Minneapolis Greens withstand DFL attack
Win city council and park board seats
By Mike Feinstein 
Green Party of California

In a municipal election defined in part by the attempt of Democrats (Democrat-Farmer-Labor or DFL) to eliminate the Green Party from local relevance, Minneapolis Greens fought back and came through scathed but alive, with two impressive victories, along with two bitter defeats.

Cam Gordon won a new seat on the city council in Ward 2, while incumbent Annie Young retained her seat on the nine-member park board.

Gordon, who lost by 108 votes in 2001, offered voters a vision of a city with strong neighborhoods where residents have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives, where the environment is protected and where everyone has access to the rich economic, educational and cultural opportunities Minneapolis has to offer. He articulated ideas for improving policing, enhancing transit, supporting small businesses, ending housing discrimination and making Minneapolis a greener, more walkable, more environmentally sustainable city. 

Despite being outspent by almost three to one and taking no campaign contributions from political action committees or developers, Gordon ran a stunning grassroots campaign. Together with an all-volunteer team under the guidance of manager Robin Garwood, he knocked at the door of nearly every residence in the ward at least twice, reaching out to the large University of Minnesota student population and recent immigrants, as well as to longtime residents.

Citywide in the nation's largest municipal elected park district, Young won a fifth term (third as a Green), finishing third of six candidates for three seats. Her passion for representing the inner city, the excluded and the ignored marked her campaign, as she again promised to continue seeking a voice for all community stakeholders. Known for asking the hard questions on the board, Young has chaired the Operations and Environment Committee, and sits on the Planning and Administration and Finance committees. Young sees her role as a steward of the land, with a firm commitment to what she calls the "three E's: environment, economics and social equity, the three legs of the stool called sustainability."

But these victories were bittersweet because of the losses by the two Green city council incumbents, Dean Zimmerman and Natalie Johnson Lee, both of whom had had their districts blatantly gerrymandered by the DFL in an attempt to take them out of office. As a result, both were pitted against other incumbents, Zimmerman losing by 46 votes and Johnson Lee by 325.

In addition, Zimmerman was targeted in a suspiciously timed raid by the FBI days before the Sept. 13 primary. They took all of his campaign records just as the campaign was about to embark on its pre-election "get out the vote" efforts. Headlines were generated at the time, but subpoenas for two Greens were dropped within hours of the seizure. As of election time, the raid had not led to any charges.

With the DFL long dominating municipal politics, the success in 2001 by Minneapolis Greens-electing Zimmerman, Johnson Lee and Young, and almost electing Gordon-alarmed the local Democratic establishment, especially when Greens were beating Democrats straight up in the city's top two runoff municipal general elections.

By taking a major DFL hit and still retaining a presence on the city council and park board, the Minneapolis Greens have staked an even deeper claim to second-party/opposition status in the city. In addition to Gordon, Zimmerman and Johnson Lee, newcomers Aaron Neumann, Ward 3 (28 percent), and Dave Bicking, Ward 9 (30.5 percent), also made strong showings, while Dave Berger garnered 13.4 percent of the vote in his citywide run for Minneapolis Board of Estimates and Taxation. His platform was to increase the transparency, inclusivity and flexibility of this board, which, he argued, is particularly important now due to the cuts in local government aid. The board will be called upon to fill budget gaps through a variety of local taxes and assessments. Meanwhile in nearby St. Louis Park (the first suburb west of Minneapolis) city council candidate Ann Thomas received 45 percent in Ward 1 in her bid to unseat a DFL incumbent.

In his own words:

Cam Gordon is elected to the Minneapolis city council

I won in a historic DFL stronghold (at least in the near past, like 1970 to today) against a DFL-endorsed candidate embraced and supported by the DFL leadership, including both DFL state reps (one her husband), the two most recent (current and former) council members from the ward, the University of Minnesota DFL, a bunch of other DFL groups and virtually all the labor unions. She also had several major independent expenditures (mailings) done on her behalf and took in a lot of PAC money. I was outspent almost three to one. I took no PAC money and no money from people involved in development projects in the city. We spent under $15,000. (I would bet the least of any city council winning campaign in the city.) I had no paid staff or paid consultants but an enormous grassroots people-powered effort and tons of volunteer help.

I also won as a complete and total Green; everyone knows it and knew it. I am a founding member of the state party, former state chair (as recent as 2002) and founding chair of the local Minneapolis/Fifth District Green Party. Yes, I have a long history of local neighborhood involvement and experience in city hall, but I also have an enormously public history as a Green activist and party leader. I ran with the Green principles front and center, and, I would say, play that up in any party press release. Let the people know that I came up through the Green ranks and won.

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