Take Action Minnesota City Council Candidate Screening

1821 University Avenue W, Suite S-137

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55104

Tel: (651) 641-6199 Fax: (651) 645-1311

www.TakeActionMinnesota.org





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 27, 2009



For Information Contact:

Greta Bergstrom

(c) 651-336-6722; (o) 651-379-0765

Greta@takeactionminnesota.org





TakeAction Minnesota To Hold 2009 Candidate Screenings

For Minneapolis City Council Races



(St. Paul, MN) February 26, 2009 – In early March, TakeAction Minnesota will be holding candidate screenings for endorsement in four competitive Minneapolis City Council contests. All current members, as well as individuals wishing to become members of TakeAction Minnesota, are invited to attend and participate in the endorsement selection process.

In 2005, the last year the Minneapolis City Council was on the ballot, TakeAction Minnesota had a perfect record of endorsements. All council candidates that had been endorsed by the organization (called Progressive Minnesota at the time) went on to win their respective races – including highly competitive contests in Ward 8 (Elizabeth Glidden), Ward 10 (Ralph Remington), and Ward 13 (Betsy Hodges).

TakeAction Minnesota strives to create deep, accountable democracy within our organization and with elected officials. Candidates screenings are an integral part of that process. Members hear from City Council candidates about their vision for social, racial, and economic justice in Minneapolis and vote on which candidates TakeAction Minnesota should endorse.

This year, TakeAction Minnesota’s PAC Board has made the decision to endorse in four council races that are considered to be hotly contested. These include the races in Ward 1 and Ward 10, in which council-members have decided to step down (Paul Ostrow and Ralph Remington, respectively) and which have created open seats. They also include Ward 5 (Don Samuels, incumbent) and Ward 2 (Cam Gordon, incumbent) which are also expected to be competitive. TakeAction Minnesota will also be endorsing later in Ward 6, Ward 8, Ward 11 and Ward 13.

Screenings will take place on two separate Monday evenings in March, as follows:



Wards 5 (North Mpls) and Ward 10 (Uptown)

When: Monday, March 9th, 6:00pm-8:30pm

Where: Harrison Recreation Center

503 Irving Avenue North, Minneapolis

(same bldg as Harrison Education Center—park in back—enter Rec Center

on park side of bldg)

*Deadline for member registration, to vote, is 5pm Monday, March 2



Wards 1 (Northeast) and Ward 2 (Seward, Cedar-Riverside, Prospect Park)

When: Thursday, March 19th, 6:00pm-8:30pm

Where: Logan Park Recreation Center

690 13th Avenue NE, Minneapolis

* Deadline for member registration, to vote, is 5pm Thursday, March 12



The candidate screenings are open to anyone joining TakeAction Minnesota by 5:00 PM on the day one week before the screening date – 5:00PM Monday, March 2 for Ward 5 and Ward 10, and 5:00pm Thursday, March 12 for Ward 1 and Ward 2. Every member joining by the previous week deadline can vote on candidate endorsements in any Ward, regardless of where the member lives.

To RSVP for one or both dates, or to obtain more information -- including complete screening rules – please visit TakeActionMinnesota.org. For additional questions related to the screening process, please contact Ryan Greenwood at 651-379-0742 or by email at Ryan@takeactionminnesota.org