The July issue included a commentary by Jon Schumacher (“Wake up St. Paul DFL!!”) in which he chastised DFL members for a low turnout at this year’s convention.
Schumacher asked, “Why do we care so much about the future of our schools but fail to participate in electing those who run them?”
That question would be relevant if he cited election figures, but he did not. He cited numbers for participation in the process of determining party endorsements.
Perhaps the reason many people place a low priority on party endorsements for city council and school board races is because those elections are nonpartisan. If no party designations appear by candidates’ names, why should party endorsement matter? Could it be that party leaders don’t trust voters to make up their own minds?
Schumacher seems to lament the fact that “more candidates are saying no to the question of whether they will drop out “if they don’t win the DFL endorsement.”
I’d call that a win for democracy.
Dave Healy
St. Anthony Park
