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The Morning After – Progressive Action Assesses Election 2006
By Barb Olsen
It’s never easy to have one of those “morning after” discussions just days after an election. The sense of victory is still new and inspiring, but the distress of election losses is still raw as well, amidst the sense of, “if only we’d done a little bit more...” All of which the local grassroots political group Progressive Action brought to the forefront when it hosted a forum recently to assess the November election.
The forum, titled “Miles to Go Before I Sleep, A Discussion of Election 2006,” brought in candidates Progressive Action endorsed in this election as well as in the past. In November’s election, Progressive Action endorsed Mark Ritchie for Minnesota Secretary of State, Patty Wetterling for U.S. Congress, Melanie Ford for St. Louis County Attorney, and Frank Jewell for St. Louis County Commissioner.
Progressive Action supports many progressive candidates in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin but reserves its endorsements—and the financial donation plus volunteer help that it offers with its endorsements—for those progressive candidates running particularly challenging or crucial races.
“Hi, I’m Melanie Ford… and I could be your next St. Louis County Attorney,” Ford introduced herself at the forum, with that kind of ironic humor that can arise out of extraordinary circumstances like hers. Ford’s squeaky-close race against 28-year incumbent St. Louis County Attorney Al Mitchell prompted a recount that is still ongoing, leaving Ms. Ford and her campaign yet uncertain of the outcome, particularly considering the vote-count errors that occurred in this race on Election Day.
Ford talked about her experiences in the campaign—the myriad of events on the campaign trail, the door-knocking, the knowledge and personal contacts she gained, and the frustrating sense that because she was up against a long-time incumbent she was viewed as too much of a long shot to be able to get as much help as she would have liked. Not until the votes were counted, it seems, did some begin to comprehend that Ford was indeed a serious contender.
Had progressive County Commissioner candidate Frank Jewell been able to turn just 104 more votes, he told the forum attendees, he would have defeated his opponent, incumbent Dennis Fink. Jewell remarked that despite the disappointment he would always appreciate the great times and the fun he had on the campaign, including fundraising events like the campaign’s beach volleyball marathon fundraiser, the people he met during his rigorous door-to-door campaign, the knowledge he gained of county government, and the close camaraderie of people who volunteered on his campaign.
Jewell said a particular concern for him in the campaign was the difficulty he experienced in getting the support he had hoped for from the local DFL. Though he was a DFL-endorsed candidate, Jewell explained, he was not able to get some of the lists he needed—such as voters’ lists and sign location lists—until just days before the election. A number of the other candidates in the room echoed this experience and asked for advice about how candidates can get better assistance in the future. Jewell did not rule out the possibility of another run for the St. Louis County Commission.
Fifth District Duluth City Councilor Russ Stover was endorsed by Progressive Action in his last campaign, back in 2003. Stover retraced some of the steps he’s taken during his two terms on the Council, including the ordinance he successfully sponsored requiring businesses receiving taxpayer subsidies to allow the streamlined union organizing system known as “card check neutrality.”
Minnesota District 8-A Representative Bill Hilty talked about his efforts to ensure Minnesota’s elections would be among the most open and fair in the country. Hilty was up for re-election this season and noted that his opponent in the 2006 election season worked far harder than his past opponent yet lost by a larger margin. Bill speculated that had that opponent worked harder still, perhaps he would have won by an even larger margin…!
Taking the discussion into the future, past endorsee and St. Louis County Commissioner Steve O’Neill talked about the prospect of the St. Louis County Commission passing a countywide smoke-free ordinance. “The clearest message we can send the Minnesota Legislature is to pass our own county ordinance, as a way of saying, ‘we want you to pass a strong smoke-free law so we don’t have a checkerboard of different rules and ordinances throughout Minnesota.’” Following this forum, at their November 27th meeting Commissioners voted 6 – 0 to place the smoke-free ordinance on the County Commission’s Agenda—a big hurdle on the road toward a county-wide ordinance. The discussion is in its earliest stages, and public hearings are yet to be held, but if the current resolution were to pass, St. Louis County could have a smoke-free ordinance in place by the summer of 2007, with smoke-free bars to follow in 2008.
Progressive Action member Mary VanEvera took the discussion to a national level, expressing her concern that despite some good news coming out of this election many pressing issues of national scope continue to be before us.
Progressive Action hosts forums throughout the year. They are free and open to the public. And anyone interested in keeping up with progressive local and national issues is invited to join in Progressive Action’s always-spirited email discussion group. For information about joining the email discussions or about Progressive Action, see www.prog-action.org or call 218-525-7343.
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Barb Olsen is one of the founders of Progressive Action and served as its first President. She is currently a member of the Progressive Action Steering Committee.
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