Key advances in Minneapolis elections
By Mike Feinstein
Green Party of California

Karen Clark, Dean Zimmermann and Cam Gordon at a Green Party  pre-parade gathering. All three are Green Party candidates for  Minneapolis City Council. Photo: www.votedeanzimmerman.org

In 2001 the Green Party of Minnesota achieved a historic victory by electing two members to the 13-member Minneapolis City Council, coming within 80 votes of winning a third, and re-electing Minneapolis Park Board member Annie Young.

In part this was possible because Minneapolis politics is dominated by the Democratic Party (called Democratic-Farmer-Labor or DFL), and because of the "top two" run-off process for municipal elections. In some general elections Greens have been able to go straight up against Democrats. Without the accusation of "helping to elect a Republican" in a three-way race, many voters are choosing and electing Greens.

This has scared the DFL so much that in 2002 party leaders, used to hegemony, engineered a redistricting process to marginalize the Green city councilmembers. As a result, Dean Zimmermann was drawn out of the ward from which he had just been elected and forced to run against the incumbent council vice-president this year.

	Natalie Johnson-Lee, incumbent, is facing an election in which her district was redrawn. Photo: Courtesy Natalie Johnson-Lee

Natalie Johnson-Lee, a Jamaican-American council member, also had her ward dramatically redrawn in a way that packs the African-American vote, by removing industrial and downtown portions and replacing them with some of the poorest, most crime-ridden areas of the city. An especially unjust result is that Johnson-Lee now must race the council's only other African-American, a popular candidate also running for a second term.

Into this milieu, nine Minneapolis Greens and one in St. Paul contested the Sept. 13 primary. In the face of stiff DFL opposition, five city council candidates advanced to the November general election run-off, along with Young for park board and Dave Berger for tax board.
Zimmerman's campaign issues include more responsive user-friendly city government, better transit options, economic diversity through small businesses and low-cost housing, a renewable energy policy, police accountability and safe neighborhoods. He finished second in the primary with 44.3 percent.

A Green officeholder since 1997 when he was elected to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Zimmermann had to move his residence to run for re-election because of the redistricting, which placed his former home a few blocks outside the new borders of Ward 6.

Johnson-Lee advanced to the November election automatically because only she and her opponent filed in her race. A fighter for the rights of the underserved and working poor, Johnson-Lee's campaign focuses on economic development through small business job creation, as well as crime reduction and safer neighborhoods, improving educational and vocational opportunities for families to encourage self-reliance and expand positive outlets for youth, and more home ownership, affordable rentals and senior housing.

Some of Johnson-Lee's accomplishments in her first term include bringing Cub Foods to North Minneapolis when Target Corporation left the neighborhood, the completion of the new Sumner Library and the city's biggest housing project, Heritage Park, a $200 million initiative.
In Ward 2 Cam Gordon, who lost by 108 votes in 2001, came in second of five (37.1 percent) and advances to November, also on an agenda favoring small businesses, affordable housing, improved transit and increased resident input. 

In Ward 3 Aaron Neuwmann finished second of five (17.6 percent) and in Ward 9, Dave Bicking finished second of four (25 percent), both also advancing to November.

Young is seeking her fifth term for park board and advances after finishing first of eight (18 percent), to be one of three candidates competing for one at-large seat. Known for asking the hard questions on the board, Young chairs its Operations and Environment Committee and sits on the Planning and Administration and Finance Committees. She sees her role as a steward of the land, with a firm commitment to what she calls the "Three Es": Environment, Economics and Social Equity.

For the first time, Greens also ran for the Minneapolis Board of Estimation and Taxation, which sets maximum tax levies for the city's general fund, park and recreation fund, library general fund and public housing fund. The board also reviews selected city department budgets and may vote to issue and sell bonds. Berger, who ran as a Green for state auditor in 2002, finished fourth of seven (9.7 percent) and also advances to November for two seats.

He is running on a platform of increasing the transparency, inclusivity, and flexibility of this board, which is particularly important because due to the decrease in local government aid, the board will be called upon more and more to fill budget gaps.

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