urbanMSP

Counterpoint:

McLaughlin has worked harder to advance transit in the state of Minnesota than anybody else, and his knowledge and institutional memory are critical.

Get Walz in charge and let him be chair of the Met Council when Alene Tchourumoff steps down. District 4 deserves someone who will push for the transit projects that will do the most good for their own district, and McLaughlin's inaction on the D-Line is a disservice to his constituents.

Thanks for this, I just convinced someone to change their vote to Conley.

Speaking of the Met Council chair, Alene Tchourumoff is leaving the post to go work for the Minneapolis Federal Reserve. Seriously, let's put McLaughlin there instead.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... s-fed.html

Irene, Angela, and Marion won their races.

Jeff Johnson will be retiring in 2020, that excites me so much!

http://www.startribune.com/jeff-johnson ... 500319401/

Long overdue.

Do we have confidence that whoever wins his seat in 2020 will be better? I ask because:
1. While I obviously don't agree with him, I know a few people in County government who says he's not that bad... He is happy to say his piece but then get out of the way when he realizes he's in the minority on an issue. And they say he's generally inclined towards good and efficient county government, more than just slash-and-burn county government.
2. A replacement on the red side of Hennepin County could be worse.

Except that he probably was a pretty good representative of the views of his constituents, and he'll probably be replaced by somebody with similar views. Also, he had essentially no impact on Hennepin County policy.

Always great too post like MNdible posts at the same time.

Speaking of the Met Council chair, Alene Tchourumoff is leaving the post to go work for the Minneapolis Federal Reserve. Seriously, let's put McLaughlin there instead.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/ ... s-fed.html

Peter McLaughlin pushed hard for the incinerator. Just a friendly reminder.

Looking at the Strib precinct level map, Maple Grove, Champlin, and Plymouth, which are the population center of District 7, mostly went for Walz over their local boy, which I'm betting was a factor in his near-instant retirement announcement.

People definitely feel differently about state politics and local politics, obviously, and I agree that the new District 7 Commissioner is likely to still be the most conservative by a long shot. I don't expect them to be worse than JJ, though.

Peter McLaughlin pushed hard for the incinerator. Just a friendly reminder.

Is that bad? I'm honestly not sure there's a clear-cut weighing of positives and negatives there.

It must be better to burn a bunch of diesel fuel to drive garbage out to the middle of nowhere and bury it in the ground, right?

Peter McLaughlin pushed hard for the incinerator. Just a friendly reminder.

He pushed hard for something unpopular that he saw a greater benefit in? Exactly who I want fighting with the FTA and BNSF.

Yeah. He's a technocrat who's very focused on and good at giant infrastructure projects, to the point of ignoring smaller, more effective infrastructure projects. Not great for a county commissioner, nearly perfect for the regional giant infrastructure authority.

Yeah. He's a technocrat who's very focused on and good at giant infrastructure projects, to the point of ignoring smaller, more effective infrastructure projects. Not great for a county commissioner, nearly perfect for the regional giant infrastructure authority

^THIS!

Peter McLaughlin pushed hard for the incinerator. Just a friendly reminder.

He pushed hard for something unpopular that he saw a greater benefit in? Exactly who I want fighting with the FTA and BNSF.

OK, thanks! I understand you guys better now.

Who'd have guessed that an outcome of electing Angela Conley would be Jan Callison becoming chair of HCRRA (Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority). I voted for Conley too, but maybe whoops we should have thought about who'd chair HCRRA? Callison has been a steadfast supporter of SWLRT, so maybe this is fitting. Marion Greene became chair, while Conley chairs the HHS committee. I'll take Callison over Opat (and Johnson, obvs) in a heartbeat. (FYI - Hennepin County board appoints a chair annually, but they seem to rotate board chairs every 2 or 4 years. Callison just finished a 4-year stint as chair, and Opat preceeded her. Safe to assume Greene will remain chair for 2-4 years, as she was just reelected)

I guess it remains to be seen if Hennepin County will take on a greater role in funding aBRT or not. With the House in DFL hands, I'd be shocked if the D Line didn't get funded by the legislature (budget this year or bonding next year). Still, Conley DID campaign (a little) on aBRT, and we should hold her to that for the B and E Lines, not to mention Midtown. Actually someone should mention Midtown rail to her and see what's up.

Looking ahead - the four suburban seats (Opat, Callison, Goettel and Johnson) are up for election in 2020. Johnson isn't running, and that race should be watched to ensure NW Hennepin County doesn't elect someone completely hostile to transit, Minneapolis, etc. Johnson is a huge pain, but they could certainly elect a much bigger asshole to that seat. Goettel is safe for reelection, and I'd assume Opat is running again, especially with Bottineau kind of on the ropes. Despite calling himself a democrat, it would be really nice to replace Opat with someone less hostile to Minneapolis. If Callison doesn't run, that will be a race to watch for sure. Electing a conservative-leaning/anti-Minneapolis person to her seat is something we all want to avoid. Despite serving the Minnetonka area, she's generally been a friend to transit & bike infra, etc.

It doesn't bother me if the District 7 commish is anti-transit. They should be anti-transit, because there is nowhere in District 7 that makes sense for a level of transit service beyond local bus. Jeff Johnson's hatred for the cities accomplished nothing in his time in elected office, and maybe it even polarized everyone else towards greater support. A District 7 commissioner who demands that scarce transit funding be allocated to serve her or his district is a more realistic and harmful proposition than someone who tilts at windmills.

Districts 1, 5, and 6 are far more important for transit, because all three districts have, will have, or are planned to have one line of light rail service via the METRO system, but really shouldn't have any more than that. Hennepin County especially needs commissioners who can see that further transit expansion in the densest parts of the city itself will benefit their constituents, even if no track or route is in their district, because their constituents will see improved access to these places via connections to other the METRO service. I want to make sure the District 6 commissioner, for instance, is pushing for Midtown rail, even though it's in District 3, because of the access it provides to Uptown, LynLake, etc, which are destinations that will attract people from around the county.