Politics
The other Horton for Mayor song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trn06N7hzyE
The “Fighting for Duluth” song posted previously on PDD drew a fair amount of attention, and plenty of speculation that it was created as satire. The song in this post seems to have the full endorsement of Duluth mayoral candidate Chuck Horton. According to the credits, the music, lyrics and vocals are by Joe Tuttle, the slideshow was produced by Otiz Mac, and the “message and video are approved by Chuck Horton.”
Note: Normally PDD would not post a campaign ad as content, but in this case the argument can be made that there is entertainment value. And maybe a case for equal time. Let the battle of campaign songs begin.
“Fighting for Duluth”
A very unofficial Chuck Horton campaign song made by an anonymous local musician.
Question 3: Method for setting fee paid to Duluth city councilors
After publishing the Duluth 2015 General Election Sample Ballot, a question arose. We’ve been hearing a lot about ranked-choice voting and Lakeside liquor sales, but what’s the deal with question #3? (more…)
Mr. Nice For Mayor
Join the campaign here.
Mr. Nice Mayoral Campaign Event at Bent Paddle during Bradfest
Continuing his run for mayor, Mr. Nice gives the opening toast for the Bradfest fun run/bar crawl.
Join the campaign here.
Know Your Duluth Liquor Laws!
- Not in Our Neighborhood, Part 1: Buying Booze in Duluth 1934-1973
- Not in Our Neighborhood! Part 2: The Battles Over the Lakeside Liquor Law, 1973-Today
- The ‘Grande Dame’ of Lakeside (A profile of Myrtle Marshall, whose effort to keep the 1891 law in place has been mythologized.)
- Tempered by Temperance: Duluth & Liquor, 1870-1919 (Includes the creation of the 1891 Lakeside Liquor Law.)
- And Never on Sundays (Covers 1934-1973 liquor issues concerning music, dancing, women, etc.)
Mayor Ness banned from Labor Temple’s Wellstone Hall for life
From the Sept. 16 issue of Labor World:
Without opposition a motion was made, seconded, and carried to ban Don Ness from the Duluth Labor Temple’s Wellstone Hall for life.
Duluth 2015 Primary Election Results
With 41 out of 41 precincts reporting, Emily Larson and Chuck Horton are the winning candidates in the mayoral race, advancing to the General Election in November. Jay Fosle and Janet Kennedy advance in the Fifth District City Council race.
Duluth Mayor
(Top two candidates advance to General Election)
Emily Larson – 5,456 | 67.32%
Chuck Horton – 1,505 | 18.57%
Howie Hanson – 732 | 9.03%
James Mattson – 177 | 2.18%
John Socha – 111 | 1.37%
John Howard Evans – 51 | 0.63%
Thomas Cooper – 45 | 0.56%
Robert D. Schieve – 27 | 0.33%
Fifth District Duluth City Councilor
(Top two candidates advance to General Election)
Jay Fosle – 945 | 56.08%
Janet Kennedy – 671 | 39.82%
Allan Beaulier – 44 | 2.61%
Derrick Ellis – 25 | 1.48%
At-large Duluth School Board Member
(Top two candidates advance to General Election)
Renee K. VanNett – 3,351 | 44.70%
Alanna Oswald – 2,437 | 32.51%
Jim H. Unden – 1,708 | 22.79%
District Two Duluth School Board Member
(Top two candidates advance to General Election)
David Kirby – 1,044 | 58.65%
Charles Obije – 461 | 25.9%
Jane Hammerstrom Hoffman – 275 | 15.45%
You can’t put a campaign sign there
One of the more clever Facebook pages of recent times has to be “You can’t put a campaign sign there,” which launched on Sept. 9. The candidates probably didn’t place the signs themselves, of course, but it’s still amusing.
After three days, Chuck Horton leads the race with seven allegedly illegal sign placements, followed by Howie Hanson and Karl Spring, who each have just one. (That’s just counting the gallery images; it looks like there are also a few “visitor posts” that aren’t in the gallery.)
That’s quite a lead for Horton, but at this stage Perfect Duluth Day’s prognosticators still think it’s too close to call.
Duluth 2015 Primary Election Sample Ballot
Keep in mind:
District candidates will appear on the ballot only in the specified districts. Duluth City Council District 5 represents West Duluth and neighborhoods farther west. Duluth School Board District 2 represents the Endion, Congdon, Chester Park and Kenwood areas.
Welcome to Cotton, MN
It’s been a few years since we’ve checked in with the cluster of signs on private property along Highway 53 south of Cotton. Since we last documented the situation in 2010, the “Socialism is freedom in the rearview mirror” sign has been added above the old “Welcome to Cotton” sign. In the middle, two new signs have been added, replacing the old ones denouncing the “Nazi bastard post office.” There is also a tiny new sign above the group of signs on the right to help clarify that those signs were erected in June 2008.
One small touch that motorists might not notice without slowing down and stopping: There is quite a thick tangling of barbed wire surrounding the signs, with a warning that “injury” is “very likely” should anyone trespass.
We Need Nice
Follow Mr. nice on Twitter @mrnicerules and like Mr. Nice on Facebook here.
Public Officials with Cool Names
Brainerd Police Chief
Corky McQuiston
Bass Lake Fire Department Chief Marvin Mullet
Superior City Attorney
Frog Prell
Itasca County District Court Judge Korey Wahwassuck
Duluth 2015 Primary Election Primer
The filing period for Duluth city and school board offices closed on July 21. Below are the offices up for grabs and the names of those who filed. The Primary Election will be held Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Duluth Mayor
(Top two candidates advance to General Election)
Thomas Cooper
John Howard Evans
Jane Hammerstrom Hoffman (withdrew)
Howie Hanson
Chuck Horton
Emily Larson
James Mattson
Robert D. Schieve
John Socha
At-large Duluth City Councilors
(Two positions; no primary in this race, all four candidates advance)
Jim Booth
Elissa Hansen
Noah Hobbs
Kriss Osbakken
First District Duluth City Councilor
(No primary in this race; both candidates advance)
Gary Anderson
Karl Spring
Second District Duluth City Councilor
(No primary in this race; candidate is unopposed)
Joel Sipress
Third District Duluth City Councilor
(No primary in this race, both candidates advance)
Jay Cole (withdrew)
Barri Love
Em Westerlund
Fifth District Duluth City Councilor
(Top two candidates advance)
Allan Beaulier
Derrick Ellis
Jay Fosle
Janet Kennedy
At-large Duluth School Board Member
(Top two candidates advance)
Alanna Oswald
Jim H. Unden
Renee K. VanNett
District Two Duluth School Board Member
(Top two candidates advance)
Jane Hammerstrom Hoffman
David Kirby
Charles Obije
District Three Duluth School Board Member
(No primary in this race; both candidates advance)
Loren Martell
Nora Sandstad
Larson announces she’ll run for mayor
City Council President Emily Larson has announced she will run to replace Duluth Mayor Don Ness, who has said he will not seek a third term.
“I’m running for mayor because the next chapter for Duluth is critical,” Larson wrote on her Facebook page. “I’m running because our community’s continued progress will require new ideas, and because I want to ensure we write Duluth’s next chapter together.”
(more…)
Sunday DNT Article — Duluth Life 2.0
On the whole I think the Duluth News Tribune does a great job of covering Duluth. And maybe I am too sensitive but I struggle with the overall message of the article Minneapolis couple drops corporate jobs and makes living a priority with move to Duluth (at least how I perceive it). As my friend pointed out it seems like “the unspoken angle is that sacrifice has to be made to live in Duluth.”
(more…)
Mr. Nice: Running for Mayor Again?
Perennial candidate Mr. Nice at Duluth’s Red Herring Lounge on Oct. 12, hosting “There Will Certainly Be Sangria – Sunday Sermon,” shortly after Mayor Don Ness announced he will decline to run again.
Duluth 2014 General Election Results
With 4,106 of 4,106 precincts reporting, it’s a DFL sweep. Here are the statewide results for races relevant to Duluth.
FEDERAL OFFICES
United States Senator
Al Franken (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) – 1,053,156 | 53.14%
Mike McFadden (Republican) – 850,504 | 42.92%
Steve Carlson (Independence) – 47,544 | 2.40%
Heather Johnson (Libertarian) – 29,698 | 1.50%
United States Representative, Minnesota District 8
Rick Nolan (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) – 128,860 | 48.50%
Stewart Mills (Republican) – 125,201 | 47.12%
Ray “Skip” Sandman (Green) – 11,437 | 4.30%
(more…)
Norm Coleman wants you to vote for Sandman
Just got a creepy mailing here in upper Woodland that accuses Ray Sandman of being a liberal and out of touch on issues such as Polymet, minimum wage increase, and war. It made us want to vote for Sandman! — until I looked up who paid for the ad — the 501c4 PAC led by former Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman. A vote for Sandman is, unfortunately, a vote for Mills.
Last One Leaving Duluth Billboard – Myth Confirmed!
This (in)famous billboard has been discussed many times, but it seemed there was never any conclusive evidence of it’s existence, until now.
Mayor Fedo was able to dig up a copy from his records, thus solving the mystery of the billboard that kicked Duluth while it was already down.
- Duluth News Tribune – Former mayor confirms existence of Duluth’s fabled ‘turn out the light’ billboard
- Minnesota Public Radio – Duluth’s ‘Turn Out the Lights’ billboard confirmed
Howie Hanson vs. Don Ness – Are Duluth politics getting interesting again?
After a fairly long period of dormancy in mayoral politics in Duluth, Howie Hanson announced that he would be running for mayor in the next election, 14 months from now, prompting Don Ness to invite him to debate, even though he isn’t sure he’s running.
And now, just a few minutes ago, Hanson on Facebook publicly called out Ness to make his intentions known on whether he will run or not.
All of this is being done in a very public way.
After a long period of holding hands and singing “Kum Bah Ya” are we finally getting back to the down and dirty local politics Duluthians seem to love?
2014 Duluth General Election Primer
There are less than three months to study up; the General Election will be held on Nov. 4. Below are the races that will appear on ballots in Duluth, with links to the websites of candidates who have them.
FEDERAL OFFICES
United States Senator
Steve Carlson (Independence)
Mike McFadden (Republican)
Al Franken (Democratic-Farmer-Labor)
Heather Johnson (Libertarian)
United States Representative, Minnesota District 8
Ray “Skip” Sandman (Green)
Stewart Mills (Republican)
Rick Nolan (Democratic-Farmer-Labor)
(more…)
Duluth 2014 Primary Election Results
With 4,106 of 4,106 precincts reporting statewide, the full results are in. Listed are the races relevant to Duluth. (more…)