Post-Election Reflections, 2014

Let's start with Andover, which this Blog states is where my observations originate from...

Councilwomen Julie Trude and Sherri Bukkila faced each other to replace Mike Gamache as Mayor of Andover.  Trude gave up her seat, while Bukkila had a "free shot" with her term ending in two years.

This was a close, close result.  My choice, Julie Trude was elected Mayor of Andover by just 0.6% of the vote - 5250 (50.00%) - 5184 (49.37%).

Councilwoman Bukkila will return next term with Mike Knight - they both face the voters again in 2016, unless long-time Council member Knight retires in 2016.

There were four candidates for two Council seats this year (the open Trude seat and Tony Howard's, and Tony was seeking re-election).  There were three challenges to Howard - Val Holthus, who I strongly supported; James Goodrich, who I opposed; and Tanya Kostick, who was somewhat unknown, even after a LWV debate and candidate profiles.  I voted for Howard and Holthus.

So the results were mixed, as Val Holthus was elected, but so was James Goodrich as they defeated Kostick and incumbent, Howard (who may have been hurt by his strong support for city involvement in the expansion of the Community Center/YMCA).   Final vote totals were:

Nonpartisan	VAL HOLTHUS	4966  -	29.77%
Nonpartisan	JAMES GOODRICH	4713  -	28.25%
Nonpartisan	TONYA KOSTICK	2651  -	15.89%
Nonpartisan	TONY HOWARD	4290  -	25.72%

I spent a lot of time and energy this fall on behalf of Peter Perovich, our DFL candidate in 35A.  I'm disappointed Peter lost to newcomer, Abigail Whelan, and was surprised by the margin of victory, having expected a result more in line with Peter's narrow loss to Branden Petersen in those same precincts in 2012.  Thank you, Peter, for being our candidate in 2014!  I know the right thing will be to wish Ms. Whelan well, but it is so frustrating to see such an undeserving person elected to represent half my district in St. Paul.  It isn't just that she's a Christian Right, Tea Party-lite Republican, whose values and issues positions I detest - and frankly fear for our future as a result - but as a young woman barely out of school, having done NOTHING in this world to merit being a State Representative (compare her with the resumes of GOPers like Jeff Weaver, Matt Look, even Justin Boals, who she beat in the Primary, and identify for me what she has done for Anoka or for Anoka County or for District 35 prior to running for this office at the beginning of this year).   So yes, I'm frustrated that a middle-of-the-road Democrat, with life experiences and leadership responsibilities, didn't earn the votes of voters in District 35A.

Sam Beard was our endorsed candidate in 35B, and until the last 10 days of the campaign, when I saw three more "Beard" signs up, a printed piece of campaign literature, a new Facebook page, and even some Facebook ads, I thought Sam had a campaign in name-only vs. Peggy Scott.  Sam got beat by about 66% - 33%.  I guess we know our 35B baseline, and it ain't pretty for any of us, including me, who might have entertained notions to run ourselves.  Yes one can run, because voters deserve a choice, but as young Matt Gieseke, who ran down in Waconia area, lamented last night, knowing you'll lose badly, and losing badly, is still hard to swallow in the end.

Along with my surprise at the largeness of Peter's loss was my surprise at similar results for JD Holmquist (thought his efforts would gain him some support at the polls) and Jefferson Fietek, who was a great campaigner, had a great organization, and still got clobbered by a guy who barely won in 2012, in Mark Uglem.   Hmmm...  If a modestly-run campaign loses by about the same margin as two very intensely run campaigns, we DFLers in this part of Anoka County have a lot of thinking and planning to do in 2015.


Very frustrated that rural Minnesota took in a lot of lies about the $90 million vs $77 million dollar Senate Office building, and the lies about getting over-taxed when in fact most of us got tax refunds in 2014.  Gridlock and tension ahead.   Creepy Republican time - guys like Backer and Miller got elected - very stupid, sleazy people going to St. Paul from that part of the State.

Glad the Statewide DFLers all won - Franken, Dayton, Swanson, Otto and Simon.  It was the best part of last night - going to that Elections page at the SOS website!

Worst part of last night - watching the GOP Senate & Gubernatorial landslide unfold as nearly every squeaker led to a GOP win, except NH and VA.   Hate seeing those GOP Governor anti-union assholes re-elected - Scott, Snyder, Kasich (no surprise) and Walker.  Ugh!  Feel real bad for union men and women across this country, especially my AFSCME brothers and sisters.


Finally, Mayor Mike Gamache was elected to the Anoka County Board by 500 votes, defeating former legislator and Board member Debbie Johnson, apparently riding on the great familiarity Andover voters have for him.

These were very interesting results, contrasting the Andover precincts with those in Coon Rapids and Fridley...
                                                              GAMACHE  JOHNSON  WRITE-IN

Anoka: ANDOVER P-3	855	430	13
Anoka: ANDOVER P-4	610	312	7
Anoka: ANDOVER P-9	707	328	4
Anoka: ANDOVER P-10	767	333	5
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-2 P-1	431	461	5
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-2 P-2	248	362	4
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-2 P-3	466	556	9
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-2 P-4	288	313	4
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-2 P-5	318	344	2
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-3 P-2	323	418	2
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-3 P-3	323	348	4
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-3 P-4	255	402	2
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-5 P-1	373	469	2
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-5 P-2	399	488	8
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-5 P-3	194	306	2
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-5 P-4	134	187	0
Anoka: COON RAPIDS W-5 P-5	340	416	2
Anoka: FRIDLEY W-3 P-1	243	310	4
Candidate Totals:	7274	6783       79

In 35A, the StarTrib Endorses Whelan - Here's My Response on Why Peter Perovich Should be Elected Next Tuesday

Sadly, the Star Tribune endorsed Abigail Whelan for the open 35A House seat this year.  Peter Perovich deserves that endorsement, and he should be elected next Tuesday to represent Anoka and Ramsey in St. Paul.

Here's a link to the editorial:  http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/280713082.html

And what they wrote in endorsing Whelan for the seat:

District 35A: Whelan

 

Republican Abigail Whelan is only 26, but her poise and commitment to public service belie her years. A vote for Whelan means betting on the come, but we think that’s a bet Anoka voters should make in the race to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Jim Abeler.

 

Whelan works as a home health care worker today, but she’s a former state Senate staffer and holds a master’s degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She proves her passion for public policy as she discusses possible remedies to the transportation funding shortage confronting Minnesota. Like most Republicans, she opposes more light-rail transit and a gas tax increase. But she supports better bus transit and is open to increasing other sources of transportation funding, including toll roads.

 

A proud product of the Anoka-Hennepin School District, Whelan believes that the district’s best practices should be emulated as schools strive to close the chronic achievement gap between white and nonwhite students. She’s an advocate for local control, going so far as to reject the state’s requirement for all-day kindergarten as an intrusion in local decisionmaking. We’d say that goes too far. But she also believes that MNsure, the state’s health insurance purchasing exchange, is too independent and that it should become a state agency for the sake of tighter legislative control. That suggests a capacity for nuanced judgment, one we hope will grow over time.

 

Whelan’s rookie status stands in contrast to her more-seasoned opponent, DFLer Peter Perovich, 52, a personal banker at U.S. Bank and former mortgage broker who is making his third try for a north-suburban legislative seat. Perovich comes by his interest in education and transit naturally. He’s the son of former Anoka Mayor Elliott Perovich, who also served as chair of the Regional Transit Board in the 1980s and was a high school principal.

 

Perovich is eager to spend more on education. Whelan focuses on best practices to improve results. That difference should matter to frugal north-suburban voters.

 

 

 

My Comments Posted to the Editorial Comment Section:

 

Disclosure up front... after 16 years of Jim Abeler's Republican representation of Anoka, I have been working hard this campaign to elect Peter Perovich, the DFL candidate for this open 35A seat in Ramsey and Anoka.  The Star Tribune editorial board, which I hardly find particularly pro-DFL, nor progressive on the key issues of the day, should be greatly faulted for putting their weight on young Abigail Whelan's shoulders.

This is a young woman who has never owned a home or paid property taxes, works part-time while living at home, started her campaign on a platform of Christian Right values that greatly echoed Michelle Bachmann for the extremism she sought to bring to office, and as the campaign developed, has wrapped herself in Jim Abeler's mantle, despite the fact that her wing of the SD 35 Republican Party has tried to eject Abeler multiple times in the past. 

Peter Perovich has the maturity and gravitas needed to represent the Anoka area in the House.  He's a relatively moderate Democrat - he and I have different takes on many issues - but I respect how he puts his community and his family values up front when arriving at his choices.  For example, for much of the summer, he made Sundays a family day, as, with four kids, two still at Ramsey Elementary, he made "Dad" time despite working full-time at the bank and campaigning, as well.  That's the type of guy I want in St. Paul - one with his priorities in the right place. 

I don't want toll roads in the north suburbs - Peter advocates improving Highway 10 to freeway status beyond Anoka City limits.  Facing nearly hour-long commutes from Ramsey, I think our voters continue to demand good rail transit options to both downtowns. 

DFLers are proud of getting the all-day Kindergarten choice enacted - I'm shocked the Star Tribune editorial board is pleased with Abigail Whelan's opposition to this badly-needed reform for early childhood development. 

The editorial board spent too much time talking to Jim Abeler about this race, apparently, because despite whatever pretences Abeler's built up as a "health insurance expert" through the years, this 26-year old young lady, who worked at St. Paul under Sens. Petersen and Jungbauer - two of the most obstructionist, deep-red conservatives of the past decade, has hardly developed any expertise on health issues.  Her "nuanced" answer on MNSure as a state agency, probably scripted for her by Abeler, who appeared to have helped script her answers in all three debates/forums she took part in this fall, is both silly and contrived - especially coming from the Party noted for its efforts to "chop down state government" - why would they create a new state agency for state health care programs, when DHS has been doing its damndest to get it right, after the Republican legislature of 2011-2013, left them little time to put in place a whole new system that should have gotten 3-4 years of testing to get it implemented right. 

Peter Perovich's greatest possible contribution as a legislator will be his efforts to protect our rivers, lakes, ponds and streams, as he has taken a statewide leadership on behalf of bass fisherman and has formed serious plans on protecting our waters from harmful run-offs and usage issues.  I don't know what one issue Abigail Whelan can be a difference-maker about in St. Paul, but I know Peter Perovich will be a legislator who leaves a lasting legacy for our Millennials in the decades to come!

 

Next Letter to the Editor - Transportation Issues - Vote Perovich & DFL vs GOP's Whelan in 35A

I've sent the following Letter to the Editor of the ABC Newspapers, hoping it will be printed this month, although I've checked, and it will not be in the September 19th print editions...   As the letter notes, expect next year at the Legislature to be focused on our transportation issues - this means infrastructure concerns, movement of people and goods, long-term sustainability of a late-20th Century transportation system....  Over in Anoka & Ramsey, I think Peter Perovich has long-focused on these issues in his campaigns.  I see Abigail Whelan has adopted a position on this issue, as she attempts to move her focus away from just the evangelical Christian Right issues that she first announced her campaign would fight for when she announced last winter.  The rare Republicans who chose to vote for forward thinking and overrode the Pawlenty veto, suffered the repercussions in their party, just as the few who supported same-sex marriage have suffered in 2014.  Last session, Abeler, Scott and Petersen all marched in lock-step against the DFL majority's transportation bill.  Why should we expect any differently of young Whelan - does anything about her convey an independent streak that would vote against her party leadership on such matters?  Here's my letter...

To the Editor –

 

2015 is going to be the year of transportation.  Governor Mark Dayton, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and House Speaker Paul Thissen have all declared transportation funding to be the top priority next year.

 

Minnesota needs to expand its transit options, make better connections for bicycling and walking, repair its aging roads, and replace its 100-plus deficient bridges.

 

Fixing the transportation deficit will create jobs, and improve our safety, our health and our environment.

 

Peter Perovich, the DFL candidate for the State House in District 35A, writes (http://peterperovich.org), “Our transportation must be safe and reliable for families and businesses; we need to improve our roadways.  I will continue to invest in roadways and Anoka County’s transportation.  I will work to make Highway 10 a freeway, not a highway that slows commuters.  I will also work to address the public concern with Highway 47.”

 

To be fair, Peter Perovich’s Republican opponent has also put forth a strong pro-road safety and Highway 10 improvement package among her key issues.  But, that’s meaningless when her party votes against responsible transportation bills, simply to oppose the DFL majority.  In 2013, HF 1444, the Transportation Finance Bill Conference Committee Report, was opposed by conservative groups such as Americans for Prosperity, and sure enough, area Republicans Abeler, Scott and Petersen each voted against it.  Why would we expect differently from Abigail Whelan?  The last time a Transportation Bill had helped our area, in 2008, both Republicans Abeler and Tinglestad became notorious members of the “Override Six” for voting against Governor Pawlenty’s veto – and Tinglestad was later forced out.

 

The DFL-led legislature accomplished much for Minnesota in 2013-2014.  By electing Peter Perovich on November 4th, voters can expect support for these DFL platform positions in the 2015-2016 legislative session:

·         Support a comprehensive transportation-funding package that will generate new economic development opportunities throughout the state;

·         Support strong public investment in transportation infrastructure to address structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges and roads;

·         Support healthy urban growth through regional light rail and other mass transportation systems.