Candidates, Politics and Policy, Posts & News, Posts, Blogs, and Links

Amberson and Chapin Run for Congress in Minnesota District 6

Posted on by Peter

Doug Chapin Runs for Congress in
Minnesota District Six

Doug Chapin

Statement from the Candidate:

“Doug Chapin is running to represent Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District after a long career as a nationally recognized expert and media commentator on democracy and elections. He spent nine years studying politics, government and law and has over 35 years of experience working in and around public service. Doug served as an attorney in Congress, represented clients in private law practice, and worked as an advocate for federal, state and local election reform nationwide – and built the nation’s first online certificate program in election administration for the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Doug and his partner Stephanie Tomlinson own Sweater Vest Strategies, a Minnesota-based policy research and advocacy firm. He also is the host of Civics Anonymous, a regular series of nonpartisan discussions on the inner workings of law and government behind the current headlines. Doug is the father of three adult children and lives in Hanover.”

[Website: https://www.chapinforcongress.com/]

Action, Candidates, External Organizations, Posts & News

EMERGENCY PROTEST ON OCTOBER 28TH

Posted on by D Jeanne
Wide Paint It Blue logo

Emergency Protest Tonight!

This is the message sent by email to our members yesterday. If you didn’t hear about it, you can learn more below.
 
As many of you are aware, our school board race in Anoka-Hennepin is seeing a huge amount of outside spending by groups who want to privatize our schools and turn them into culture war battlegrounds. Our friends at Indivisible are organizing an emergency protest tonight at the Coon Rapids Civic Center over a horrible speaker that the Parents Alliance has invited. Please see below and come support!
 
 
 

EMERGENCY POP-UP PROTEST TONIGHT – Tuesday, 10/28

 

Protest AGAINST dark money/FOR social studies as a necessity in education

 

WHERE: Coon Rapids Civic Center, 1387 111th Ave NW, Coon Rapids, MN

WHEN: Please plan on being there by 6:15 PM with the protest starting at 6:30 PM

PARKING: Park in the Civic Center parking lot & look for the people with signs!

The Parents Alliance, the group backing A-H school board candidates Audette, Strabala, and Coan has received an large donation of $157,000 for the candidates’ campaigns. This money has been traced back to the Center for the American Experiment, the Heritage Foundation, and ALEC, whose written mission statement is to destroy public education and replace it with voucher systems for private schools.

The Parents Alliance and their backers are having a speaker at the Coon Rapids Civic Center tonight at 7PM. The speaker is employed by the Center for the American Experiment and formerly by the Heritage Foundation, which are extreme right-wing think tanks/lobbyists. This speaker will be speaking AGAINST the teaching of social studies and ethnic studies in Anoka-Hennepin schools!

Background – current A-H Board members Audette, Arco, and Hoekman have blocked the adoption of new social studies materials and curriculum as required by the MN state curriculum standards. This raises the concern that Anoka-Hennepin students would not be able to graduate, as they would fail to meet  MN graduation standards.

This donation of $157K is a blatant attempt to buy the largest school district in MN. We cannot let them win!

Sign Ideas:

OUR SCHOOLS ARE NOT FOR SALE

DON’T WHITEWASH HISTORY

A-H BOARD MUST FOLLOW STATE GUIDELINES

SOCIAL STUDIES ARE IMPORTANT

Jaw-dropping, Posts & News, Unusual

A Triumphal Arch

Posted on by D Jeanne

Found in Mary L. Trump’s Substack column today (10/22/25). “There’s also been a lot of talk about the obscene, opulent, almost certainly to-be-gaudy ballroom that will be erected in place of the East Wing; a 90-thousand-square-foot monstrosity that will dwarf the rest of the White House. We were initially told that the project was going to cost $200 million, then $250 million; now it’s estimated to be $300 million. Donald has already told us he’s going to use some of the excess funds that have been raised from corporations like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta (you get the idea) to build a triumphal arch in his own honor.”

I didn’t post the above quote because of the ballroom “renovation” and its reported cost (i.e., the East Wing demolition), which are disturbing in themselves. Instead, I posted it because the highlighted words in the last sentence enough to choke on. Apparently, the first mentions of this arch came out about a week ago (at the New York Times website and Syracuse.com, among other internet sources), but I had not noticed the story. Just in case you are likewise uninformed, you will find sufficient information in the above column and via any quick internet search. Perhaps he now thinks he is Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Maybe the arch is a substitute for the Nobel Peace Prize. Either way, readers here should know about this plan. After what we have already seen, there is no reason the arch wouldn’t happen.

Action, Candidates, Political Ideas, Posts & News, Volunteer

Organizing the Last Mailing Before the November 4th Election

Posted on by D Jeanne

On October 18th, many members came to our Saturday Coffee Meet at Starbucks to pick up packets with mailing materials. These have been sent out to many residents within Senate District 31 in advance of the November 4th School Board election. Find out more about the election and our candidates elsewhere on this home page. We wish the best luck and well-deserved success to each one of them.

Posts & News

Things You Can To Help Americans Vote This November

Posted on by D Jeanne

Virginia voter gets election materials from polling station worker before voting in US presidential election, Nov. 8, 2016. Voice of America. Public Domain.

Things You Can To Help Americans Vote This November

Visit Mobilize.us for groups to join and activities you can do to assist the upcoming vote and other important issues.

From door knocking to phone banking and postcard writing to joining a meeting or podcast — there are many activities to choose from.

External Organizations, Jaw-dropping, Politics and Policy, Posts & News, Public Schools

7% of Minnesota School Board Members Petition to Ban Trans Students from High School Girls’ Sports

Posted on by D Jeanne

(Paraphrased from one of today’s Star Tribune newsletter emails:)

A growing number of school board members want Minnesota to reverse its transgender athlete policy. More than 150 school board members have signed a letter calling on the state to comply with a federal mandate that forbids transgender athletes from competing in high school girls sports.

After almost two days of circulation, the number of signees rose to about 7% of the state’s school board members on Tuesday, including large chunks of the boards in the Lakeville, Anoka-Hennepin, and Farmington districts.

Money is on the line, … Elliot Hughes reports. Officials warned that Minnesota could lose federal education funding if the state Department of Education and the MSHSL don’t change their policies by Friday.

“Every dollar really counts,” said Matt Swanson, chair of the Lakeville school board, who was a signee. “It’s a funding issue. I’m not trying to get on the soapbox.”

But in a response Tuesday to the members’ letter, state Attorney General Keith Ellison said complying with the federal government’s “bullying of transgender kids” would violate the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

[more at the Star Tribune]

Candidates, Posts & News, Public Schools, Your Representatives

League of Women Voters Forum Video Links for School Board Candidates Deschenes, Payeur, and Simon

Posted on by D Jeanne

Anoka-Hennepin ISD 11 School Board Candidates. Videos Produced by QCTV for the League of Women Voters

See the Home Page for Voting Information links

District 3: Kacy Deschenes. On YouTube. On the LWVMN website.

District 4: Abbey Payeur. On YouTube. On the LWVMN website.

District 6: Jeff Simon. On YouTube. On the LWVMN website.