I posted this on MN Progressive Project yesterday -- it's a hyperlocal race, with little to nothing to do with the vagaries of national politics. But I know there are Minnesotans hanging around DK looking for ways to get involved at the local level too -- I welcome your help and support.
Hi folks! It's been a while since I've posted. If you noticed, thanks! If you didn't, I don't blame you. It's a sign of this community's quality that one of the site's principals can disappear for a couple of months and life in the blogs continues.
So where have I been? Here's the short version: in late October, Minnetonka City Council member Amber Greves announced that she would resign her seat, because she was moving with her family to Colorado. I got some strong encouragement from some folks close to the Council, discussed it with my wonderful wife. With her support, I decided that if the Council decided to hold a special election to succeed Amber, I would run.
They did, and I am. On February 14th, there will be a special election to fill the vacant At-Large B City Council seat, and my name will be on that ballot.
My platform is simple: we need new ideas and new leadership to lead Minnetonka forward. Our city has done pretty well weathering the storm of the past couple of years, but we still face significant challenges in the future. The same policies that led us where we are today aren't going to sustain the city's livability, our neighborhoods, or our small business community; we need to make Minnetonka a magnet for young families and young professionals looking to settle down and start families to keep our neighborhoods and small businesses strong.
The first thing I learned after officially announcing my candidacy was that I can't do this alone. I'm asking for your help: even if you don't live in Minnetonka, there are many ways you can help my campaign. Wherever you live, we all know that campaigns run on money, and this one is no different. If you can spare $10, $20, or $50, it would be a great help. If you live nearby, we'll be phonebanking and lit-dropping aggressively to get the message out to a relatively small universe of voters, and we'll need shoe rubber and phone skills to get that done.
I started blogging to build lines of communication, and later to build communities online, using the tools made available to us by the Internet. That same drive is what's informing my run for public office: to help citizens more effectively connect with and employ the services of local government, and to help that government be as efficient, open, and effective as possible. So while I might not be around the MPP front page on a daily basis going forward, know that the reasons I got into this blogging thing and the skills built up over six years of writing and communicating and community-building are being put to good use.
Of course, we still have a campaign to win. Please help in any way you can. And thank you for all you continue to do.