Guilty of Neglect

Minneapolis Here is the charge by a reader of my SD63:

I check out your web site every now and then. So far, you haven't had much to say about the mayoral race as well as the 13th Ward City Council race - which covers a good chunk of 63A on the Minneapolis side.

I confess, I have neglected my neighbors and fellow SD63 members to the north in Minneapolis. How, well as I mentioned here, '05 is still an election year for people. So let's start with the Ward 13 City Council spot. Barret Lane is retiring and leaving an open seat in this ward. Voters will see three names on the ballot for Tuesday's primary. First they will see the DFL endorsed Betsy Hodges, independent Democrat Lisa McDonald and independent Mike Hohmann. Here is an article just published today in the Southwest Journal. Read this at you own risk because this is the second article I have read in this publication. I also like this City Pages article which provides some good background and insight into the race. The article is from April 2005, but I think it is worth the read. If found these paragraphs from the City Pages article to be very intersting.

Yet the three campaigns largely agree on what issues are crucial for the city. All of them list fiscal responsibility as their first priority, given the city's ongoing budget shortfall. They give the obligatory nod to public safety, noting that the reduced size of the MPD is cause for concern citywide, and not just in beleaguered neighborhoods. And they all pledge to maintain a level of basic services that are highly valued in the area: snow plowing, street repair, and the like. The 13th Ward, which encompasses the western shores of Lake Calhoun and a good chunk of prime real estate around Lake Harriet, has one of the wealthier bases in the city. Because of this, the area can often seem disconnected from some of the urban problems other neighborhoods face. "The 13th Ward doesn't want to be like the rest of them," says Minn. "People who live there live there by choice. They could live in any of the affluent suburbs nearby, like Hopkins, St. Louis Park, or Edina, but they live there because they are committed urbanists." So, the question becomes, which candidate can best reach out to the independent-minded voters who see City Hall politics as an annoyance? As Minn notes, there hasn't been a Democrat representing the area for 25 years. (He and the outgoing Lane are both independents.) If the feel-good liberalism of Minneapolis ever had any ring of truth, it doesn't necessarily play well in the southwest enclaves.

The exiting councilman, Lane, has given the nod to Hohmann and endorsed him as the best choice to replace him. Here are some other links to read:

• SWJournal Letters
• Hohmann reaction on Pension issue pointed out here by State Auditor Pat Anderson in the Red Star

I've spent a few short hours reading everything Google gave me and I will share one final quote from the Red Star summary published September 6th [emphasis added].

Because stability and affluence remain a trademark of the city's far southwest, its council member often assumes a wider portfolio. Former 10th Ward Council Member Lisa McDonald, trying for a comeback after losing her 2001 bid for mayor, hard-working newcomer Betsy Hodges, the DFL-endorsed candidate, and business consultant Mike Hohmann are all capable and well-versed on city issues. Hodges and McDonald emphasize an environmental approach. Hohmann offers a thoughtful, fiscally prudent analysis of city problems but may lack Hodges' collaborative capacity and McDonald's experience.

I think Mike Hohmann would get my vote Tuesday.