Fact: most adults across Minnesota will not vote in their local elections on Tuesday, Nov. 7. But that doesn’t mean many of those contests featured on ballots in several communities across the state are not as heated as they’ve ever been.
“Off-year” elections that are generally limited to school board and municipal races and referenda don’t tend to capture the attention of corporate mainstream media. But in a world that can increasingly feel more political by the day, those hyper-local races have become a hot topic on television news, radio talk shows and in traditional print media.
And those local races that are often thought of as non-partisan by nature have suddenly become hyper-political.
There are no less than one dozen school board races across the Twin Cities that will culminate with Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Throw in a few heated races for Minneapolis and St. Paul city councils, a referendum on ranked choice voting in Minnetonka, and a mayoral race in Duluth, and the media has something to talk about for the next few days. It’s also a somewhat busy year for school district referenda. More than 60 school districts across the state have placed a request on local ballots for voters to fund the capital improvement projects in 2023.
Stay with Alpha News throughout Tuesday and Wednesday for the latest on those local elections.
Do I have an election to vote for in my community?
Voters can utilize the Minnesota Secretary of State’s election website to find out whether they have an election taking place in their community on Nov. 7, 2023. Type in your zip code or county and then your address to find your polling location and a list of races and candidates on your ballot.
Battle for political control of school boards
Alpha News has delved into many of the controversial topics that school board candidates are talking about in their communities. Two of the biggest players in school board politics are Education Minnesota, the state’s teachers union, and the Minnesota Parents Alliance.
Education Minnesota’s endorsed candidates are here.
The Minnesota Parents Alliance’s endorsed candidates are here.
Here’s a rundown of our recent coverage:
Grassroots and partisan organizations recruit, vet and support candidates as they wrestle for control of school boards:
‘Off-year’ school board elections offer challenges, opportunities for new candidates
Campaign for control of state’s largest school district kicks off
The field is set for November school board races
Political consultants with DFL ties form new org to support school board candidates
Education Minnesota alarmed by ‘more and more contested races’ for school board
Teachers union drops over $80K on school board races in final days of campaign
A summary of candidate forums, election topics and endorsements in some of the most closely watched school board elections:
School board candidates debate SROs, library books and more in local forums
Bloomington School Board candidate, Ricardo Oliva, son of Twins legend, debunks ‘book ban’ claim
Left-wing candidates seek to take control of Minnetonka School Board
Podcasts and commentary
Politics at play in Anoka-Hennepin, Minnesota’s largest school district
Inside Mounds View Public Schools
Commentary: So you think you want a progressive school board?
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
