception to my views on Andover Representative Peggy Scott and Andover Council candidates James Goodrich and Val Holthus - I like Holthus, he doesn't.  I don't like Goodrich.  He does. 

Like Mike Jensen of Anoka, who reviewed my own history in a recent Letter to the Editor, Henry goes into detail about me, too.  Seemingly, it's only preferable to be rich entrepreneurs and businessmen, or the people working for people like Henry Hamilton, in Henry's world.  Not so, hardworking public employees like Teachers and Social Workers and Child Support Officers and Snow Plow Drivers and Revenue Office Agents and Mental Health Professionals and Planners and Financial Workers and Librarians - especially those who made it a point to be activists in their unions working to get better wages, benefits and contract provisions that help employees perform their work in safe, secure environments.  He raises up and stresses that Val Holthus and I belong to Education Minnesota and AFSCME, respectively, as if our union membership makes us somehow criminals for fighting on behalf of our fellow employees.  As if those who work in public jobs should only settle for wage crumbs with no protection from being terminated every time as new party takes office and wants to dispense political favors to friends and family - you know, like the good old days in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Well, I'm proud to have been a member of both teacher associations and AFSCME throughout the 35+ years I've been part of the middle class workforce, Mr. Hamilton.  I've been proud to be a part of the public employee payroll.  I didn't set out to be rich.  I set out to help people - first as a teacher and later working in the public assistance system in Minnesota.  There are far more people in this world who need our help, Henry Hamilton, than the One-Percenters like you, and I'm just one of many who chose to work in service to others - and expect to be paid our worth, to be safe at work, and to be protected from willful employers.


Gene Hodel, a Republican from SD 31 in Oak Grove, pushed my buttons this week.  In a Letter to the Editor in the ABS Newspapers, Hodel wrote: 

"Our Creator set the foundation of moral behavior. The Democratic party represented by their current platform and their history are on the wrong side of most moral issues. The social conservative side, represented by the Republican party is not without its flaws, but on most of these moral issues the Republican platform is correct.
 
Of course, it if you think it is a woman’s on demand “right”, to kill the human being inside of her, then you would vote for the Democrats.  If you think that an active gay life style does not accelerate sexual diseases, bad influence on the youth and broken lives, then you would vote for the Democrats. If you think that gay marriage is the same as a marriage between a man and a woman for rising children and supporting each other, then you would vote for the Democrats. If you want your fellow human beings messed up on marijuana coming at you down the highway, vote for the Democrats."
http://abcnewspapers.com/2014/08/20/letters-to-the-editor-for-aug-22-2014/


Now, as a Democrat living in the area, as the DFL Chair of Senate District 35, as a pretty good, upstanding citizen, and as a fellow raised in the United Methodist Church, I took exception to Mr. Hodel's characterizations of what is and isn't moral.

So, I've penned a new Letter to the Editor (below), which I hope gets printed as a response to Mr. Hodel.

This election should be a referendum on Governor Dayton and the DFL.  But social issues still rear their ugly head. Gene Hodel wrote, “On most of these moral issues the Republican platform is correct,” in an August 22^nd Letter.  Of which moral issues did he say Republicans are right and Democrats are wrong:  terminating pregnancies, blaming sexual disease on gay lifestyles, gay marriage and marijuana use?

 

Life would be much simpler for voters if his old canard that Democrats are undeserving amoral libertines, while Republicans are God-fearing model citizens was true.  Alas, it isn’t.  As Chair for District 35 DFLers, it’s been my pleasure to “politic” with a lot of your friends and neighbors, who are bright, community-spirited Christians – and Democrats.  Republicans don’t own the concept of “morality” in this community, any more than they own “bigotry”, “intolerance” or “patriotism.” 

 

Is it moral for Christian Republicans like Gene to continue their determined disregard of the Roe v. Wade decision, which provided a legal basis for “life” does not begin at conception, that a child does not legally exist until birthed, and that there are limitations to how far into a pregnancy abortion is legal? 

 

Is it moral for Christian Republicans like Gene to rely on their interpretations of the laws and customs of 2000-year old Biblical societies to determine 21^st century morality?   Who decided that being gay or different is immoral?

 

Is it moral to reject the common decency and fairness of providing legal equality through same sex marriage?  Is it moral to go sticking one’s nose into what goes on in other persons’ bedrooms?

 

On marijuana, it’s hardly a moral issue; one will find many Democrats, myself included, who have reservations about legalizing it, even for medical purposes, and similarly, one will find many libertarian Republicans who fully support less-restrictive laws on marijuana.

 

I haven’t even started on the moral issues of fighting poverty, the rich getting richer, equal justice for minorities, or easy access to assault weapons.  No party has a monopoly on morality, Mr. Hodel.  Oh, and about that referendum – my side should win!

 

Harris v. Quinn: A Bad Decision for Americans - A Troubling Decision for Public Employee Unions

As a proud AFSCME member - a full member, who pays the union dues so my workplace rights are protected and my union can collective bargain for better wages and benefits for me - the Harris v. Quinn ruling is disgusting.  Justice Alito incorrectly turned this into a First Amendment right to freeload off the work union representatives provide the workplace/the work group.   From the American Constitutional Society web site comes this astute analysis by Attorney Chris Sanders....

Getting Something for Nothing in Harris v. Quinn

July 1, 2014

 

by J. Chris Sanders, Attorney, Chris Sanders Law PLLC
https://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/getting-something-for-nothing-in-harris-v-Quinn

In a unionized workplace, one labor union has the sole and exclusive right to represent all those employees. The workers select one union, and the union handles workplace matters for everyone. That typically means collective bargaining–negotiating as a group to build better pay, better benefits, better hours, better treatment and respect on the job into a union contract. Despite these tough times for unions, the union advantage for workers is10-20 percent over the same workers in the same industries. It also means job protection, usually requiring representation by volunteer activists and paid staff at union expense. As lawyers will understand, representation is costly, and being in a union is financially worthwhile.

Along with the right to represent people, the union has the duty to represent everyone alike. No picking and choosing between members and nonmembers. That’s right, members and nonmembers, because a worker doesn’t have to join the union in a unionized workplace to be represented. Choosing to join is and has been a First Amendment right, recognized for decades.

Workers who don’t join weaken the union in bargaining, as the proverbial chain is only as strong as its weakest nonunion link. Contracts and benefits in states and industries where unions are weak are weaker, too. You get what you pay for. Nevertheless, letting people opt out isn’t a group decision, though it affects the group. It’s an individual choice.

But, whether the union is weak or strong, the non-member gets the benefits contained in the union contract. In return, nonmembers must pay for the union services that achieved the gains made in collective bargaining and the protections provided by union representation. In the public sector, it’s known as “fair share”–paying one’s fair share of the cost all workers bear for union representation.

Until now. In Harris v. Quinn, the Supreme Court launched a direct attack on paying one’s fair share. The 5-4 majority discredited decades of precedent underpinning the duty to pay. But then it dodged and weaved, avoiding a direct decision on the First Amendment. Rather, it said that the Illinois homecare workers weren’t true government workers, so the statutory fair-share fee can’t be enforced. This doesn’t bode well for the new American workplace, with its “associates,” contractors, temps, subs, project people, etc. smudging the lines between employer and employee. But it’s the main issue that matters. The right-wing Justices made it clear that individual whim trumps group responsibility.  

   
A recent personal story about why it matters. I handled a case involving a young Cuban meatpacker who speaks very little English wanted to buy some pork at cost. He boxed up the meat, then asked a co-worker how to code the purchase. They miscommunicated, so he mis-coded, and put the wrong tag on his purchase. A manager met him at the gate, accused him of stealing the pork, and fired him. You can’t make this stuff up.

If this were a non-union workplace, that would be the end of the story. He would have had no legal recourse, no way to get his job back. Under the employment-at-will doctrine, employers don’t have to justify their decision to discharge, and don’t have to prove theft. But this is a union shop, where workers have rights and power. The union filed a grievance through the contractual procedure, and volunteers and paid staff advocated for him. That costs. When the company wouldn’t settle, the union sought arbitration. That’s expensive–there’s a filing fee, an arbitrator’s fee, hearing expenses, and my time as union counsel. Thousands of dollars. All at no cost to the wronged worker. At the hearing, it came out that, in mislabeling his purchase, he’d actually paid too much for the pork. The arbitrator got the picture, and put him back on the job, awarding months of lost wages.

Post-Harris, that very same protection will now also be available to nonmembers in unionized government workplaces, without ever paying their fair share of union expenses. They will literally get something for nothing when they file their grievances. The actual expense to the union, grievance upon grievance, may be big. For a typical discharge case, it’s certainly far more than that person would ever pay out of pocket for union dues over years (assuming anyone stays in any one job for years any more in the new American workplace). Imagine the same scenario above, with a long-term employee who never paid any fees, gets fired, and disdainfully demands the same services as those who pay their fair share!

Back to collective bargaining, in and of itself a huge benefit to all employees, member and nonmember alike. The Harris petitioners were making $7 an hour before they unionized in Illinois. Their union contract raises wages as high as $13 an hour. They would never have gotten there without their union, which spent hundreds and thousands of volunteer and paid hours in negotiations and advocacy to get organized and get to a contract. But the Harris petitioners will still get to enjoy their doubled wages, but now can drop their fair-share fee.  

No other organization has to provide services for free. Unions have been singled out for this burden under the “right-to-work” (right-to-shirk) scheme. Right-to-work has been the law in the South and in the West since the 1940’s, and the Supreme Court just drew a roadmap for right-to-work from Illinois to public-sector workplaces all across the country. Why should labor be singled out for required free services? Professionals, businesses, service-providers, nonprofits, and yes, government, all assess fees for services. Ask the Chamber of Commerce or the bar association if you can join and get benefits and services for free. It’s a rhetorical question, you already know the answer.



We have a long, difficult fight ahead of us, if this conservative majority of 5 holds at the Supreme Court!

AFSCME - Updates and Observations

Today, April 4th, marks the 43rd anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968.  Dr. King was in Memphis in support of the AFSCME sanitation workers of that city, who were in the midst of a long struggle for better working conditions, and were on strike against an anti-union city leadership.


Today, workers across Minnesota will remember that day in 1968 and recognize the contemporaery struggle we public workers face across the nation (but in particular in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida and Nevada) with a We Are One march and celebration.  Here are the details sent out by Council 5 Director Eliot Seide:

On Monday, April 4, the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, the AFL-CIO, AFSCME Council 5 and others are sponsoring the WE ARE ON MARCH FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS, STAND UP FOR JOBS, A FAIR BUDGET AND WORKER RIGHTS!

5:00 P.M. Gathering at Cathedral Park, intersection of Marshall Avenue and John Ireland Blvd, St. Paul

5:15 P.M. March for the Middle Class---John Ireland Blvd.

6:00 P.M. Program and Music, Minnesota State Capitol, Upper Capitol Mall

Dr. King was assassinated while fighting for the rights of Memphis Sanitation workers (AFSCME Local 1733) to organize and bargain collectively.  These brave 1300 African American sanitation workers could not even use the bathrooms of their employer and had no legal rights to bargain or strike but they struck for recognition and dignity.  Collective bargaining is the extension of American democracy in the workplace. Without strong, independent trade unions there would be no American middle class.  And without a strong trade union movement to check employer power, American democracy is threatened.

Stand up and fight back!!  There are over 50 toxic bills in the Minnesota Legislature, many of which are moving right now that take away our rights to bargain wages and healthcare, eliminate over 6000 public sector jobs and the services they provide, cut taxes for corporations, raise property taxes on the middle class and protect the richest Minnesotans from paying their fair share of taxes.

Let’s stop this attack on Minnesota’s middle class.  Let’s show our outrage at this continued demonization of public workers.  Please come and rally on Monday, April 4 and march to protect our right to bargain collectively,  march for jobs and march for a fair budget that asks the richest Minnesotans to pay their fair share of taxes.

I am in the midst of an election fight within Local 34 to continue as a Vice President of the Local.  I'm opposed by Lynne Kincaid, who has been a Local 34 steward.  Voting by mail starts today.  Ballots are due in three weeks, and will be counted on April 28.

I've recently switched to using Microsoft Publisher to produce the Local 34 Banner - our Local's newsletter, which I've edited/produced for 10 years now - since mid- 2001.  Here's a link to the April issue (and newsletter archives): 
http://afscmelocal34.org/April_2011_Newsletter.pdf


I'm also on You Tube!  On March 22nd, AFSCME - 1500 strong - gathered at the Capitol for our annual Day on the Hill - lobbying day.  Not easy this year with all the Republicans in the Capitol - especially as most seem to want to do away with us - both as employees and as a union.   Workday Minnesota  filmed many of us, and I appear twice in the 7 minute video on You Tube, which I've linked below.  This captures the essence and overview of Day on the Hill in 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhJfH1T4urM

http://afscmelocal34.org/index.htm (nice copy on the front page of the Local's website)


Wes

Thank You County Sector Delegates to the AFSCME Council 5 Convention

On Thursday, September 30, I had the honor of being elected to the 43-member statewide AFSCME Council 5 Executive Board, during the 2010 Council 5 Convention.  I was one of five elected to represent AFSCME members from the County sector.  My Local's President, Jean Diederich, was re-elected to the Board herself, representing members who live in the West Metro, which includes Hennepin and Anoka Counties.

Cliff Robinson, who retired in August, nominated me, and did a wonderfully moving job of highlighting my career with AFSCME and his expectation that I will be able to provide the Board with continuity after his departure.  Thank you, Cliff, for your very kind words!


The Convention assembly heard from Bill Lucy, the retired AFSCME International Secretary-Treasurer on Friday, then from DFL Gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton on Saturday morning.  Resolutions were passed, including one I assisted in the composition of, prioritizing dealing with Workplace Bullying on the AFSCME legislative agenda.  Local 34's Katie Farber was honored with the Rick Scott political organizing award, we each attended workshops on Friday morning, and I learned that the West Metro will screen me for AFSCME endorsement on October 9th.

AFSCME Council 5 Convention - September 30 - October 2

I'm headed to the AFSCME Council 5 Convention this afternoon.  We'll be meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Bloomington.  I'm serving on the Credentials Committee, and will be working at the Registration table, both this evening from 6-9pm and in the morning, from 7-9:30am.

I am a candidate for a Council 5 Executive Board seat representing the County Sector.  Nominations are being held Thursday afternoon, with voting in the evening.

Here's the Convention notice from the Council 5 website:

http://afscmemn.org/it%E2%80%99s-convention-time%21


And here's the Convention schedule, including speeches by Gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton on Saturday morning, and from retired International Secretary-Treasurer, Bill Lucy, a great favorite of the Minnesota delegation to this summer's convention in Boston.


Convention Opens Sept. 30Council 5’s annual convention runs Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at the Sheraton Bloomington hotel. Here is an outline of major events (subject to change):

• Registration: Sept. 29, 6-9 p.m., and Sept. 30, 7-9:30 a.m. (Note: Delegates not registered by this time cannot vote in Council 5 elections)
• Convention opens: Sept. 30, 9 a.m.
• Sector and District nomination meetings: Sept. 30, 1:15-3 p.m.
• Policy committee meetings: Sept. 30, 3:15-5:15 p.m.
• Elections of Officers and Executive Board: Sept. 30, 5:15-7:15 p.m.
• Training and workshops: Oct. 1, 8:30-11:45 a.m.
• District meetings, Oct. 1, 1:30-2:15 p.m.
• Convention reconvenes: Oct. 1, 2:30 p.m., including address by Bill Lucy, AFSCME International’s secretary-treasurer emeritus 
• Convention reconvenes: Oct. 2, 9 a.m., including address by Mark Dayton, AFSCME-endorsed candidate for governor

"A New Voice"

My lawn signs and campaign literature will call my candidacy "A New Voice." 

One practical measure of what this means is that Andover has had a very stable Council representation in recent years, and I propose that my election will infuse a new perspective - a new voice in decision-making on that body.  Don Jacobson, who is running for re-election, has been on the City Council since 1998 (although he lost a 2004 contest for Mayor to Mike Gamache).  Julie Trude, who is running for re-election, has been on the Council since 2000.  Mayor Mike Gamache was also first elected to the Council in 2000.  Council member Mike Knight has held office since 1992.  The lone newcomer is Sherri Bukkila, who voters chose in 2008 to succeed Ken Orttel, a 26-year Council member who retired.

From 2000-2008, the same five members of the Council held forth.  Four of the current five members of the Council have served together the entire past decade.  These Council members have been good stewards for Andover this past decade - a period of considerable growth until the past two or three years.  But now Andover voters should weigh whether those representatives are best suited to steward this City the next four years, a period in which the City must recognize the stagnant home-building and home-buying and selling markets, the necessity for new types of economic development, and the obligations of finding ways to complete the parts of the City that are missing its finishing touches.  These include bringing mass transit options - the MTC - into Andover, improving the quality of arterial roads that travel northward through the City, providing safer travel in the City - such as partnering to add right-turn lanes to our main key routes across Andover, and further developing the Station North and Clocktower Commons sites, as well as addressing blighted parts of the community, such as the Round Lake Blvd. & 161st Ave. intersection.


Yes, there is an anti-incumbency sentiment at work in many election contests this year.  I don't know that this necessarily reaches to a City Council election in 2010.

I will be presenting voters with a new voice this fall.  At the most basic level, I bring a different background and perspective than my opponents.  I am a union member - and activist - in AFSCME - the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (public employees' union).  I am a public employee - I have been a public school teacher and I work in the human services department of Hennepin County.  I have been an active Republican in my youth (in the pre-Reagan years), and an active Democrat/DFLer as an adult (in the Reagan years and beyond).  I am a progressive on social issues, and practical-minded on economic/financial issues. 

But at the level of governing and decision-making in Andover, my political leanings and labor background are not the critical determinants of whether or not I can serve the city well on the Council.  You need a Council member who will hear your concerns , take time to study and consider the issue, then reach a decision.  I will do my best to be that Council member, and to be your new voice on the Council.

This blog is my way of reaching out to you, and for you, the voter to dialogue with me  - at least through November 3rd.  In the future, I will be talking about union/labor issues, especially AFSCME issues in this space, and if elected, I will be here commenting on Andover-related concerns.

On Regional Development, Transportation Options, and What I'd Like to Accomplish - Answers to North Metro Realtors Association Questionnaire

One of the first contacts I received, was an invitation from the North Metro Realtor's Association, which also wants to interview (or screen) candidates, and perhaps offer funds for campaign expenses, if they deem you worthy of their support.

Here are some of the main questions they asked, and my answers....

What civic/community groups do you belong to?


At present, I am a union activist in AFSCME Local 34 for Hennepin County Social Services, which is a part of the statewide AFSCME Council 5. I am Local 34's elected Vice President, I produce a 12-16 page monthly newsletter for the Local, and I serve on its negotiations committee. I represent the Local in Meet & Confer meetings with Management and I am on the County's health insurance committee. I am Treasurer of the Hennepin County AFSCME Policy Committee, a 12-person executive board representing each of the six AFSCME locals in Hennepin County. I am a candidate for Council 5's Executive Board in October.



I am a member of the United Methodist Church of Anoka. I am a member of the Minnesota and Anoka County Historical Societies.



I served on the City of Anoka Charter Commission for eight years, from 1992-2000.


What do you hope to accomplish if elected?


Andover faces some identity issues and challenges of balancing its rural concerns with its suburban bedroom community issues. I'd like to see the city partner with other agencies and the business community to bring some closure.

We have poor roads north of Bunker - Hanson, Crosstown, 181st, to name a few. Many of our roads lack marked right-turn lanes; either the turning car impedes those who follow, or people make right turns from the shoulder. I'd like to explore bringing MTC to Andover - perhaps along Bunker Lake Blvd. and/or north up Hanson Blvd. to City Hall and the Community Center. Andover does not have a full-service Post Office - we have the large Carrier Annex near City Hall and postal operations out of Super America. Clocktower Commons sits across from City Hall without a clocktower or restaurant that were planned years ago.

Do Andover residents take advantage of having restaurants and retail choices in its city? Oodles, Serendipity, Figaro's, Quizno's, Tasty Pizza... all are examples of 'failed' restaurants in Andover. Meanwhile, we have four pharmacies - two from one company - within two miles of each other. There is little or no commercial activity north of 161st Ave. in Andover - no gas stations, no convenience stores, no bar and grills... I'd like to see Andover partner to bring more enterprise throughout the city.


Tell us about your views on private property rights regarding residential and commercial property?


The Supreme Court's Kelo decision was a real eye-opener. I support government's right to eminent domain, but I believe the elected officials have to put it inside a narrow box. I do not support taking personal property to merely benefit other private development that is questionably in the public interest. I do support it when it is used to widen roads, or improve intersections, where necessary for the public's interest, or when it’s used to provide access for properties that otherwise would be inaccessible.


The North Metro REALTORS Association supports providing options for transit (buses, rail, etc.) and transportation, as well as the coordination of land use and planning policies with transportation and housing needs. What are some transportation options or plans that you would support in your city or county?


I don't know whether MTC's studies support expansion of bus routes into Andover, but I believe there is already significant ridership from Andover - and north Anoka County - that would sustain at least limited morning and afternoon rush hour routing along the busier thoroughfares - Bunker Lake Blvd, Round Lake Blvd. or Hanson Blvd. I am often a bus rider from the Coon Rapids' Foley Park & Ride - half my morning trip is just getting to Foley Park & Ride. I am a big supporter of the rail opportunities already running - and in the planning stages - for Anoka County.


What are your views on regional development? How will you address new residential and commercial development issues or demand?


I think Andover and Anoka County must partner with the Metropolitan Council to revisit where we're headed for 2020 and beyond. Should Andover be permitting new home developments, and if so, where?

As of March 2010, the City has 17 development agreements with City Sewer and Water, ranging from a small 6 unit development in Maple Hollow to large, significant developments at Grey Oaks (up to 300 units), County Oaks West (82 units - 33 available in March), Sophie's South (85 units, 57 available), Miller's Woods (86 units, 21 available) and Parkside at Andover Station (110 townhome units, 12 available). And there were seven acreage developments with Well & Septic choices, including a 19 unit development at Stacks Woods and a 16 unit development at Silver Meadows West. That's a lot of development projects in place.

Should acreage development continue in rural well-water areas instead of areas with City water and sewer? What is the state of Andover's water supply - can it sustain the current population? Can it handle 1500, 2500, 5000 more homes? In the August 27 issue of the ABC newspapers, there were 48 Andover foreclosures in the public notices - perhaps fewer than in Coon Rapids, Ham Lake and East Bethel, but far too many nonetheless. Is there already too much housing stock in Andover? With declining home values and rising costs of living in the farthest-out suburbs, will Andover continue to attract new residents?

Should Andover invest in city-wide Wi-Fi, for example, to make working from home easier for Andover commuters? What WILL make it easier to live in Andover, and be able to engage all the amenities that we drive to Blaine, Coon Rapids, Anoka, and beyond to find, and enjoy?




Tell us about your views for providing more attainable residential and commercial property in your area?


Should we further develop Andover's residential properties? Andover has a mixed character of some farm acreage, large 2.5 acre+ lots, a considerable amount of 'normal' suburban development properties, and a small amount of high density housing - generally isolated from other parts of the City. There are many concerns for the future of a commuter community 30 miles north of the two downtowns.

I'd rather Andover focused on bringing closure - or completeness - to what we have now, for the next decade, and encourage business developments, and bring suburban amenities to Andover, where churches and pharmacies are plentiful, but where there are only five gas stations, where the only brand-name restaurants are Subway and McDonald's (two), and there are no auto dealerships, libraries - or bookstores, laundromats, combination walk-in and drive thru banks, or "Super" anything retail giants in town, as you'd expect in a suburb of 30,000+. Perhaps, it'll be as simple as starting with shoring up our infrastructure.




REALTORS(R) don't just sell homes, they sell neighborhoods, and they sell communities. In what ways can your area REALTORS(R) be better partners marketing and selling your city or county as a great place to live, work, play, and do business?


You already know our community. You were there helping to get businesses started, helping us find or build our homes. Pat Von Mosch was critical to my wife and I being able to both get our Andover house built through TH Construction and Jim Borden, and then helping us sell our Anoka home - that I'd inherited from my parents - in the summer and fall of 2000.



So, step back and help the City of Andover find out what still needs to be done. Can your Association help our community to build a Night-Out campaign across the city to rival our neighboring communities who have thriving opportunities to engage one's neighbors and promote safety awareness on the neighborhood streets?

Drive throughout Andover with a new set of eyes. Look at Bunker, Hanson, Andover, Crosstown and Round Lake Boulevards. What impression do they make? Now drive down Main St. in Anoka, through Riverplace in Coon Rapids, along Coon Rapids and Hanson Blvds. in Coon Rapids, up Highway 65 in Blaine and back down Radisson Rd. and over to the Village in Blaine. Who or what is Andover compared to the aging, decaying routes in some places and the young, vibrant, thriving locales elsewhere?

What can you find to partner with Andover that will keep people happily living in Andover, when gas prices go higher and higher, when city services are cut back further, when home prices fall further? What types of shopping, eating or work initiatives can we bring to Andover? Is it Wi-Fi? Is it better roads, or availability of park & ride bus stops within blocks or shorter miles from home? Is it more shopping or restaurant choices? I'd like to see what creative alternatives NMRA can initiate and bring to the attention of Andover's City Council and commissions.

Redistricting: An Important Issue for Andover Next Year

Municipalities, such as Andover, which have seen considerable changeover the past decade - new houses, new neighborhoods, considerable growth in population - face the somewhat compelling task of redistricting the city's election precinct boundaries prior to the next election in 2012.

Here's a link to Minnesota Statute, 204B.14 that details this process:  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=204B.14&year=2009 .

This should be an obvious and necessary undertaking by the City of Andover.  Looking over the election results at the Secretary of State's Elections web page, one can see quite a disparity between our 10 precincts.

In the 2006 election, out of over 12,500 votes cast in Andover, this is the percentage of voters from each of our Precincts (if all were split evenly, they'd each represent 10% of the voters):

Precinct 7:  14.7% (about 1860 voters)
Precinct 1:  11.8% (about 1480 voters)
Precinct 8:  11.3% (about 1430 voters)
Precinct 2:  11.1% (about 1400 voters)
Precinct 10:  9.9% (about 1260 voters)
Precinct 6:   9.9%  (about 1250 voters)
Precinct 9:   9.5%  (about 1190 voters)
Precinct 3:   8.1%  (about 1025 voters)
Precinct 5:   7.8%  (about  980 voters)
Precinct 4:   5.9%  (about 740 voters)

That's a wide disparity.  Each precinct has just one polling place to attend on election days.  Precinct 7 is about 2 1/2 times the voter size of Precinct 4 - over 1100 more voters came to the polls that day, and faced long lines, long waits, and arguably, a more arduous voting process.

In 2008, we had a Presidential election, and many more contests were on our ballot.  The disparity of voting numbers actually worsened in 2008:

There were nearly 15,500 voters in Andover in 2008.

Precinct 7:   16.6% (about 2560 voters)
Precinct 8:   13.1% (about 2020 voters)
Precinct 1:   12.4% (about 1910 voters)
Precinct 2:   11.9% (about 1840 voters)
Precinct 10: 11.8% (about 1830 voters)
Precinct 9:   10.3% (about 1600 voters)
Precinct 6:   10.3% (about 1590 voters)
Precinct 3:    9.2%  (about 1420 voters)
Precinct 5:    8.8%  (about 1360 voters)
Precinct 4:    6.0%  (about  930 voters)

You can draw your own conclusions, but clearly Precinct 7 needs to be reduced, while Precincts 4 and 5 need to be grown somewhat.  Arguably, Precincts 1,2 and 8 are too large at this time, while Precinct 3 is a bit small.  As currently configured, Precincts 6 and 9 - on either side of Precinct 7 - are about right.

Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as moving one or two neighborhoods north or south or east or west, because it will really be something of a domino effect by the time all the various shifts are settled.


This is the type of work that our experienced, hard working City staff will most likely be tasked to prepare your City Administrator and City Council for.  This is the type of detailed challenges that I like to tackle, and offer my informed opinions about.

I've been part of the Hennepin County AFSCME-Management negotiations process for the last three negotiation sessions.  This is the type of nuance that I bring to our preparations.  We send about 30-40 union members to work with three AFSCME Council 5 staff to negotiate with Management.  I take it upon myself to provide analysis of health insurance-related matters and job classification-pay scale data that the union side tries to work with as part of the negotiating process.

I was a part of the United Methodist Church of Anoka Finance Committee for about seven years, chairing the Committee for three years.  I prepared lists and breakdowns of the church pledging process for the Pastor and members of the Finance Committee.  I organized the call contact process, and devised a tracking method for contacts. 

This is the type of thorough preparation I would bring to the Council, if elected.

Have a good day!