[Mpls] Re: Bonham and the violins

[Tim Bonham]

>it was the first time in about 40 years that an incumbent City Council
>Member had been defeated in a primary.
>. . .
>The Elite Few don't want to believe that ordinary people are
>capable of thinking and making decisions - the EF have to do it for the
>ordinaries.  Zerby's flogging Campbell showed that the Elite Few were
>wrong.
>. . .
>Bob Johnson
         And what does winning all the other races in the last 40 years show?

The Minneapolis DFL members have a very successful record of electing their 
endorsed candidates to office.  Because we generally endorse qualified 
candidates, who are representative of the ward.
         We put the candidates thru a whole lot before endorsing them.  We 
have screenings, debates, forums, etc.; and we expect that they will phone 
up most of the delegates and talk with them.  A real stress test for 
candidates, because they are dealing with activists who know what's 
happening in the neighborhoods, and are good at separating knowledgeable 
candidates from flakes or BS'ers.  We DFLers fight like feuding siblings 
over candidate endorsements; then afterwards we work real hard to elect our 
endorsed candidates.
         And we're pretty good at doing that.  But that's easier when you 
have really good candidates to elect!

P.S.  And Paul Zerby did not "completely ignore the party".  He was on the 
DFL Sample Ballot for the General Election, and he raised money to help 
fund that.  Plus he & his campaign distributed several thousand of the 
joint lit piece for the DFL Board candidates.  We're very proud to have 
Paul as a DFL elected official!

Tim Bonham, Ward 12, Standish-Ericsson