As an alternate delegate to the ward 10 convention in May, and a delegate to a prior convention roughly ten years ago, I can personally testify to the flawed chaos at these conventions. It certainly appeared that the fix was in on the side of Chugtai's representatives at the May convention, and I assume the same powers were here for the mayoral convention because the same problems occurred. Delegates were late being seated, alternates came from lists that were not transparent, and critical votes took place while delegates were still being named. It seemed clear that events were being controlled by one side's vocal supporters.
I will no longer support the DFL party as an organization, though as a lifelong Democrat i will continue to vote for candidates from the party. It's clear to me that the DSA (Democratic Socialists) have taken over the DFL in the city. I admire the DSA's political wiles and organization, but i don't admire or support their politics. After years of being a lefty Democrat, i know feel unmoored.
Dave, I feel the same way about feeling unmoored. I am (was?) a lifelong Democrat, but no longer donate to the DFL Party, only directly to candidates I support.
"The vote was conducted by a visual show of badges following a late rules change, introduced by Council Member Aisha CHUGHTAI at approximately 9:10 p.m., to bypass paper ballots."
CM/ candidate Chughtai
has been under the wing of CM Wonsley from the beginning. Wonsley, it appears, is the de facto President of the City Council.
Chughtai and the other CMs and candidates, who are DSA endorsed/ aligned, only goal is to secure their spots and to add more of them. Lots of ethically challenged manuevers in play to advance that goal.
Some of this stuff happening with the DFL caucuses and conventions in Mpls would make the most ardent MAGAs blush. Nothing to be proud of here, because this is not a democratic way to select our representatives and leaders.
Thank you for spending a significant amount of time participating in an outdated and complicated process that should be changed. Anyone asked if we could come up with a better process in 2025 would/should have a resounding YES to the changes needing to be made to this archaic nonsensical process. We need to demand a simpler process to elect the individuals being handed the keys to the castle.
Terry, this is a good take, that Frey should just move forward and differentiate himself from his opponents, and let the chips fall where they may in November. One area he can and has easily differentiated himself is his support for law enforcement. He can continue to hammer away on that issue and will get many votes on that alone, but he should pick a couple of other key messages and do the same. One weak spot is that homelessness is still a big problem, and I'm not sure I see a clear vision from him going forward, so that would be an area to shore up.
For those of us who have given up on this easily hijacked caucus/convention endorsement process, let's see what we can do to get Minnesota to move back to primaries.
Frey needs to be above board. Shenanigans just won't do here. Tricks like the leaving thing to see if there's a quorum make me think he's not above board. He will not receive my vote in November.
As an alternate delegate to the ward 10 convention in May, and a delegate to a prior convention roughly ten years ago, I can personally testify to the flawed chaos at these conventions. It certainly appeared that the fix was in on the side of Chugtai's representatives at the May convention, and I assume the same powers were here for the mayoral convention because the same problems occurred. Delegates were late being seated, alternates came from lists that were not transparent, and critical votes took place while delegates were still being named. It seemed clear that events were being controlled by one side's vocal supporters.
I will no longer support the DFL party as an organization, though as a lifelong Democrat i will continue to vote for candidates from the party. It's clear to me that the DSA (Democratic Socialists) have taken over the DFL in the city. I admire the DSA's political wiles and organization, but i don't admire or support their politics. After years of being a lefty Democrat, i know feel unmoored.
I am a Frey supporter.
Dave, I feel the same way about feeling unmoored. I am (was?) a lifelong Democrat, but no longer donate to the DFL Party, only directly to candidates I support.
Key piece of info in the piece,
" introduced by...."
"The vote was conducted by a visual show of badges following a late rules change, introduced by Council Member Aisha CHUGHTAI at approximately 9:10 p.m., to bypass paper ballots."
CM/ candidate Chughtai
has been under the wing of CM Wonsley from the beginning. Wonsley, it appears, is the de facto President of the City Council.
Chughtai and the other CMs and candidates, who are DSA endorsed/ aligned, only goal is to secure their spots and to add more of them. Lots of ethically challenged manuevers in play to advance that goal.
Some of this stuff happening with the DFL caucuses and conventions in Mpls would make the most ardent MAGAs blush. Nothing to be proud of here, because this is not a democratic way to select our representatives and leaders.
Or you could volunteer to help. I wasn't even elected a delegate or alternate but spent 60+ hours as a volunteer for the convention. Step up.
Thank you for spending a significant amount of time participating in an outdated and complicated process that should be changed. Anyone asked if we could come up with a better process in 2025 would/should have a resounding YES to the changes needing to be made to this archaic nonsensical process. We need to demand a simpler process to elect the individuals being handed the keys to the castle.
One additional note: the Mpls at-large park ballot counts were released. There were 478 votes.
Michael Wilson, 398 (endorsed)
Tom Olsen, 394 (endorsed)
Amber Frederick, 363 (endorsed)
Meg Forney, 32
Mary McKelvey, 31
Tim Peterson, 30
Matthew Dowgwillo, 25
Spoiled ballots, 25
No endorsement, 7
Is anyone really surprised by this move? Minnehopeless
Nels, while I understand the sentiment, I don't believe this is a good forum for name-calling.
Terry, this is a good take, that Frey should just move forward and differentiate himself from his opponents, and let the chips fall where they may in November. One area he can and has easily differentiated himself is his support for law enforcement. He can continue to hammer away on that issue and will get many votes on that alone, but he should pick a couple of other key messages and do the same. One weak spot is that homelessness is still a big problem, and I'm not sure I see a clear vision from him going forward, so that would be an area to shore up.
For those of us who have given up on this easily hijacked caucus/convention endorsement process, let's see what we can do to get Minnesota to move back to primaries.
An important piece out today..
A busted ballot and 11th hour rule changes: The Minneapolis DFL Convention was a train wreck • Minnesota Reformer
https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/07/25/a-busted-ballot-and-11th-hour-rule-changes-the-minneapolis-dfl-convention-was-a-train-wreck/
Frey needs to be above board. Shenanigans just won't do here. Tricks like the leaving thing to see if there's a quorum make me think he's not above board. He will not receive my vote in November.