Starting with this one because there is just not a whole lot to say. Here’s who’s running:

Linea Palmisano (incumbent, DFL-endorsed)
Bob “Again” Carney, Jr. (“Climate Revolution Elephant”)

Linea Palmisano is one of the centrists on the Minneapolis City Council, and a staunch ally of Jacob Frey; I am not a fan.

Bob “Again” Carney is a perennial candidate whose hobby is running for stuff. He’s run for governor, mayor, US Senate, US House (though maybe not Ilhan’s seat, I think he ran in a special in some other district), I can’t even remember how many times. When he ran in 2023 for this same City Council seat, he had a website. I commented at the time, “All you really need to know about BobAgain is that his website still says he’s running for governor, and when he participated in the Ward 13 LWV forum he said that if he won the election, he would refuse to take office, thus (according to his theories) allowing Linea to stay in office.” He no longer even has a website that I could find (presumably he let the “votebobagain” registration expire).

I don’t want either of these people and Linea is in absolutely no danger of losing to Bob Again. I would abstain from this race in the hopes that seeing unenthusiastic turnout for Linea would inspire someone decent to run four years from now.

I have a new book coming out next June! This one is not YA; it’s a near-future thriller about an obstetrician who gets kidnapped by a cult because they want someone on site to deliver babies. You can pre-order it right now if you want.

I do not have a Patreon or Ko-Fi but instead encourage people who want to reward all my hard work to donate to fundraisers. This year I’m fundraising for YouthLink. YouthLink is a Minneapolis nonprofit that helps youth (ages 16-24) who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. (Here’s their website.) I have seen some of the work they do and been really impressed. (An early donor to the fundraiser added a comment: “YouthLink was incredible instrumental in my assistance of a friend to escape a bad family situation in Florida with little more than a computer and a state ID. Thanks to YouthLink and their knowledge of resources my friend was able to get a mailing address (which was essential in getting a debit card and formal identification documents), healthcare, hot meals, an internship at a local company, and even furniture for their new apartment.” — That is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about!)

I set up a fundraiser with a specific goal mainly because seeing the money raised helps motivate me. (Having external motivation helps. This is a ton of work and 2025 is a dumpster fire.)