All posts in the topic Candidates for Soil WATER (Short link)
Summary
- There are 7 posts — by 7 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Stacey Burns at Oct 30 17:42 UTC
Rather than not vote for these offices or vote for someone I know nothing
about, does anyone on the forum have any info on these people? Any reasons
that they deserve my support?
Thank you,
Gene Swanson
Lind-Bohanon
Soil and Water Sup. dist. 1
KIM N BOYCE
Soil and Water Dist. 3
BEN TORELL
JAMES WISKER
RAHN V WORKCUFF
RICHARD A. KLATTE
Soil and Water Dist. 5
JEFFREY A. BECK
KARL HANSON
I know nothing personally about any of the candidates, but I do know that there
is information available at startribune.com's MyVote page.
To find MyVote from the StarTribune's home page, go to News, then select
"Politics" from the pulldown menu, then you'll see the MyVote link in the upper
corner.
Fill in your address and you'll get candidate statements for the District 3 and
District 5 candidates, as well as statements for other races that will appear
on your ballot. Kim Boyce, as an unopposed candidate, apparently did not bother
to submit a candidate statement.
Mark Snyder
Windom Park
VOTING FOR SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT SEATS Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) Seats are held throughout the State in County-wide elections - in other words, every ballot in the County will feature all of the candidates regardless of the District. For the 2008 General Election, Hennepin County voters will elect representatives for Hennepin Conservation District Seats 1, 3 and 5 - again, you are able to vote for all of these seats regardless of where you live. This is a somewhat antiquated system of representation, but it is what it is. Information is available through the Star-Tribune voter guide, but also through the Minnesota Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts website: http://www.maswcd.org/2008_SWCD_Supervisor_Candidates.htm As an aside, it is worth mentioning that the lack of information on Kim Boyce in the Strib voter guide is not the fault of Kim Boyce - the Strib failed to contact him, presumably because he is running unopposed. Kim currently chairs the Conservation District Board and has held that position for the last four years. Kudos to those of you researching your candidates - I know it takes some work, but it certainly isn't due to a lack of trying. There has been a concerted effort in recent years to raise the profile of SWCD elections, but these seats are usually shadowed by those of State and Federal elections. The internet has definitely made the search for information easier, but I know it takes time and effort. Good luck! Sincerely, Mike Wyatt Hennepin Conservation District, Vice Chair District 5 Supervisor
Howdy folks. I too was interested the different candidates running for the seat of Soil and Water Supervisor for district 3. After a little googling i came across the strib's "my vote" profiles and this forum. I would like to add to your discussion by saying that I find the Star Tribune's "my vote" profiles suspicious of a severe bias. I do not believe these profiles were made by or approved by all candidates in question. After reading my observations I urge you to view the profiles skeptically yourself at the following URL under "County races": http://ww2.startribune.com/news/politics/elections/html/27-165500010300.php?p=27-165500010300&z=55405 Don't ignore this issue because you think it minor in the face of the more important presidential election. My primary concern is not with corruption in the race for Soil and Water Supervisor for District 3, but with corruption of the major media outlets in general. Here's what I observed: RICHARD A. KLATTE: -no picture shown -under "endorsements" section it reads: "None listed.." -under "Most important issue" section it reads: "Global Warming. Making big oil companies pay for cleaning the air, water, and soil they've destroyed." RAHN V WORKCUFF: -very low resolution, out of focus picture shown of a middle aged black man making a bizarre facial expression. -"endorsements" section reads: "No endorsements listed" -"Most important issue" section includes: "I strongly agree that a marriage should be only between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of same sex marriages. I strongly agree that all MN residence should have affordable health insurance. even if it means new or added cost to businesses." BEN TORELL: -picture of white male wearing grey/black tee shirt jacket and silver chain, glare in the middle of forehead, red-eye, and strange lighting effect on the bottom half or the photo that looks like mist or smoke. the background is heavily blurred and the image appears to have been photoshopped. -"endorsements" section reads: "Not seeking endorsements" -"Most important issue" section contains: a reasonably long paragraph that more closely pertains to the position of Soil and Water Supervisor than those listed under Workcuff's profile; however, this section appears to be intentionally erroneous, including various grammatical errors and many instances of unnecessary capitalization. JAMES WISKER: appears to be a professionally composed profile of a candidate running for public office, includes clear color photo of young white "clean cut" male smiling and wearing a collared shirt. -"Most important issue" section contains: coherent paragraph addressing issues that concern the position of Soil and Water Supervisor. This is an example of the major news outlets abusing their power. Don't listen to the man. Thank you. Max Markin
Not exactly a fan of the Strib, but I found "my vote" pretty helpful
when I was steered there by Mark Snyder via this forum or another a
few weeks back. If you explore just a bit, you see that the info
comes from the candidates, not the paper:
"About myVote
MyVote uses data from the Minnesota secretary of state to match
addresses to polling place and ballot information. Late changes by
county elections officials may not be reflected. A few rural township
polling places open later than 7 a.m. Questions about your ballot and
polling place should be directed to your local elections office.
MyVote includes city and school district races in the 11-county metro
area. Some school districts that have only a few precincts in the
metro area are not included.
Candidates were asked to:
Write a 45-word statement about their background.
List up to 10 endorsements they have received.
Write a 100-word essay about the issue that would be most important
to them if elected."
I don't know if the Star Tribune can be faulted if the candidates don't provide
information.
Fair or not, here was my initial take on the four candidates for the contested
Hennpen County Soil and Water seat after reading up on them in the Strib.
Richard A. Klatte - His most important issue is: "Global Warming. Making big
oil companies pay for cleaning the air, water, and soil they've destroyed."
Good luck taking down Big Oil on the Hennepin County Soil and Water Board!
Ben Torell - "Balancing the Preservation of our Natural Resources while
endorsing responsible enjoyment of the outdoors." He's also an ATV enthusiast
which just makes me wonder if he is an ATV activist too.
James Wisker - Has a "Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
and am currently employed as the Program Manager for the Regulatory Department
at Minnehaha Creek Watershed District." Hey, maybe we want someone actually
qualified for this position!
Rahn V. Workcuff - "I strongly agree that a marriage should be only between a
man and a woman. I am not in favor of same sex marriages. I strongly agree that
all MN residence should have affordable health insurance. even if it means new
or added cost to businesses. I strongly agree that we dont (sic) need anymore
increase in taxes, we are all ready being taxed to death." I didn't think that
stuff was in the job description...
Derek Burrows Reise
Longfellow, Mpls
Here are the endorsements for Hennepin County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors from The League of Pissed Off Voters (aka the League of Young Voters)--see http://theballot.org/2008/twincities for useful input on other down ballot races: "This race is AWKWARD," said one candidate. We couldn't agree more. It's nearly impossible to find out what they do, or why they’re running. YOU try calling Tom Peterson, District Manager: 651.266.7272. Most say they’ll make the lakes healthier using "Rain Gardens" (indigenous gardens that capture ground flow). Huh? Awkward. Soil and Water Supervisor District 3 James Wisker Endorsed Vote: Yes Wisker understands that rural and urban communities have different environmental problems, and believes in working in partnership with communities. Guess you can’t argue with that. Soil and Water Supervisor District 5 Endorsed Vote: No Endorsement Karl Hanson is an avid Ron Paul supporter and a patent lawyer, while Jeffery Beck is a thrice failed mayoral and county commissioner candidate who recommends getting kids out of foreign Chinese class so they can learn to mow the lawn. You choose. Stacey Burns Corcoran