Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman.
In past elections, this blog has been used as a platform to endorse specific candidates. This year, or at the very least this early on in the campaign season, I'm trying a different approach. Because ranked-choice voting and a lack of an incumbent running for either mayor or the fifth ward, a large number of candidates are expected to stay in the running for those seats for much of the election. Instead of openly endorsing anyone here, I plan to lay out issues that are important to me and hopefully pertinent to north Minneapolis as well. In that way, more candidates will craft their strategies around these issues.
With that in mind, I have three main areas of importance that will decide who gets my first, second, and third ovals on a 2013 ballot. My first priority, housing and specifically the preservation of our housing stock, should come as no surprise to regular readers. I've heard other community leaders express their own top priority in a way that encompasses many other issues. Education is necessary to prepare our young people for jobs, close the employment gap, and build a strong local economy; addressing crime and safety will help attract homeowners, businesses, and jobs; clean air and a better environment will increase the health and safety of our community as a whole, especially women, children, and other vulnerable populations.
And so on. The issues we are most passionate about are often seen through a prism that connects them to a broader spectrum of communal goals. Housing preservation fills that role for me because...
