Secrets of the City

FYI- the salary database in the PiPress article lists my salary wrong. I’d be interested if the other state employees think the same thing.

“If they hold one of a few jobs exempted in statutes, such as medical doctors, medical specialists and information-technology staff.”

Ah – the last time I checked IT staff was still pegged to the scale so I wonder if an exemption has to be requested. Last year when I talk to the state about a position – the top pay was 30% less than what I can make in the private sector and they couldn’t (wouldn’t?) budge citing the law. So I stayed in the private sector. Its idiotic because MN is the only state that does this.

The MN Senate race just got a little stranger, folks. The daughter of former MN AG Miles Lord has thrown her hat in the ring.

I lived in this state for my whole life and I still don’t get how we get people on the final ballot for Senator.

1) We do the caucus, where we elect (?) delegates to the state convention, or is it to a local convention and they choose who goes on to the state convention?

2) The state convention happens and they endorse their DFL candidate. Everyone acts like this person IS the person who will be on the ballot.

3) But, oh wait, really that had nothing to do with it, because we have a primary that no one votes in.

Can we please just have IRV statewide?

It’s not as complicated as it seems. Party endorsements don’t place anyone on the ballot. Anyone can file for office under the party’s label. The party is free to give its endorsement to any candidate, but if more than one person files for a seat under that party there is a primary. The winner of the primary is then on the general election ballot.

A comic versus an ambulance chaser. How perfectly DFL is that?

Said the guy who votes for the party who voted into office an action filmmaker, Sonny Bono, and Gopher from The Love Boat.

But I’m sure your glass house is more stone-proof than most.

Maz, some of your political heroes are comedic actors.

Hey, quit pickin’ on Fred Grandy.

Here’s my real political hero.

A political cartoonist drew a picture of an old chimpanzee watching on television the inauguration of Ronald Reagan.

The caption read: “Not even a card.”

Means was in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

I lived in this state for my whole life and I still don’t get how we get people on the final ballot for Senator …

Unlike party nominations for president, I don’t think the caucus system has a whole lot to with figuring out who gets to run for any other public office. A caucus can determine a preference but it’s non-binding. As was pointed out earlier, the party convention will nominate a candidate … but that doesn’t prevent someone else afterward from seeking the same office under the same party affiliation. The final party nominee is determined at the primary level in September, at which point a candidate (e.g. Democrat/US Senate) wishing to run who doesn’t have the primary victory will have to run as an independent. (Didn’t Arne Carlson run as an Independent once when he lost a gubernatorial primary?)

Then again, voters are always free to write-in the name of anyone (or anything) they wish when they cast their ballots.

It’s too bad civics isn’t taught at the secondary school level anymore. I’m guessing this upcoming election is bringing out a lot of new voters who don’t understand what they’re really doing?

Voters seated in the boxed seats along the railings are asked to please do not throw anything (or anybody) on to the playing field. Smoking in the voting booth is not allowed. Noooooooooooooo smoking in the voting booth.

I’m guessing this upcoming election is bringing out a lot of new voters who don’t understand what they’re really doing?

They’ve all voted on American Idol. They pretty much know how it works.

Didn’t Arne Carlson run as an Independent once when he lost a gubernatorial primary?

IIRC, he beat Allen Quist in the 1990 Republican Primary after Quist won the endorsement.

Smoking in the voting booth is not allowed. Noooooooooooooo smoking in the voting booth.

Word.

The party may have turned its back on Carlson, but he never returned the favor. He always has identified himself as a member of the Republican Party.

Or is that Republic Party?

In any case, Arne was a pretty good gov.

It’s too bad civics isn’t taught at the secondary school level anymore. I’m guessing this upcoming election is bringing out a lot of new voters who don’t understand what they’re really doing?

But let’s be clear here. I’ve got a BA in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Policy and I still get confused.

I’ve never worked in the system since I’m a civil servant and a political independent, so I often forget that the caucus didn’t mean anything, even though up to today we all pretended that it did. Teach it all you want, but when the media and the party all act like the nomination was the end all and be all, some of us get confused when we hear it is not.