Minneapolis municipal election, 2009

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A general election was held in Minneapolis on November 3, 2009. Minneapolis's mayor was up for election as well as all the seats on the City Council, the two elected seats on the Board of Estimate and Taxation, and all the seats on the Park and Recreation Board. This was the first election held in Minneapolis that used ranked choice voting, a collective term for instant-runoff voting and the single transferable vote.

Minneapolis Largest city in Minnesota

Minneapolis is the county seat of Hennepin County and the larger of the Twin Cities, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. As of 2017, Minneapolis is the largest city in the state of Minnesota and 45th-largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 422,331. The Twin Cities metropolitan area consists of Minneapolis, its neighbor Saint Paul, and suburbs which altogether contain about 3.6 million people, and is the third-largest economic center in the Midwest.

Minneapolis City Council

The Minneapolis City Council is the governing body of the City of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members, elected from separate wards to four-year terms. The Council is dominated by members of the DFL, with a total of 12 members. The Green Party of Minnesota has one member, Cam Gordon.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is an independent park district that owns, maintains, and programs activities in public parks in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It has 500 full-time and 1,300 part-time employees and an $111 million operating and capital budget.

Contents

Because city voters approved a city charter change by referendum in 2006 to use a ranked choice voting system, Minneapolis did not hold a primary election on September 8, the 2009 date for primaries in Minnesota.

A primary election is the process by which voters, either the general public or members of a political party, can indicate their preference for a candidate in an upcoming general election or by-election, thus narrowing the field of candidates.

There was a lawsuit in court to prevent the voting change; it lost by summary judgment in the first court, was appealed directly to the Minnesota Supreme Court, where it also lost. One person active in the lawsuit filed as a candidate but did not campaign; allegedly this was to give him legal standing to sue after the election.

Minnesota Supreme Court the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota

The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center.

Mayor

Incumbent Democratic–Farmer–Labor Mayor R. T. Rybak announced on January 13, 2009 that he would be running for re-election. [1] 11 candidates were on the ballot.

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Political party in Minnesota, United States

The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a center-left political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party. Formed by a merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the left-wing Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party in 1944, the DFL is one of only two state Democratic party affiliates of a different name.

R. T. Rybak American politician

Raymond Thomas "R. T." Rybak Jr. is an American politician, journalist, businessperson, and activist who served as the 46th mayor of Minneapolis. In the 2001 election Rybak defeated incumbent Sharon Sayles Belton by a margin of 65% to 35%, the widest margin of victory over an incumbent mayor in city history. He took office in January 2002, and won a second term in 2005 and a third in 2009. In late December 2012, he announced he would not run for another term and was going to be concentrating on his family. Rybak called being mayor his "dream job."

Previously mentioned as possible candidates for Mayor were Bob Miller, the director of the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP), Minneapolis City Council members Gary Schiff and Ralph Remington, Minneapolis Park Board President Tom Nordyke, former City Council president Jackie Cherryhomes, and Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin; none of them ended up running.

Ralph Remington American theatre producer and actor


Ralph Remington is an American theater producer, theater director, actor, writer, former funder, and former American politician. Ralph was named Deputy Director for Arts and Culture for the City of Tempe, Arizona on June 1, 2016. He also has artistic responsibility for the Tempe Center for the Arts as artistic director. Remington is the former Western Regional Director/Assistant Executive Director of Actors' Equity Association. In 2010 he became the Director of Theater and Musical Theater for the National Endowment for the Arts. He currently resides in Tempe, Arizona. Remington has written seven feature screenplays and two plays.

City Council

All 13 seats on the Minneapolis City Council were up for election.

Board of Estimate and Taxation

The two elected members of the Board of Estimate and Taxation were up for election. Incumbent Carol Becker was re-elected in the first round with 52.1% of first-choice votes. As no other candidate achieved the threshold to be elected the second member, several rounds of vote transfers were necessary. David Wheeler was elected in the fifth round after the remaining candidates were defeated.

Members were elected citywide via the single transferable vote.

Party endorsements

PartyCandidate
Minneapolis DFL [2] Carol Becker
Fifth Congressional District Independence Party of MinnesotaMichael Martens
Minneapolis City Republican Committee [3] Michael Martens

Results

Candidate% 1st
Choice
Round 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5% Final
Carol Becker52.1316,72810,697.556010,697.556010,697.556010,697.556033.64
David Wheeler19.036,1077,239.69107,490.05758,107.42708,107.427025.27
Phil Willkie9.192,9503,527.16053,732.40804,098.43604,098.436012.77
DeWayne Townsend7.242,3233,231.46003,364.49753,674.07403,674.074011.45
Michael Martens8.662,7783,120.83553,273.4310
James Elliot Swartwood3.049751,160.6575
Write-ins 0.70225241.5830
Exhausted ballots2867.05653528.05005508.50705508.507017.17
Threshold10,696
Valid votes32,086
Undervotes13,882
Turnout19.6445,968
Registered voters [4] 234,028
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services [5]

Park and Recreation Board

The nine members of the Park and Recreation Board were up for election. Three members were elected from one citywide, at-large district via the single transferable vote and six from single-member districts via instant-runoff voting.

Party endorsements

PartyAt-largeDistrict 1District 3District 4District 6
Minneapolis DFL [2] Mary Merrill AndersonLiz WielinskiScott VreelandAnita TabbBrad Bourn
John Erwin
Tom Nordyke
Fifth District Green Party [6] Annie Young
Fifth Congressional District Independence Party of MinnesotaDave Wahlstedt
Minneapolis City Republican Committee [3] Dave Wahlstedt

Results

At-large

Candidate% 1st
Choice
Round 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5Round 6% Final
Bob Fine22.078,0898,1938,3638,7089,3299,32925.45
Annie Young 18.946,9417,0627,4907,7418,3718,37122.84
John Erwin17.396,3766,5146,6356,8417,7337,73321.10
Mary Merrill Anderson14.925,3945,4705,9136,0966,8106,81018.58
Tom Nordyke10.143,7163,7873,8854,118
David Wahlstedt7.662,8072,8882,991
Nancy Bernard5.522,0242,125
John Butler3.041,114
Write-ins 0.53194
Exhausted ballots6161,3783,1514,4124,41212.04
Threshold9,164
Valid votes36,655
Undervotes9,313
Turnout19.6445,968
Registered voters234,028
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services [7]

District 1

Candidate% 1st
Choice
Round 1
Liz Wielinski74.204,335
Bernie Kunza15.56909
John Malone9.67565
Write-ins 0.5633
Threshold2,922
Valid votes5,842
Undervotes1,065
Turnout6,907
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services [8]

District 2

Candidate% 1st
Choice
Round 1
Jon Olson56.352,874
Michael Guest42.802,183
Write-ins 0.8443
Threshold2,551
Valid votes5,100
Undervotes844
Turnout5,944
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services [9]

District 3

Candidate% 1st
Choice
Round 1
Scott Vreeland72.353,430
Mike Wendorf26.171,239
Write-ins 1.4867
Threshold2,369
Valid votes4,736
Undervotes1,424
Turnout6,160
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services [10]

District 4

Candidate% 1st
Choice
Round 1
Anita Tabb97.455,012
Write-ins 2.55131
Threshold2,572
Valid votes5,143
Undervotes2,246
Turnout7,389
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services [11]

District 5

Candidate% 1st
Choice
Round 1Round 2% Final
Carol Kummer37.772,9643,62046.13
Jason Stone35.522,7883,27141.68
Steve Barland19.641,541
Dan Peterson4.70369
McLain Looney1.92151
Write-ins 0.4535
Exhausted ballots95712.19
Threshold3,925
Valid votes7,848
Undervotes1,534
Turnout9,382
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services [12]

District 6

Candidate% 1st
Choice
Round 1Round 2% Final
Brad Bourn48.164,0234,30051.47
Meg Forney36.393,0403,50641.97
Steven Jecha11.71978
Geneva Hanvik3.32277
Write-ins 0.4336
Exhausted ballots5486.56
Threshold4,178
Valid votes8,354
Undervotes1,832
Turnout10,186
Source: Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services [13]

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References

  1. Kimball, Joe (January 13, 2009). "Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak puts re-election announcement on web". MinnPost . Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "2009 Endorsements". Minneapolis DFL. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Minneapolis Republican endorsed candidates". Minneapolis City Republican Committee. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  4. "2009 Precinct Statistics with Turnout" (PDF). Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  5. "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Board of Estimate and Taxation Ranked-choice Voting Tabulation Center Summary Statement". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  6. "Previous Candidates". Fifth District Green Party. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  7. "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Park and Recreation Commissioner At Large". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  8. "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Park and Recreation Commissioner District 1". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  9. "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Park and Recreation Commissioner District 2". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  10. "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Park and Recreation Commissioner District 3". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  11. "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Park and Recreation Commissioner District 4". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  12. "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Park and Recreation Commissioner District 5". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  13. "2009 Minneapolis Municipal Election Results: Park and Recreation Commissioner District 6". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved November 6, 2017.