Sheriff Stanek (Hennepin Co) now has a challenger

[question everything]

Frizwell. I think he is worth looking into.

[progree]

1. Frizell is DFL-endorsed. Stanek is a right-winger

Everthing in double parenthesis (( )) is my wording or comment

Law & Politics: Hennepin County Sheriff's race focuses on spending and diversity,

when Frizell started digging into the management in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. What he found, he says, was a “severe morale issue” and mismanagement of funds, which has kept money from going to on-the-ground police work in places like downtown Minneapolis.

Frizell, who will likely be backed by the local DFL Party on Thursday ((later - he is per a campaign flyer received 10/29)), has been endorsed by a majority of the Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies that Stanek oversees. But Stanek, a police officer and former Republican legislator, boasts his own broad swath of endorsements from across the political spectrum, including DFL legislators and Minneapolis City Council members.

((Stanek shouting racial slurs in 1989 at driver of a car he collided with))

In 2007, Mayor R.T. Rybak and Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan criticized Stanek for producing a slick 26-minute training video on the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge and taking credit for actions that weren't his responsibility.

Frizell points out that administrative costs have increased in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office from $6 million to $12 million over the last two years, something he intends to cut back if he’s elected by the voters this fall. The sheriff’s budget for 2014 is nearly $92 million.

But Stanek said Frizell is not telling the whole story behind those numbers.

((And then Stanek's side which sounds more truthful))

More: http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2014/08/law-politics-hennepin-county-sheriffs-race-focuses-spending-and-diversity

[question everything]

2. Thanks for confirming my impression

We are going to vote in person. During the primaries the judges were so lonely that I figure to might as well show up in person.

Plus, I still have to decide about school board. They keep asking for money and have not much to show for.

[progree]

3. Here's another - Star Tribune editorial

Most all of the below is a mix of my and their wording -- just my note-taking on what the Strib editorial said:

Strib editorial - endorses Stanek, but says Frizell is great too

Stanek spent several years as a Republican legislator and chair of the House Public Safety Committee.

Likable and engaging, Frizell has the knowledge, capability and temperament to effectively lead a law enforcement agency. He should continue to pursue that kind of executive position — in either an elected or an appointed post.

Hennepin County residents have two good choices in this race, but we give the edge to the incumbent.

[progree]

4. Yeah, in the primary, I voted alone

Reminds me of the book that came out in 2000 or so, "Bowling Alone"

Though as I walked down the hall towards the voting room, an elderly couple and one other person were walking down the hall from that general direction -- probably they had just voted, so I didn't feel too odd about it.

=====================================================

Robbinsdale District 281 -- we have 2 levies on the ballot and must pick 4 of the 8 candidates for the school board. The Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers has endorsed 4 of them, per a campaign flyer -- Herring, Lindberg, Bomchill, and Boone. And Golden Valley Mayor Shep Harris (which I think is somewhat left of center, at least by local standards) also endorsed Herring.

Another one -- Patricia Green -- had a lawn sign on a lawn full of lefty signs.

And that's the grand total of my knowledge about any and all of them.

[question everything]

5. About the school levies

I could not get a straight answer from anyone. I don't think that anyone knows.

I looked at my 2013 and 2014 property tax and it has two lines for the school district. One was titled: Voter approved levies. And it went down by $150 between the two years. The second: Other local levies went up by $180. Why the first went down? Because some of the levy expired, I think. This is the one that they ask us to renew. But it is higher than what they estimate. Oh, there are some additional components.

Why the increase on the second line? Debt reduction. And it will stay.

Then I went to the county because I wanted to compare with other districts. There, Robbinsdale has a 34.7% tax rate. On my property tax statement, it is 42%. Ah, these are two different things, the helpful county person said. All kind of allocations.

And I am thinking: these are dollars and cents. I don't think that they even use compound interest or calculus or quadratic equation. So why can't they gather math and economy teachers to explain how they reach the numbers?

But then, my candidate for the house is running on: "Simplify Funding formula by eliminating the layers." This is about state funding.

Sigh.

[geardaddy]

6. I plan to vote for Frizell

[dflprincess]

7. I heard Frizell speak at a local gathering

I thought he was very impressive and he has my vote tomorrow.

[glinda]

8. Stanek was out months back promoting gun ownership for NRA

He needs to loose his job.