Senate District 60 DFL Exec/Central Committee Meeting

(Our Central Committee is composed of our Directors, our 5 Officers, our 25 Precinct Chairs, our 50 Precinct Associate Chairs, and any member of the following central committees who resides within SD 60: Mpls DFL, Hennepin County DFL, CD 5 DFL or our State DFL plus any DFL-endorsed Elected Official who resides within SD 60)

On Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 (6:00 p.m. start)
at Van Cleve Park, 901 15th Ave. SE (accessible site).
Free parking is available; enter lot on Rollins Ave. Bus service is available along 15th Ave SE on Metro Transit Route 3.

Our agenda includes the following items:

1. Approving a simple Budget
2. Signing up Central Committee members to Working Committees
3. Discussing New Precinct maps and how they effect SD 60
4. Information on the Minneapolis DFL and Hennepin DFL Conventions
5. New Business

If you are unable to attend, please send your regrets to Gearloliver@gmail.com

To request disability related accommodations or transportation assistance, please contact Greg Oliver at 612-282-9058 (it would be helpful if you could request assistance the Friday before the meeting).

The DFL SD 60 Nominations Committee has now completed its work of Pre-convention Screening for SD 60 Officers and Directors. By unanimous consent of all 10 members of the committee, we offer the following Slate of Officers and Directors for consideration of the body at this Saturday’s SD 60 Convention:

Chair – Greg Oliver
Associate Chair – Ilhan Omar
Secretary – Mick Conlan
Treasurer – Steve Cross

SD Directors – Matt Brown
– Doron Clark
– Arvonne Fraser
– Jacob Frey
– Tomas Grim
– Sarah Larson
– Aaron Neumann
– Colleen Schroeder
State Central
Cmte Delegates – Steve Cross
– Chris David
– David DeGrio
– Catherine Dorr
– Eddie Holmvig-Johnson
– Mike Weinand

The Convention will be held Sat March 24 at Edison High School, 700-22nd Ave NE, 9AM registration, 10AM Call to Order.

If you are interested in applying for an officer or director position there is still time to do so. We have several spots yet to fill. Please complete the application and send it to alexispennie@gmail.com, then bring 10 copies for the committee to review at 9 am on Saturday. Applicants will be screened in order of arrival starting at 9 am this Saturday at the Nominations Committee Room at the SD 60 Convention :

Open Seats:
1 SD 60 Affirmative Action Officer
8 State Central Committee Alternates
4 SD60 Directors

We wish to thank all the folks who bravely stepped up to offer their time and talents to SD 60. If you did not get the one position you requested, we hope you will concierge another open seat. We also want to thank the 10 women and men who stepped up to serve on the 2012 SD 60 Nominations Committee.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Folliard & Alexis Pennie, DFL SD 60 co-chairs

If you are interested in applying for an officer or director position there is still time to do so. We have several spots yet to fill. Please complete the application and send it to alexispennie@gmail.com, and then bring 10 copies for the committee to review at 9 am on Saturday March 24 at Edison High School. Applicants will be screened in order of arrival starting at 9 am this Saturday at the Nominations Committee Room at the SD 60 Convention :

Open Seats:
1 SD 60 Affirmative Action Officer
8 State Central Committee Alternates
SD60 Directors

Please review the Position Descriptions and Questionnaire attached, then provide written responses to all questions. Feel free to use additional space. A resume may be attached. Then return your questionnaire to the two co-chairs listed above as soon as possible, but the firm deadline is 9AM on the day of the convention, March 24.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Betty Folliard & Alexis Pennie, co-chairs
SD60 DFL Nominations Committee

There are some changes in the dividing line between the A and B sides of the old SD59/new SD60 district, with the A side taking some areas from the B side. Here are detailed PDFs of new House District 60A and new House District 60B.

Meanwhile, the SD59 name will move to cover most of the area previously known as SD58, which is North Minneapolis and portions of Downtown Minneapolis.

No incumbents in either the old or new SD59 will be grouped together, although there are several incumbents located in the same new districts across the state, with many notable examples as close by as South Minneapolis, Columbia Heights and Roseville/Falcon Heights.

Because there is so little change to the old SD59/new SD60 area, we will be moving forward with our previously-planned convention plans, with a March 24 Convention at Edison High School and pre-convention committees beginning at 10AM Sat. Feb 25 at St Lawrence Catholic Church, 1203 5th St SE.

Over the coming weeks, we will need to switch websites, so just for future reference, the new website which we will likely use in the future is www.sd60dfl.org.

Pre-convention committees will have their FIRST meeting at St. Lawrence Catholic Church, 1203 – 5th St SE, in dinkytown, on Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 9:30am. At the first meeting, the committees will figure out how they will accomplish the tasks assigned to them, and will begin to schedule any additional meetings for each committee.

More information will be posted on our SD60 DFL 2012 Convention Page.

Additionally, the courts will issue the new districts on February 21, and the conventions will be held under the new district boundaries. We will be sure to keep you updated and will post information on the new maps after the courts hand them down.

Questions or requests for accommodations should be sent to chair@sd-59.org or call 612-378-5377

2012 Precinct Caucus Forms:

• Letter Nomination Form (pdf)
• Resolution Form (word/pdf)
• Challenge Form (word/pdf)

Are you looking for 2012 precinct caucus related forms in Spanish, Somali or Vietnamese?  Visit: http://dfl.org/caucus

Thanks for dropping by our website, and we’ll see you at the caucus!

== Originally posted on 1/6/12

The Special General Election for our SD59 Senate seat is right around the corner on January 10, and you have a few more opportunities to help our DFL-endorsed candidate, Kari Dziedzic, become our next State Senator. And, be sure to vote for Kari on January 10.

Dziedzic GOTV Rally with Congressman Keith Ellison
Special Election Day – Tuesday Jan. 10, 5-8PM
Dar Quba Restaurant and Coffee Shop, 1501 S 6th Street, Minneapolis, MN
Rep. Keith Ellison will be rallying with Kari Dziedzic to help get out to help Get Out the Vote with members of the Somalian Community. Please come out and join us for this great event!
Facebook event

Door Knock for Kari with Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Gov. Mark Dayton!
Kari Dziedzic for Minnesota State Senate District 59
Saturday, January 7, 2012
10:00am until 1:00pm
Home of Walt & Pat Dziedzic – 2727 Cleveland St NE
Help Kari Get-Out-The-Vote for the January 10 General Election!
RSVP: kari@kariforsenate.com or to Matt at 952-484-1783
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/277182915673946

Door Knock for Kari!
Kari Dziedzic for Minnesota State Senate District 59
Sunday, January 8, 2012
1:00pm until 4:00pm
Home of Walt & Pat Dziedzic – 2727 Cleveland St NE
Help Kari Get-Out-The-Vote for the January 10 General Election!
RSVP: kari@kariforsenate.com or to Matt at 952-484-1783
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/159679967472378/

One Day Out Phone Bank!
Kari Dziedzic for Minnesota State Senate District 59
Monday, January 9, 2012
5:30pm until 8:30pm
Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, 5th Floor, 312 Central Ave, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Day before the election phone bank!
RSVP: kari@kariforsenate.com or to Matt at 952-484-1783
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/268327733203694/

Election Day GOTV Phones and Doors!
Kari Dziedzic for Minnesota State Senate District 59
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
10:00am until 8:00pm
International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 49, 2828 Anthony Lane
We will be phoning and knocking on doors to turn out every last vote for Kari!
RSVP: kari@kariforsenate.com or to Matt at 952-484-1783
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/314650448574800/

Then be sure to vote for Kari on Tuesday January 10. Polls are open from 7am-8pm.

Senate District 59 Polling Locations

Executive/Central Committee Meeting
Monday, January 16th, 2012 (7:00 p.m. start)

At St. Lawrence Catholic Church
1203 5th St. SE, Minneapolis
This is an Accessible Site, with free parking for meeting attendees in the church lot, which is accessed from 6th St. SE, between 12th and 13th Aves.

Bus Service is available nearby on several routes, including routes 2 and 6 on University/4th St, route 3 on 15th Ave SE, and routes 16 and 50 at the corner of Pillsbury and Pleasant near Eddy and Jones Halls. Visit metrotransit.org for more details on public transit in the area.

Our agenda includes the following items:

1. Confirm planning for our (2/7/12) Caucuses & (3/24/12) Convention.
2. Confirm planning for Larry Pogemiller’s Celebration.
3. Decide on our SD 59 Facebook “Discussion Group” and it’s rules
4. Assemble Caucus materials for each of our 25 Precinct Caucuses
5. Update on Re-districting.

DFL QUESTION OF THE MONTH:
Question: How may Senate District Officers, Directors, Committee Chairs and Members support a DFL candidate before that candidate is endorsed?

Answer: {from our MN DFL} 1) The SD Chair and Associate Chair must remain absolutely impartial until a candidate is endorsed. 2) All other SD Officers and Members may support and campaign for any candidate they choose until a candidate is endorsed. We do ask that the other Officers and Members do not include their SD titles in any statements made supporting their (not-yet-endorsed) candidate.

If you are unable to attend, please send your regrets to Harrison.Nelson@comcast.net

To request disability related accommodations or transportation assistance, please
contact Harrison at Harrison.Nelson@comcast.net, or call 612-378-5377 (it would be
helpful if you could request assistance the Friday before the meeting).

Our Central Committee (voting members) is composed of our Directors, our 5 Officers, our 25 Precinct Chairs, our 50
Precinct Associate Chairs, and any member of the following central commitees who resides within SD 59:
Mpls DFL, Hennepin County DFL, CD 5 DFL or our State DFL plus any DFL-endorsed Elected Official who resides within SD 59, but anyone sharing the DFL’s values and goals is always welcome to attend.

Contact:
Ron P. Wacks – (612) 331-8200 or forum@sd-59.org

The 2011 State Senate Special Election Candidate Forum is a DFL event for the six DFL candidates on the December 6, 2011 DFL primary election ballot. The candidates will respond to questions and address the public prior to the primary election at this event. The Forum is intended to inform, educate and empower the public to make an informed decision in the upcoming primary election. The agenda will include a variety of questions and information of public interest. The Forum is free and open to the public.

Live Streaming

The Forum will be streamed live on The UpTake at: http://www.theuptake.org/ .

The content will be available for online on-demand viewing from The UpTake and via the Senate District 59 DFL web site.

Please check the Senate District 59 DFL web site after November 15, 2011 for further details: http://www.sd-59.org.

DATE: Wednesday November 30, 2011
TIME: 6:30PM – 9:00PM
LOCATION: Sheridan Arts Magnet School Auditorium
1201 University Ave. NE • Minneapolis, MN 55413
(Corner of Broadway ST NE and University Ave NE)

PARKING: Limited parking is available in the rear parking lot, along 4th ST NE, and adjacent to the school in legal neighborhood spaces.

ACCESSIBILITY: The site is fully accessible.

BUS ACCESS: The site is near two regular bus lines. Metro Transit Route 11 is two blocks West of the debate site and operates along 2nd St NE, and Metro Transit Route 17 is three blocks East of the debate site at the corner of Broadway and Washington St. NE.

TO: DFL Senate District 59 Central Committee

As you probably already know, SD 59 Senator Larry Pogemiller resigned last Friday after many years of dedicated service and exemplary leadership. Senator Pogemiller was appointed by Governor Dayton to serve as the Director of the Office of Higher Education and we give him our full support.

Subsequently, the Governor and Secretary of State set the date for the Primary Election for Tuesday, December 6, 2011 and the General Election for Tuesday January 10, 2012. Because of this very short timeline, it was clear that there wasn’t ample time to schedule a Central Committee Meeting to decide whether or not we should call an Endorsing Convention. Most DFL Candidates want to know what the process will be to win the DFL Endorsement before they decide whether or not they will run.

Since the filing deadline is this Wednesday at 5 PM, the only way potential candidates can know “what our Endorsement Process will be” is for the SD 59 Chair to (gather qualified advice from within and outside the district and then) decide what Endorsement Process is in the best interests of our District.

Therefore, my decision is that the best option for our Senate District is to schedule the SD 59 DFL endorsement of our next SD 59 Senator by our Central Committee for Wednesday, December 7, 2011, one day after the Primary Election. This process and timeline is similar to the one used successfully by SD 66 earlier this year when their extraordinary Senator, Ellen Anderson, was similarly appointed to a position by the Governor. I have also authorized the development of a high profile, live-streamed, Candidate Forum to take place prior to the Primary and be hosted by SD 59 DFL. You will be notified about the details of the Candidate Forum as they are confirmed. A status report about the Candidate Forum will take place at our next scheduled SD 59 DFL Central Committee Meeting on Monday, November 14, 2011.

I did not make this decision lightly. I consulted knowledgeable DFL leaders both within and outside of our district prior to making this decision. I also researched the endorsement timelines and election outcomes of several recent DFL Special Elections at the Senate District level as I considered what was in the best interests of our own district. I firmly believe that due to the time constraints surrounding this Special Election and other key factors the hosting of a Candidate Forum and engaging the voters directly is the most fair, open, and inclusive way for the SD 59 DFL to ensure that we endorse the best candidate for our district on Wednesday, December 7, 2011.

Two final points:

1. Ours is a very strong DFL District, so our DFL will retain this Senate seat. Our challenge is to assist all of our DFL Candidates to get their message out to the Voters of SD 59, so the Voters can make an informed decision on December 6, 2011.

2. The main purpose of a democratic endorsement is to narrow the field to unify Democrats behind an endorsed candidate going into a Primary or General Election. This process works best when candidates seeking the endorsement have the opportunity to abide by the endorsement—to agree not to run against the endorsed candidate. Due to the compressed time schedule for the Primary Election, all eligible candidates seeking DFL endorsement will be on the primary ballot and will not be able to have their names removed even if they wish to abide by a party endorsement.

I realize some members of our Senate District may be surprised and even upset with this decision. If you have questions, please contact me at 612-378-5377.

Thanks for all you do for the DFL!

Harrison Nelson
Chair, SD 59 DFL