Left Out

One of my campaign principles is advocacy for the unengaged. In my experience, our political system ignores too many people. With my history as a non-party community activist, I know what it feels like to be an outsider. I’m running to help bring the outside in.

Amusingly, as I was typing my previous post about last night’s candidate forum, I received a call from the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. They wanted to know if I was voting next week. I said yes.

Then the caller asked which candidate I was voting for and listed four of the five names on the ballot. She didn’t mention me.

I told the caller that she didn’t list the candidate I was voting for. She just continued with her script, making sure I knew who the Federation had endorsed.

I suppose I should be mad. But I’m not. The Federation has sent me enough postcards to wallpaper a bedroom, too. I see it all as a symptom of the dysfunction in our city. I don’t think we get good results when money and connections rule politics. Instead of being angry, I’m out knocking on doors trying to make the system work better.