Local issues carried the day in Greater Minnesota elections, but national politics loom

During her Duluth City Council campaign Diane Desotelle met assistants who were getting involved in local politics in response to what was happening nationally Pitching in on a local race offered a little light of hope announced Desotelle a first-time candidate who won of the vote to represent the city s second district People were finding elation and they were excited about grassroots-up local ruling body issues she explained They disclosed they felt better because they were so stressed about what s going on nationally Local issues loom largest in municipal elections and this Electoral contest Day was no different but candidates in Greater Minnesota described seeing much overlap between local issues and national politics this year Diane Desotelle in recent weeks elected Duluth City Councilor representing District Shanon Nowell noticed this in her flourishing mayoral campaign in St Peter one of the inadequate other cities in Greater Minnesota to have municipal elections this year Locals in this college town home to Gustavus Adolphus College regularly demonstrate against President Donald Trump s policies along the busiest road through the city Off-year elections help keep the focus on city issues but this year felt slightly different disclosed Nowell who won a third term as mayor Tuesday It was hard to avoid that she disclosed of national issues With SNAP benefits ending and the timing of elections people are concerned about their neighbors and I felt that in the campaign Related Rural Greater Minnesota grocers sound the alarm over SNAP uncertainty Concerns about this translate into questions about what cities will do about housing and general affordability Nowell focused on these issues in her campaign We did a housing research and it really manifested us that despite all the work we ve done it s really not the time to take our foot off the gas she disclosed Housing was also a major theme in Duluth where plenty of residents are renters The issue was on the ballot in a way with voters approving a right to repair measure that expanded rights to improve rental units Desotelle brought up housing first when questioned about what concerns voters had this year The two other newcomers elected to the Duluth City Council Jordon Johnson and David Clanaugh emphasized housing in their campaigns Housing fits into what Steven Schier a political science professor emeritus at Carleton College saw as a common thread that engaged voters across the country Tuesday The story of the day from New York City to rural school referendums in Minnesota was economic stress he mentioned Nationally the big issue Democrats used to their advantage and this relates to Greater Minnesota is affordability he mentioned David Clanaugh in the past few days elected Duluth City Councilor representing District Clanaugh who defeated an incumbent in Duluth s fourth district by an margin reported it did feel like affordability and reactions to the federal administration s policies were through lines in races around the country That affordability issue is a common theme and people are starting to recognize how they were manipulated by the current federal administration he reported Unemployment is up this year in Duluth compared to last year he noted Economically people are feeling the effects of national policies leading them to want to reengage with local leaders who can work on solutions he noted Duluth could be a barometer for how motivated progressive voters are on these economic issues Schier noted The city s at-large council candidates garnered votes Tuesday according to input from the Minnesota Secretary of State This was a increase from the last off-year voting process without a mayoral race on the ballot Voting was also up in Duluth s second- and fourth-district races Right to repair door knocking and having candidates who engaged well with voters contributed to strong turnout Clanaugh revealed The city he stated should be ecstatic and take notice of the results I hope that the current elected representatives frame this in a way that recognizes people s higher degrees of engagement he announced Related Rural Minnesotans join nationwide No Kings protests Duluth s vote is typical in Greater Minnesota in that candidates run as nonpartisans Candidates can and do receive party endorsements but voters don t see party affiliations on ballots like they do in Minneapolis city races or during state and national legislative elections Still all four Duluth City Council victors this year received DFL Party endorsements Desotelle debated whether to seek the endorsement ultimately deciding it was reflective of her values While Clanaugh describes himself as a progressive he revealed local issues like housing bring people of varying political opinions together to find solutions Over four-year terms Desotelle and Clanaugh expect the effects of national and state decisions to continue trickling down to local leadership Their understanding is the City Council has been split on whether it should speak on national and international issues A balance requirements to be struck to be sure Desotelle reported but there are times when you need to speak up about national issues because it affects us all The post Local issues carried the day in Greater Minnesota elections but national politics loom appeared first on MinnPost