and the next mayor of Eden Prairie will be....?

I honestly have no idea.

I have no particular reason for saying so, but I have to believe the race is pretty tight.  Neither candidate, it seems to me, has delivered knock-out punch.  I think they've both done all the predictable things--debates, yard signs, door knocking, etc.,  but all of those are primarily good for establishing your base of name recognition.  Voters don't really pay much attention to local races until the last ten days or so before the election. Life is simply too busy.

This is the time to distinguish yourself from the competition. Make a final argument, preferably in a manner that doesn't give your opponent a chance at rebuttal.  I've said it before and I'll say it again--for a local race nothing is more effective than a compare/contrast mail piece the week before the election. 

One of our current council members tried this two years ago, labelling himself the "low tax guy."  It was a nice piece but he mailed it too early; the target of the add had enough time to do a last minute mailer of his own.

If I were in the mayor's race I would mail a mailer tomorrow--Wednesday. Mail it bulk and most residents will receive it Friday or Saturday--perfect.

Crunch time for Tom Horner

It's a week to the election and Horner's numbers don't look so hot.  The Strib tried to help him by issuing their endorsement a week earlier than usual--I guess if  you're gonna pick a candidate you might as well do all you can to help him win. But, there's been no bounce.

The problem, it seems to me, is that a fair number of those who picked Horner in the earlier polls did so because they thought he was the best candidate; now, some of those former supporters want to get behind the best candidate with a chance of winning.  Horner hasn't done anything wrong.  But, he hasn't inspired anyone, either.

I don't exactly remember how Ventura pulled it off 12 years ago. I know that a lot of people were turned off because it seemed that both Coleman and Humphrey were busy playing defense--they didn't seem to take a stand on anything.  But, how Ventura took that disdain and turned it into votes for him I don't recall. I remember shock at how many of my family members actually voted for him.

Can Horner do the same?  I think that ship has sailed, if ever it was docked.  Now it seems the real question is how low will Horner's numbers be on election night.  Will he sink below 10%? 

sideline chatter

I was at my third grader's last football game about a week ago. I noticed a group of parents talking feverishly.  All of a sudden a mom comes my way--"you're the mayor, aren't you?" she asks.  Very few good conversations start this way.

Luckily, she didn't have a complaint about the city. She was upset about the school district boundary changes. She lives in Bearpath and explained that although her kids don't attend Cedar Ridge, she is worried that property values in Bearpath will fall if kids no longer go to a neighborhood school. She wanted to know from me whether it was easy to find out how much property tax is generated by Bearpath. 

This school issue is very curious.  It won't go away.  Parents are angry.  That's not good for anyone, except maybe the local newspapers. 

endorsements on the prairie

Two quick points about this week’s endorsements from the local paper.

First, why do local papers endorse for political office?  Why should their opinion matter? And what exactly does it mean for a candidate to have a newspaper endorsement?

If a candidate is endorsed by a political party, most would understand that the candidate shares the views of that party.  If a candidate is endorsed by a labor union it again is easy for voters to understand how that candidate feels about certain issues based on logical assumptions from the endorser.  In either case voters have information about what the endorsement means and can use that information to decide whether to vote (or not) for that candidate.

I submit the same does not hold true for local newspaper endorsements. I submit that voters don’t really know what that endorsement means.  I believe local newspaper endorsements are less valuable to voters than either political party endorsements or even union endorsements.

Second point–the Eden Prairie News is biased in favor of liberals.  None of the three GOP members of the city council has ever received an endorsement from that paper–that’s 0-6 in my book.  The highest vote getter ever for a council seat–no endorsement. The most votes ever for mayor–no endorsement.  Either the voters are wrong, or the newspaper is. Which do you believe?

Our current state senator is running for his third term.  He is one of the most intelligent and honorable public servants I’ve ever met.  He’s never been endorsed by the News.

Sure, the News has endorsed candidates for House seat 42B.  And these candidates have deserved to be endorsed–we’ve always had great people in that seat. But, it’s also true that 42B is one of, if not the, most Republican seats in the state. And, the DFL has had a hard time putting up decent candidates for what is really a hopeless cause. I’m convinced that if the DFL had better candidates for that seat that our local paper would endorse them, too.

I think that’s what I like least about newspaper endorsements–they pretend to be unbiased, but they’re really not.  At least come out and say that you prefer liberal candidates.  Then at least voters will know what to do with your endorsement.

city liquor

I've always had mixed feelings about city liquor.  I think our enterprise is well run, fairly priced, and friendly.  And, it generates money which the city uses for capital expenditures.  But, I don't like that we've shut private business out of selling liquor in town.  If the city wasn't in the liquor business I would not support us getting into it for that very reason; but getting out of the business is a harder nut to crack.

We recently remodelled our liquor stores and I was not a fan of how we decided to do that. Too much space in two of the stores. And, expensive finishes.  If our niche business was $50 wines, then sure--use all the granite and mahogeny that you want. But,that's not our niche.

At the end of the day most people want convenient stores and low prices. That's how you make money in the liquor business. You don't need tasting bars or unneeded space.

I went to the new Haskells in Chanhassen today.  No fancy finishes there. And, plenty of boxes on the floor; no square inch left open.  And man was it packed. 

I find the same thing at Trader Joe's. Tiny stores.  But, they move a lot of wine.

Know your customer.  Configure your stores accordingly. 

Kid gloves with Dayton

I read the Strib's story on Dayton yesterday. As predicated they softened the blow on virtually any fact which could be used against him.

A week ago the Strib found a lawyer who practiced with Emmer in the early 1990s and who was critical of Emmer's work ethic and ability to work files.  They offered no positive comment from any lawyer who has more recent experience with him.

Yesterday, the Strib discussed what it simply couldn't ignore--Dayton's fearful closing of his senate office. But, rather than let readers draw their own conclusions about the reasonableness (or lack thereof) of this act they softened the blow by getting former (and Republican) U.S. Attorney Heffelfinger to defend it. 

This distinction in treatment may not seem significant to more casual readers of the Strib, but I think it speaks volumes.

Horner for Governor?

Well, at least so says the Star Tribune.  Predictable endorsement if you've been following the Strib coverage of the governors race.

I've said before Horner seems a decent guy. But, I found the Strib endorsement lacking.  I've never been a big fan of the argument that (fill in the blank politician) will either "reach across the aisle" or "end gridlock," etc.  Not because I don't think those are laudable goals--I just think it's an easy sound bite which no one has really delivered on (or really tried for that matter).

I still remember all the soundbites from then-candidate Obama--e.g. "we are the change we've been waiting for."  Huh? But people lapped it up.

But, with the endorsement now in hand, let's see if Horner can grow in the polls. He's slipped a bit, to 14%. He'll need to be in the 20s, I think, pretty soon if he has any chance of winning this thing.