I have a confession. The day after the November 6 election —  and after a night of celebration in St. Paul where numerous winning DFL candidates thanked us for helping them win — I woke up and said to myself, “Now what do I do?”  Let me explain.
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I contacted the Tim Walz for Governor campaign in the summer of 2017 to offer my help, so I was on board early. Back then, I reviewed all the candidates and decided that, as a greater Minnesota congressman, Tim would be the DFL candidate most likely to win. I volunteered to work at his table at the 2017 state fair, where I meet him for the first time.

On the day after Tim was elected the next governor of Minnesota, I am basking in the glow, knowing that I contributed a small part to his big election.

To appreciate the magnitude of his victory, I thought I would walk down memory lane to review, in the words of the Grateful Dead, what a long strange trip it’s been.

Thanks to a search on the StarTribune website, below are the headlines (with subheadlines and first sentence(s) if helpful) connected to the 2018 Minnesota Governor’s Race – from November 17, 2016, when Erin Murphy jumped into the race, to March 27, 2017, when Tim joined the race, to October 5, 2017, when Tim picked Peggy Flanagan as his running mate, to caucus night, to gun-control opinion piece, to state convention, to primary election, to November 6 and victory!

It’s been fun and exciting. Thank you, Tim and Peggy, for letting me be part of it. Continue reading →

As most of you know, I retired in January 2017 and my wife Nancy passed away in March 2017.  In preparation for recovering from both of these events, in 2016 I decided that I would become more involved with local political campaigns and local progressive organizations. And I did. Those activities have helped me to look to the future, and not brood over what could have been if colon cancer had not entered our lives in April 2013.

Since the fall of 2017, I have been active in three political campaigns. I’m also currently on the Board of Directors for NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota and am active with my church, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church. (Yes, a church can be a progressive organization.) I’ve been busy, but not too busy to prevent me from getting involved with another progressive issue.
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Dear Democrats, Independents, and Reasonable Republicans,

Our votes for Governor in the August 14 primary might be the most important primary vote in our lifetime. Why? Continue reading →

Saturday was quite a day at the 2018 DFL State Convention! Continue reading →

Way back on September 13, 2017, I provided a chart showing the status of Minnesota House races in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District (https://mndemsvolunteer.com/2017/09/19/mn-house-races-in-cd3/#more-496)

A lot has changed since September. Continue reading →

As the calendar changes from March to April, Democrats around the country are getting serious about the blue wave they expect for the 2018 election. But, as background noise, we are starting to hear more about the 2020 presidential election, when Democrats plan to nominate a candidate to behead the Medusa known as Donald Trump. I have an opinion about who the 2020 Democratic nominee will be, and I want to get this down in writing just in case I’m right 30 months before the election. Continue reading →

Here is my letter supporting Tim Walz for Governor that was published in the Star Tribune on March 1.  Continue reading →

About a year ago, I was talking to my daughter, a high school math teacher, about gun control. It had become her number one issue, and she was disturbed by the inability of Congress to pass any effective gun-control legislation. I told her that I had given up on the gun issue and that there were more important issues that Democrats need to focus on like income inequality, healthcare, pro-choice policies, and immigration. Continue reading →