It's virtual caucus time!
Apr. 23rd, 2021 10:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkLiving in a one-party town kinda sucks. If you are interested in having a voice in selecting your local government representatives (city council, park board, school board, etc) you have to at least dip your toe into DFL party politics. If you just wait until the formal election, you will usually find that you have no real choices unless you want to vote for a token Republican or some wackadoodle who changed his name to "Captain Jack Sparrow" because he thought it would look nice on the ballot.
Usually I attend my precinct caucus, which gives me at least some minimal input into this process. This year we are doing virtual caucuses, not as a tedious Zoom meeting but as month-long online thing. This has the advantage of making it accessible to people who don't have the time or inclination to give up 3 hours on a random Tuesday night, and the disadvantage of being practically incomprehensible. It looks like I still have zero choice as far as my City Council member is concerned (it's Andrea Jenkins or nobody, and I don't think "nobody" ever wins). But I do care about the Park Board and mayoral endorsements, and I probably should care about the Board of Estimate and Taxation (which has attracted an astonishing four people vying for the endorsement). There seem to be competitive City Council races in Wards 7, 10, and 11. If you are in one of those wards I urge you to join in now. Or if you care about the Park Board, which you should because it impacts your life more than you think.
Anyway, Caucus Registration is open until the end of the month. You can find candidate information here.
After you register you will be asked to rank your favorite 5 or 6 candidates regardless of the office they are running for. This can seem utterly perplexing until you realize that what you are doing is not voting in a straw poll, but sub-caucusing. If enough other people like the same candidates that you did, you are in a sub-caucus. Then, later on, your sub-caucus elects delegates to the district convention (also virtual). I checked out the websites for all the candidates and unexpectedly found one I really liked: Risa Hustad for Park Board, District 6. In fact, I liked her so much that I checked the box saying that I would be willing to be a delegate for her sub-caucus if she gets one.
If anyone cares, my subcaucus rankings looked like this:
Usually I attend my precinct caucus, which gives me at least some minimal input into this process. This year we are doing virtual caucuses, not as a tedious Zoom meeting but as month-long online thing. This has the advantage of making it accessible to people who don't have the time or inclination to give up 3 hours on a random Tuesday night, and the disadvantage of being practically incomprehensible. It looks like I still have zero choice as far as my City Council member is concerned (it's Andrea Jenkins or nobody, and I don't think "nobody" ever wins). But I do care about the Park Board and mayoral endorsements, and I probably should care about the Board of Estimate and Taxation (which has attracted an astonishing four people vying for the endorsement). There seem to be competitive City Council races in Wards 7, 10, and 11. If you are in one of those wards I urge you to join in now. Or if you care about the Park Board, which you should because it impacts your life more than you think.
Anyway, Caucus Registration is open until the end of the month. You can find candidate information here.
After you register you will be asked to rank your favorite 5 or 6 candidates regardless of the office they are running for. This can seem utterly perplexing until you realize that what you are doing is not voting in a straw poll, but sub-caucusing. If enough other people like the same candidates that you did, you are in a sub-caucus. Then, later on, your sub-caucus elects delegates to the district convention (also virtual). I checked out the websites for all the candidates and unexpectedly found one I really liked: Risa Hustad for Park Board, District 6. In fact, I liked her so much that I checked the box saying that I would be willing to be a delegate for her sub-caucus if she gets one.
If anyone cares, my subcaucus rankings looked like this:
- Risa Hustad Park Board, District 6
- Jacob Frey Mayor
- Londel French Park Board at large
- Steve Brandt Board of Estimate and Taxation
- Aaron Zellhoefer Board of Estimate and Taxation
