Couple of thoughts:

-I don't see coverage of the election on the DNT website, definitely not one if their five top stories in the scroll last time I checked. Embarrassing/shameful that the local paper doesn't cover local elections.

-The at-large numbers should be votes earned/votes cast, so Larson and Krug each got about 74 percent of the people who did vote to vote for them.

-Halberg had a great night but I think a lot of the votes cast for candidates who didn't make it through the primary will end up with Krause. That's going to be a big battle.

Thanks for that information, Claire.  I am all for the day when our GLBT friends can marry just as I was able to.  And in any event, can someone tell Riley that there are other important issues for Council members to worry about, like, oh, say, the closing of libraries, Parks/Recreation funding cuts, etc etc etc.

Hi all, Chad Smith here.  I'm a regular reader and infrequent poster here at PDD.  My fliers for the next round are definitely going to be much more specific.  They'll be heading out soon.

If you've got any questions, I can answer them here, or my email address is [email protected].  Hope this helps!

I'm psyched but gotta admit I'm surprised that Halberg bested Krause in the primary. Krause -- to his credit as a campaigner -- has blanketed Duluth Heights with campaign signs which seemed to indicate an overwhelming level of support for him. 

I think the results point to an upper/lower urban/suburban divide within the 4th district. I for one will be working to encourage voter turnout down the hill; Halberg is much better aligned with the concerns of the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Wasn't Krause the one who got all riled up when his name was included on the Bentleyville Naughty list? It made me like Stauber more, b/c he laughed and said, yeah, he could be pretty naughty!

And didn't Krause have a hissy fit over Burrito Union moving into a building near a park and serving beer and other adult beverages? He thought it was going to corrupt children playing in the park or something?

The guy has no sense of humor.

I'll support the drummer of the RHCP's run for City Council.

As for the Halberg/Krause race, it just goes to show that yard signs don't vote-- nor do people with such signs if they don't actually support the person who stuck the sign in their yard.  I suspect that all the Krause signs actually helped Jackie Halberg because they just reminded a whole lot of people how much they don't want Krause back on the council.

Iron Oregon: not that it matters a lick, but since you used anecdotal evidence to color a candidate, allow me to counter by adding that when I was teaching as part of the CLA when Krug was dean, I and many of my colleagues had no problem with her and thought she was a fine administrator open to ideas, even from lowly adjuncts like myself. So like every candidate in a a political race, I guess some people have a problem with her and others don't. Imagine that, right here in Duluth people don't all have the same opinion of someone running for office!

Regarding the Krause yard signs...If you drive through neighborhoods in the 4th district you'll see FAR fewer Krause yard signs. It seems he has done a very good job talking to folks along the major corridors to get visibility up...but he doesn't have nearly the same level of success throughout the district.

Also, back to the at-large percentages - breaking down the votes by percents with the at-large is a little confusing either way. The way the city does it the total for all candidates will be 100% but no single candidate can get more than 50% of the vote. The alternative is to have the total of all candidates add up to 200% and a single candidate could (conceivably) earn votes from 100% of voters. Tuh-may-toe/Tuh-mah-toe, let's call the whole democracy thing off.

I was also surprised when I saw Krause was bested by Halberg. It seemed like Piedmont and Lincoln Park had a ton Krause signs pop up almost overnight. And judging by the signs, it seemed like he was going to win by a landslide.

The government isn't broken. Politics is.

Gary Krause always did strike me as being a bit self-righteous, so no surprise that would be his main talking point.

rsoderlund, you are right on, I can't believe people who vote because of the candidate's name or whatever and have no idea where that person stands. I read campaign literature, I read the DNT, I do pay a lot of attention to DFL endorsements, and I talk to friends about candidates. I pay most attention to the candidate's own words, either by talking to them, reading their literature, or their commentary/responses to questions asked them in the DNT candidate profiles.

Maybe it was Santa's elves? 

(Seriously though, 125 signs? That's more than the random damage/theft that happens around election. I know I was more than pissed when I've had a sign stolen from the front lawn. So, as much as I dislike Krause, and idly wonder if all those signs where stolen or just removed by the owners, it's not a cool maneuver to go around stealing or destroying them, as much as I'd like to on many occasion.)

On second thought, setting aside everything else as random speculation, you are right about the cost factor. A quick perusal online has costs for 500 signs ranging from about $1.50 to $2.50 each, wire frames for the signs .75 apiece. 

So uh, yeah. $6 a pop is poor use of funds.

Wow, for Krause to make such a big deal of the sign stealing -- which happens to EVERY candidate -- tells me he is desperate. And, when signs are stolen, it's usually kids and other pranksters -- not the opposing candidate's campaign. We lose signs practically every weekend in our years. It pisses me off, but it's the cost of being active in one's community and putting your views out there.