Ward 1 is currently represented by Dai Thao. He was endorsed by the DFL at the convention. On the ballot:
Dai Thao
Abu Nayeem “Frogtown Crusader”
Liz De La Torre
Anika Bowie
Election 2019: St. Paul City Council, Ward 1
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Category Archives: St. Paul Politics
Election 2019: St. Paul trash referendum
I have been having a really hard time motivating myself to do these writeups this year — no idea why. I mean, I’ve done the basic necessary research for the races on my actual ballot, but sitting down and actually researching the rest feels overwhelming, which is sort of odd given that there aren’t all that many races to do. I think it’s probably a sense of perfectionism, like I can’t possibly weigh in unless I’ve watched all the forums (video is hard, it’s just a lot more time-consuming and you can’t skim).
Anyway, I’m going to note before I do my trash referendum write-up that if you value my work and would like to help me feel more motivated, I’ve got two options for you this year. I have a novel coming out in November, CATFISHING ON CATNET, which you can pre-order. Also, you may remember that last year I linked people to a couple of fundraisers on DonorsChoose for Minneapolis teachers — there was one, in particular, who was raising money to take fifth-grade students at Green Central Park School to Wolf Ridge Environmental Center. My readers really came through for her, and her students were able to make the trip, which is amazing. She has another class of fifth graders, and is fundraising again for another trip. It would make me very happy if my readers supported this project. Even if you disagree with me on everything and you drop by to find out who not to vote for, I’m clearly useful to you, so donate to let a bunch of kids go to Wolf Ridge, people.
SO HEY, ON TO TRASH. Here’s the question on the ballet:
CITY QUESTION 1 (St. Paul)
Referendum on whether Ordinance ORD 18-39 should remain in effect.
Should Ordinance ROD 18-39, entitled “Residential Coordinated Collection”, remain in effect for residential trash collection in St. Paul? Ordinance 18-39 creates new rules for the collection and disposal of trash and payment for trash service; and requires that certain residential dwellings have trash collected by a designated trash hauler. A “yes” vote is a vote in favor of keeping Ordinance ORD 18-39. A “No” vote is a vote to get rid of Ordinance ORD 18-39.
If you’d like to read the actual ordinance as written, it’s here (or, hey, the anti’s have it on their site in PDF form.)
Short answer: I’m voting yes.
Election 2019: St. Paul School Board
It’s election season! But only in St. Paul — Minneapolis is not voting on anything. Here in St. Paul, we’ve got the following:
- Saint Paul School Board (vote for 4)
- Saint Paul City Council
- Garbage pickup referendum
This means {heavy sigh} that I’m going to have to actually write about the trash pickup issue. Spoiler: I come from Minneapolis, always thought it was ridiculous that St. Paul didn’t have municipal pickup, and have minimal amounts of sympathy for people who don’t think they should have to pay for a municipal service just because they use less of it; that way lies “why should I pay for libraries when I don’t read.”
Anyway, I do feel like I need some information that I still need to research before I can do a truly comprehensive write-up on that one, so in the meantime, I’ll take a whack at the school board race. Here’s who’s running:
Charlie Castro
Omar Syed
Jennifer McPherson
Elijah Norris-Holliday
Jessica Kopp
Tiffany Fearing
Steve Marchese
Zuki Ellis
Ryan Williams
Chauntyll Allen
You get to vote for four. This vote is not ranked. It’s a non-partisan race, but the DFL City Convention endorsed three candidates (Zuki, Steve, and Chauntyll) and then couldn’t settle on a fourth.
Election 2018: 2nd District (Ramsey County) Judge, Court 2
The two candidates on the ballot:
DeAnne Hilgers (Incumbent)
Thomas Andrew Handley Jr.
Election 2018: School Funding
Both Minneapolis and Saint Paul are running a school funding levy referendum this year.
In Minneapolis, there are two questions:
Approval of School District Referendum Revenue Authorization
The Board of Special School District No. 1 (Minneapolis Public Schools) has proposed to increase its general education revenue by $490.00 per pupil. The proposed referendum revenue authorization would increase each year by the rate of inflation and be applicable for seven years beginning with taxes payable in 2019, unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.
Shall the increase in the revenue proposed by the board of Special School District No. 1 be approved?
AND:
Approval of School District Capital Project Levy Authorization
The Board of Special School District No. 1 (Minneapolis Public Schools) has proposed a capital project levy authorization in the amount of 2.249% times the net tax capacity of the school district to provide funds for the purchase, installation, and maintenance of software applications and technology equipment, and for training and directly related personnel costs. The proposed capital project levy authorization will raise approximately $12,000,000 for taxes payable in 2019, the first year it is to be levied, and would be authorized for seven years. The estimated total cost of the projects to be funded over that time period is approximately $84,000,000.
Shall the increase in the revenue proposed by the board of Special School District No. 1 be approved?
In St. Paul, there is one question:
Revoking Existing Operating Referendum Revenue Authorization; Approving New Authorization
The school board of Independent School District No. 625, Saint Paul Public Schools, has proposed to revoke the school district’s existing operating referendum revenue authorization of $704.52 per pupil and to replace that authorization with a new authorization of $1179.52 per pupil. The proposed referendum revenue authorization would increase each year by the rate of inflation and be applicable for ten years, beginning with taxes payable in 2019, unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.
Shall the school district’s existing operating referendum revenue authorization be revoked and the increase in revenue proposed by the school board of Independent School District No. 625, Saint Paul Public Schools, be approved?
Saint Paul has a Vote Yes site.
Minneapolis has a Vote Yes Twice site.
There does not appear to be any organized opposition to either initiative.
Election 2018: Ramsey County Commissioner, District 3
I wrote about this during the primaries and would probably not have written about it again, but I got a cranky e-mail from Janice Rettman’s assistant (from a personal e-mail account, so there’s no particular reason to assume Janice sent her my way) wanting to set the record straight on a few things, so here we go.
On the ballot:
Trista MatasCastillo (endorsed by the DFL)
Janice Rettman (incumbent)
Election 2018: Ramsey County Sheriff
There are two candidates for Ramsey County Sheriff: Jack Serier, who’s the incumbent but fairly new to the job, and Bob Fletcher, who was the Ramsey County Sheriff from 1994 to 2011.
Elections 2018: Saint Paul Ward 4 City Council, SPECIAL ELECTION AUGUST 14
Do you live in Saint Paul Ward 4? Then on August 14th, in addition to having a bunch of primaries, you also have an actual real election. That’s right, your City Council race is not a primary. (We have Instant Runoff Voting in St. Paul city races, so primaries in those are not a thing.)
On your ballot, and you can rank them in order of preference:
Mitra Jalali Nelson
Shirley Erstad
David Martinez
Elections 2018: US Representative, District 4
There’s a primary here, but not much of one; I figure I can knock this one out before I go to bed.
On the ballot:
Muad Hassan
Reid Rossell
Betty McCollum
Saint Paul Elections: Naomi’s Sample Ballot
Here’s how I’m ranking the people on my ballot.
Mayor
- Melvin Carter
- Elizabeth Dickinson
- Pat Harris
- Dai Thao
School Board (unranked)
Marny Xiong
Jeannie Foster
John Brodrick
You can read all my analysis on the St. Paul races here.
And, hey, was my analysis useful to you this year? Are you thinking to yourself, “wow, I wish this fine person had a Patreon link”? I do not have a Patreon link, but you could buy a copy of my latest book (a short story collection) or one of my two ebook-only collections (Comrade Grandmother or Gift of the Winter King). Or! For a limited time only (the next month), you can donate to my fundraiser for the Bridge For Youth! (Because it’s specifically my fundraiser I can see how much my fans have donated, which is pretty awesome.) The Bridge for Youth is a Twin Cities non-profit that provides counseling, support, shelter, and services (including long-term transitional services) to homeless teens (and even younger children — their shelter houses kids as young as ten.)
Will Tell Stories For Food 