The 2006 election season is alive and well. Precinct caucuses are upon us and candidates will begin to vie for our attention. There are several important people in the Black community who will seek the support of voters looking for a change.
MSP School Board Candidates
There are four candidates to look for in the Minneapolis Public School Board contest. They include Fred Easter, President and CEO of The City, Inc., T. Williams of Rainbow Research, Inc., Carolyn Hadley of the Minneapolis Urban League, and former 8th Ward City Council candidate Reginald Neal Birts. Rev. Randy Staten, co-chair of the Black Church Coalition and the African American Leadership Summit, explains why this field of candidates has emerged. “One of the things we have to ask ourselves as a community and as a people is, what is happening in the destruction of our children? We ought to be outraged that over 61% of them have been doomed to failure. There is a direct correlation between the kids who are not graduating and those entering into prison. No one has done anything over the last decade and a half. When someone came along to do something about it, we got caught up in social improprieties. This has to change. We have absolutely lost confidence in the school board’s ability to work on behalf of our children.” Two initiatives have been decided upon at a recent African American Leadership Summit meeting that presented the candidates: to establish an alternative means of educating Black children in the MPS system and to ascertain new control of the school board by running Black candidates.
Bill English, co-chair of the Black Church Coalition and the African American Leadership Summit, offers his insight on the importance of electing a new school board in looking at the decisions made about the Davnie Bill. “This is a piece of legislation that supports electing diverse [school] board members,” said English. The bill provides that beginning in 2006, six members of the Minneapolis School Board will be elected by district and three will be elected at-large. Currently all members are elected by district. “The existing school board used public money to lobby a bill that hasn’t even been publicly discussed to protect the status quo. In other words, this is self-serving use of taxpayer’s money,” he said.
Fred Easter is concerned about the democratic process. “I look forward to a brand new board and I hope that critical mass will change in some way. One of the tragedies is that [people] run
city-wide, then represent the city in private. They ought to be required to stand out in the open for the electorate to assess what to do,” said Easter. T. Williams has a proven track record in the field. “With my background and experience, I thought I could bring leadership to the board that is fully needed. I have established experience working within the community and knowledge of the school system,” said Williams.
Precinct Caucuses
Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter urges voters to begin early in the election process and participate in the precinct caucuses. The evening of Tuesday, March 7th is caucus time in Minnesota, and everyone over 18 should be at a precinct caucus location to make sure that our voices will be heard and that our votes will have maximum impact in the political process this year. We must show up and be counted among those requiring the opportunity to shape our future through exercising our right to participate in the entire process leading up to the general election in November. To the extent that those of us who are able bodied will show up, by the force of our numbers we will be able to exercise this process to our benefit. To the extent that we refuse to engage in this right and responsibility we will leave much of our fate, and that of our children – in Minnesota and throughout the nation – in the hands of others.
In Minnesota, the m
