It’s over! It was soooo close…
Election judges manually counting 3364 ballots. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas…
Well, it’s officially over. The recount confirmed the original result, I lost the closest election in the history of the city. 50.07% to 49.93%. 4 votes! Again, hats off to Paula, she worked hard and had a great team supporting her. I missed the official recount, sadly, but I was fulfilling a 9-year-olds dream of going to the Titanic exhibit in Las Vegas. (This is what happens when you let kids plan vacations)
Huzzah to our local election officials and all the election judges who manage to run our elections fairly and efficiently. It’s hard work with no margin for error. Also, those machines are PRECISE! We smartly use and keep our paper ballots for recounts, but the machines do an excellent job of accurately and quickly counting ballots.
Because I’m an eternal optimist, I made a list of a few things I would do if I won the election before my term started. Sharing it here is less “arm-chair quarterbacking” than an attempt to pass along my positive energy.
Build bridges ASAP
Reach out to my opponents, meet with them if they’re willing. They put a lot of effort into their campaigns and are part of the very small group of people willing to step forward and run for office. What did they learn from residents during their campaign, what issues mattered most to them, what ideas did they have? Ask them for the contact info for 5 of their biggest supporters and reach out to them, asking the same questions. This is inclusivity in action.
Continue resident engagement
While the obvious time to talk to residents is during the campaign season, it’s even more impactful to continue these conversations after the election - when the work is getting done and you’re representing people in real time. With that in mind:
Create an extended kitchen cabinet, “team of rivals” style. Identify and connect with 10-15 people who represent the spectrum of Minnetonka. The city council makes a lot of hard decisions, and while I don’t think “decision by committee” is a useful process, input from a diverse & engaged group certainly is.
Keep door-knocking. Maybe just an hour a month? I remember when Steve Cwodzinski (my former state senator) and Laurie Pryor (my former state representative) came to my door and it was NOT during campaign season. They just wanted to talk. It was so refreshing. They weren’t trying to get my vote, they wanted to know what I cared about so they could represent me better.
Happy holidays!