Election 2019: St. Paul City Council, Ward 6

This was supposed to be a race for an open seat, so there are a lot of candidates. Here’s the list:

Alexander Bourne
Kassim Busuri
Greg Copeland
Danielle Swift
Terri Thao
Nelsie Yang

Lots more info below.

Continue reading

Election 2019: St. Paul City Council, Ward 2

This is a relatively easy one because there’s an incumbent and then four candidates who range from “meh” to “under no circumstances ever.”

Running for this seat:

Rebecca Noecker (incumbent)
Sharon Anderson
Lindsey Ferris Martin
Bill Hosko
Helen Meyers (link just goes to The Militant, not an actual site for Helen Meyers.)

Continue reading

Election 2019: St. Paul City Council, Ward 1

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

Continue reading

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.)

YES
NO

Short answer: I’m voting yes.

Continue reading