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14.9.13 01:39 
MAYORAL CANDIDATE #13: BOB FINE (DFL (DEMOCRATIC FARMER LABOR))

Hey look, yet another way to enter a party or principle for a DFLer - and probably another free edit without amending the filing by our Elections folk. Gotta love the government! (Sure hope I'm part of it next year!) But let's get back to Mr. Fine. He BARELY lives in Minneapolis! He resides in Linden Hills awfully close to the border, but he does qualify. He filed on 8/5.

Fine, only 64, has been in public service for EVER - at least 15 years on the Park & Rec board, 18 years as a Civil Rights Commissioner, 28 years as a Hennepin County Conciliation Court Judge, Board of Estimate & Taxation, Zoning Board...one wonders why he hasn't already BEEN mayor, but I guess he's been busy doing some real work. He's also coached youth rec teams for almost 40 years. He's leaving the Park Board to run for mayor. I BELIEVE this is his first run for mayor, but obviously he's won several times for Park & Rec board. He's definitely earned his spot as one of the favored eight even if he's near the bottom of that group...which isn't necessarily a BAD thing, mind.

I have a great concern that someone has conned him into thinking lawn signs are really important, but maybe I'm wrong and they are. I'm also distressed that he wants to raise $100,000 (he reported having raised just under $4,000 in the most recent filing) because more money = more suspicion from me. (I'm still just under $30, all self-financed, and holding!)

Fine carries the special distinction of being the first (and thus far only) candidate to door knock on OUR door - I recognized him right away by his BOB FINE FOR MAYOR T-shirt and told him I was also running, but he STILL talked to me for a while. I asked him why he'd leave a position where he may have had more influence than the mayor had - he said he'd heard that one before, but he thinks the mayor's veto is a powerful tool. (Don't tell anyone, but I also think the mayor's veto is a powerful tool...but mostly for uniting the city council against the mayor. Still...)

Anyway, we had a nice talk that probably took up more of his valuable time that he should have bothered investing in me but that left me with a really good impression of him. He's either a good guy or a great politician...perhaps he's both. We could do a lot worse than Bob Fine! He'd make a Fine mayor! I'm really lazy with this profile!

Fine lets his Parks experience do almost all of the talking and take up most of his campaign - if you want his opinion on the stadium, good luck finding it. (He's said that knowing now what he knew then, he wouldn't be in favor of it, but it's super easy to say something like that after it's already happened.)

I honestly can't tell you if I'd be a better mayor than this guy or not - I really can't! I like him a lot, but I don't think he's got a shot. Am I right or wrong? It's YOUR vote!

NEXT: No relation

[ Just over a third of the way through! That's both good AND bad news. ]
14.9.13 00:43 
52 DAYS TO ELECTION DAY: I received a (get this) snail mail from Mr. Iverson, which appeared to be a printout of an email announcing a Candidate Forum for City Council (Wards 11 & 12), Mayor, Park Board and Bureau of Tax and Estimation taking place at the American Legion Post 99 on Wednesday, October 9. I think this is one I will try to go to (if my email to Mr. Iverson goes through) just for the people watching experience...also to see if the non-candidate attendees will outnumber the candidates. (Suspect it may not.)
13.9.13 23:33 
Amazing that we were able to watch a stream of such a big show like #CMLL80 live, free and legal. ¡Gracias @terradeportesmx!
13.9.13 23:31 
I'll give 'em this - the move that finally finished it and got the 3 count looked NASTY. #CMLL80
13.9.13 23:29 
RT @C_MoralesD: Volador JR pierde su máscara tras 17 años de carrera, su nombre es Ramón Ibarra Rivera, tiene 32 años y es oriundo de Monclova, Coahuila
13.9.13 22:13 
Blue Panther should have put up his armpit hair while he was at it #CMLL80
13.9.13 22:04 
@AKATheMaskedMan Was "Rooty Poot" uttered? (Lie to me if you have to.)
13.9.13 21:23 
@HackmanRSPW http://deportes.terra.com.mx/en-vivo/ahora/80-aniversario-del-cmll/
13.9.13 20:45 
Has Cubs been on TV yet? #CMLL80
13.9.13 20:43 
How does Terra know to deliver me an ad in English before the #CMLL80 stream? TECHNOLOGY!
13.9.13 19:28 
Listened to 808 State - 606
13.9.13 19:23 
Listened to The Undertones - Jimmy Jimmy
13.9.13 19:20 
Listened to Toby Keith - Frosty The Snowman
13.9.13 19:05 
Instant response to Jeffrey Alan Wagner's new YouTube ad: http://youtu.be/4lYHU6vEiDc #MPLSmayor #stribpol #MPLS13
13.9.13 17:02 
[+]
 Listened to Nero - Welcome Reality
13.9.13 15:58 
Can of Diet Dr Pepper
13.9.13 15:00 
SYMC closing quote: 25.08 ▲0.11 (Range: 24.75 - 25.22)
13.9.13 13:11 
[+]
 Listened to Justice - Audio, Video, Disco
13.9.13 11:44 
TGIC
13.9.13 11:32 
@TheKFV I must have needed that - thanks "brah" :)
13.9.13 11:24 
@dbrauer I'm probably just grumpy over the Wagner video - I'll be sure to let you know when I've finished my series (which is also insane)
13.9.13 11:21 
@TheKFV It's distressing that this is the kind of baloney that will get a candidate attention in this race, yes. I'm losing my idealism!
13.9.13 11:11 
@dbrauer "Insane?" Shouldn't EVERYBODY be doing this? (I'm only a third of the way through myself but I DO have almost two months left)
13.9.13 10:41 
YOGURT OF THE DAY: STRAWBERRIES 'N BANANAS #yogurtoftheday
13.9.13 10:35 
@jjyeley1 @ChicagolndSpdwy SPEED DICE: 8
13.9.13 09:59 
 Symantec (Roseville, MN)
13.9.13 09:56 
Listened to Cocoon - On My Way
13.9.13 09:54 
Listened to Giorgio Moroder - Underdog
13.9.13 09:49 
Listened to Judge Jules - Essential Mix 2013-09-07
13.9.13 09:47 
 U.S. Post Office (Minneapolis, MN)
13.9.13 03:14 @DomDerringer We should talk.
13.9.13 02:31 
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't note that MPD (correctly) flip-flopped on their decision to pull their open data. Again, bravo to MinnPost for making noise and getting results! (Link to MinnPost: Update: Minneapolis Police Department restores accessible data format)
13.9.13 02:27 
53 DAYS TO ELECTION DAY - MAYORAL CANDIDATE #11: JOHN CHARLES WILSON (LAURAIST COMMUNIST)

(Let's do a little catch up!)

Wilson, 47, collected bus schedules as a child and got more peculiar from there. On his campaign website (which currently has three pages - unlike his personal site, which has at least ten) he starts right off describing his time "locked up" in the mental health system. From his "What I Believe" page, he starts right off with "First and foremost, I believe that Laura Ingalls Wilder is God. This is due to visions I started seeing at the age of 15." and to be honest...this is kinda where he lost me. (I DID try to watch the video on his "party's" Facebook page but tonight I learned that even I have a breaking point when it comes to "opposition research.")

His principle is a combination of his Wilder-centered "religion" (although he also says he's an atheist) with good ol' fashioned communism ("the best form of government"). He had a Libertarian phase in high school, which may or may not have been a stepping stone to his committal.

The tagline on his campaign site is "Your 2nd Choice for Mayor of Minneapolis!" which is an interesting tactic in the Ranked Choice Voting era. (...even if I think he should be pretty close to your 35th choice.)

I have more Likes than him, and I am very thankful for that.

He lives in Whittier but has a lot of stuff in Seattle in storage - in fact, as I type this he's beginning a train trip to go get it. He'll be back next Sunday. I don't know how much of his stuff he can take on Amtrak.

Amongst other adjectives, I think my favourite one Wilson has used to describe his campaign is "non-hygienic" - I don't totally know what that means, but I believe he's probably the only one of the 35 to use the term. He also describes himself as a "psychiatric survivor" and has authored a autobiography entitled "The Conscience of a Communist."

He intends to run for office as long as he is alive. That sounds like he may have a pessimistic idea of how far he'll get this time around. This is his second run for mayor; in 2009, he received the coveted 11th place out of the eleven candidates, amassing 137 votes. (To his credit, he uses this result to rebuke accusations that his is a "vanity" candidacy, asserting that finshing 11th out of 11, behind the admitted non-serious candidate..." isn't exactly the greatest stroking of an ego. His Party or Principle THEN was "Edgertonite National," which I also believe ran a grand total of one candidate...although there may also have been a presidential run in there as well. Or maybe he was just president of that party. "Edgerton" is another manifestation of his transit fascination - and now we've come full circle.

I think I can honestly tell you I would absolutely be a better mayor than this guy. Am I right or wrong? It's YOUR vote!

NEXT: NOW we'll get to the only candidate to knock on my door while I was home (so far)
12.9.13 23:48 
54 DAYS TO ELECTION DAY - MAYORAL CANDIDATE #12: MARK ANDREW (DFL-DEMOCRAT-FARMER-LABOR)

Andrew, 62, is one of the chosen few to get regular coverage and "be taken seriously," I guess by virtue of his former stint as state chair of the DFL and 17 years on the Hennepin County board. Most people who pull opinions out of their collective asses seem to think that Andrew and Betsy Hodges are the top two and only people to pay attention to in this race. Or they're all working for Andrew or Hodges, not sure...although he has a HELL of a lot of Likes ("...for a Minneapolis mayoral candidate," I am quick to add.)

Interestingly, his party or principle as listed on his filing (he filed 8/5) is more than three words, but nobody from Elections called HIM to encourage HIM to amend HIS filing. Or maybe they did and he just declined like I did. But if not...clearly, he's an important candidate! I have a hunch he will be listed on the ballot as "Democrat-Farmer-Labor" and wonder how this could possibly get changed without an amended filing...granted, I don't wonder this enough to sue anybody, but...hmmm, but maybe that would get me some attention.........naaaah. (His handwriting is atrocious, by the way.)

He has a very ugly car and his team wear very ugly green T-shirts. He's super big on calling himself the "greenest" candidate, by virtue of his running the GreenMark consultant firm. At the same time, folks are wondering aloud how a lot of his friends/donators seem to CALL themselves green yet barely make any positive impacts on the environment in any appreciable manner...beyond spending money on Andrew, of course!

Cam Winton says that Andrew "has been bought and sold by every union in town," which not only raises concerns about Andrew, but about Winton, who has spent months pandering to anyone on any angle he can find, so the fact that he's actually gone negative against Andrew shows that at least HE feels that Andrew must be a frontrunner.

Andrew has also made a super big deal out of spending his entire life in Minneapolis, which I'm not sure is the kind of "experience" folks are actually looking for in a mayor.

I'm not terribly interested in giving you a lot of info on him because he's one of the small amount of folks sucking up all the news coverage. It's EASY for you to go check him out if you want, and believe me, I'm sure one of his many promises is one you'll agree with. I have WAY more fun with the guys nobody's heard of who have barely left a paper trail...they're more of a challenge to talk about.

I honestly can't tell you if I'd be a better mayor than this guy or not, but I have a real problem with anybody who is raising a large sum of money to run for this office, make a lot of promises to do stuff the mayor can't do and not to forget I am naturally suspicious of all of the "top tier" candidates, so naturally... I'm going to feel like I might make a better mayor! Am I right or wrong? It's YOUR vote!

But seriously - don't even give this guy your #2 or #3 vote. An Andrew administration would be no better than a Rybak one...and that's a terribly low bar as it is...

NEXT: The only candidate to knock on my door while I was home (so far) - NO WAIT! Oh no, I JUST noticed that I skipped one! And he was a FUN one! So NEXT: One of the fun ones
12.9.13 22:58 
Shhhhhh.....Daddy's head hurts RT @WOW_Wrestling: NEW WOW WEBSITE LAUNCHING TOMORROW!!! http://fb.me/2SW4OsrT3
12.9.13 19:40 I Googled Priyanka Chopra and still have no idea who she is
12.9.13 19:29 (Also, I may have been the only guy on twitter to use the plural apostrophe)
12.9.13 19:28 Brad Nessler's trip to the little boys' room isn't trending only because nobody watches @nflnetwork
12.9.13 18:20 
McDonald's (New Brighton, MN)
12.9.13 16:24 Jalapeno Cheddar
12.9.13 16:22 
24 oz bottle of Diet Dr Pepper
12.9.13 15:00 
SYMC closing quote: 24.97 ▼0.29 (Range: 24.36 - 25.18)
12.9.13 13:31 @webster Do any of the old files now look any different (or less "corrupted") to you?
12.9.13 13:30 RT @webster: MPD just posted the Excel file for August 2013 and said they will continue to post! http://www.minneapolismn.gov/police/statistics/crime-statistics_codefor_statistics
12.9.13 11:57 
Coffee
12.9.13 11:35 
YOGURT OF THE DAY: APPLE TURNOVER #yogurtoftheday
12.9.13 10:13 
 Symantec (Roseville, MN)
12.9.13 02:10 
MAYORAL CANDIDATE #10: JAMES EVERETT (GREEN PARTY)

Everett, 36, is described as both an "activist" and an "artist." He lives in Willard-Hay (activist for the north side) and founded the SubZero Collective (where his art is "positive hip-hop" - although their website doesn't appear to exist in 2013...and their MySpace profile didn't seem to survive the "new" MySpace transition. His LinkedIn title is "CEO/Freedom Fighter/" and yes, that's one slash too many.) He was also a former president of the greater Minneapolis NAACP.

He's another guy who filed early (8/2) but then may have been encouraged to amend his filing (8/13) - interestingly, he changed his "website" from a search on Facebook (which worked, at least...check out that quote from 2009's campaign!) to a bona-fide website address...but the domain name that doesn't actually exist. He also changed his phone number and email address (from a yahoo.com account to a gmail.com one) ...I suspect that neither address works. On the other hand, he has about 30 more Likes than me.

Like I said up there, Everett ran for mayor in 2009, where he amassed 357 votes (0.79%), finishing eighth out of eleven. In 2009, he ran as James R. Everett - alas, I don't know what the R stands for. He's also run for school board and although technically he was never on the ballot, he made some noise out of a run for governor in 2006. (He may have been a write-in.)

Like Doug Mann, Everett didn't seek out the Greens' endorsement. I have no idea what this might say about the Greens, or about Mann and Everett. (Mann and Everett don't seem to have a whole lot in common other than they both declared "Green Party" as their party or principle.)

I'm probably not supposed to say stuff like this, but I had to scroll waaaaaaaaay deep into his Facebook friends list to find a picture of a white person. (This MAY mean anyone voting for him probably won't rank me second, to my dismay.)

I honestly can't tell you if I'd be a better mayor than this guy or not, but I feel like I might be! Am I right or wrong? It's YOUR vote!

NEXT: One of the "serious" candidates
11.9.13 21:40 
55 DAYS TO ELECTION DAY: I am a big, BIG fan of "open data" - public data gathered when public funds are spent deserves to be public. This should be a no-brainer! This move to make it more difficult to get public data in a usable form is the exact opposite direction Minneapolis should be moving when it comes to allowing free, easy access to "what's going on" in our city. Bravo to MinnPost for this story - please stay on it! (Link to MinnPost: Minneapolis Police Department responds to data format questions)
11.9.13 21:35 
I hope every #MPLSmayor candidate denounces this move; I'll go first. MPD is moving in the wrong direction http://www.minnpost.com/data/2013/09/minneapolis-police-department-responds-data-format-questions #opendata
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