It's been a few weeks since I've updated you all on my bid for mayor. Things have been moving forward and I'm getting a more complete picture of the overall process.

• I'm going to be buying one batch of signs to put up wherever I can. Signs for several of the other candidates have begun appearing and I'd like to get mine out there too.
• I received to questionaires in the mail from the newspapers. One from the MN Sun (Brooklyn Center paper) and the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) for their election coverage. The MN Sun was looking for a photo and offered to take one for me. I could have taken one myself, but to go through the process better, I will have them do that. I sent both questionaires in.
• I received a note from cable Channel 12 looking to do an interview. I'm calling them today to schedule my appointment to be interviewed.
• On August 22, I'll be attending a forum on politics in the digital age (the details aren't where I am right now).
• I'm drafting my letter to the editor of the Sun. I wanted to wait a bit to hear what the other candidates were going to say before drafting mine.
• I'd love to have someone redesign the campaign site, but won't be digging into my wallet to get it done.
• It's come to my attention that I haven't edited the entries on the campaign site properly before posting. That's an unfortunate side effect of a habit I've developed over here on this main site. Quite differently from more formal writing, when I write here, I pretty much post the first draft of everything. That's because, in most cases, taking the time to edit would actually result in just not bothering in the first place. So, I post what I do as an alternative to not posting anything rather than an alternative to posting perfection.

Overall, I'm impressed with the fact that, without spending a dime more than the filing fee so far, I'm getting completely equal access to newspapers, local cable TV, etc. While I've seen a few signs so far, they've been 90% for one candidate and not that many of them.

I'm also more resolute than ever to maintain a very "human" face in this campaign. I'm going to write here and on the candidate blog and in any published communication in a very "verbal" style. I'm perfectly capable of writing polished political rhetoric. However, there are at least 3 other candidates doing exactly that. They're all making their best effort to sound like politicians.

However, they also have about 20 years on me in age and 20 years of additional community involvement. That means that if I try to run on their terms, I will certainly lose. Now, I still might lose, but it's the difference between certain defeat for doing it the "normal" way and *potential* defeat by speaking to the voters as a regular person.

We'll see.

Today, I left work early (using some of the banked travel time from this weekend) and started the actual work of running for mayor.

The newspaper notice that I was going from in planning to do this stated that I needed to file between July 5 and July 18 at City Hall. Since City Hall is only open from 8:00am to 4:30pm, today was the first time I could actually get down there.

So, I made sure I had $5 in cash, a check and my usual credit card, to make sure that payment method wouldn't get in the way of filing. I got to City Hall at about 3:15 or so and told the front desk person what I was there to do. She sent out the city clerk who greeted me with a huge smile. My general impression is that she really likes this part of her job.

She handed me an affidavit of candidacy to fill out, and explained what was relevant and what wasn't. Minnesota apparently uses the same form for pretty much all political offices. For mayor, several of the fields weren't relevant and it ended up being little more than my name (as I want it on the ballot), the office I'm seeking, my address and my campaign address information. A quick signature and notary stamp later and the paperwork was done.

She then went through a thick folder full of the information I'll need between now and November. The most critical piece were the bits about keeping track of the money. This is the bit I was most concerned with and why I stated "no" money when I originally mentioned this whole idea. I didn't/don't want to have to open a checking account for the campaign or set up a legal entity specifically for it, etc. All of that is precluded if I don't spend or receive more than $750, which gives me room to do a few buttons, signs etc. (which will make doing this a bit more fun and useful) without fundraising or too much paperwork.

Regardless of how much I spend, I have to say that a few different times along the way, but that's not a big deal as I can fax it in instead of going in in person.

As part of my actual campaign, I've set up a subdomain at http://mayor2006.wynia.org, where the campaign-specific information will sit. As I'm not actually paying directly for that web hosting, I'm going to note it and check on the campaign finance rules for whether it needs to be reported or not.

There are a few things on the agenda next.

• I was contacted by someone at the Independence Party about talking to the mayor of a nearby suburb about the whole process. I'm definitely interested in what he's got to say.
• Technically, mayor is a non-partisan office, but I am a member of the Independence Party and want to use the opportunity to further the goals of the IP. I need to talk to the person at the IP about my candidacy and how it relates to the party itself.
• Put together a site at the new domain.
• Whip up a few bits of collateral, including a sign for my own yard.
• Talk to my neighbors about my candidacy.
• Generally prepare to get past the primary in September.

I'm going over the paperwork to make sure I do this properly. I'm running for mayor of Brooklyn Center, the Minneapolis suburb I've been living in for the last year or so. I made the decision while sitting at the Earle Brown Days parade a couple of weeks ago and the decision has been cemented a bit more over the last few days.

• First, the current mayor has been in the job since 1995.
• Over the last month or so, I've seen an anecdotal rise in crime. Graffitti, a violent incident in a neighbor's yard and stolen cars being deposited on our street have all suddenly become a part of life here. These are the first incidents I've seen since moving here and my other neighbors who've lived here for 18 years say that it's always been quiet without incidents. I want to do some more digging to see if this is just anecdotal or is backed by stats, but my gut says it's a real rise. The parade shouldn't be the only time we see the police cars roll through the neighborhood.
• I think the ways that Brooklyn Center has used eminent domain is an abuse. One incident (that I won't cover right now as I don't yet have all of the facts) comes to mind that is not only an abuse of the policy, but seems to have targetted an immigrant business specifically.
• I want to go through the process and document it for others to read and understand.
• It only costs $5 to file and run. That makes the barrier of entry low. I do want to win, but even if I lose, it's a reasonable experiment and a good way to show the process from the inside.

Those things are the impetus for my candidacy, but I'll be spending the coming months making my positions/platform clearer as I get a better handle on the scope of authority for mayor.

I'll be filing as a member of the Independence party when I finish going through the paperwork and making sure everything is squared up.

I'm also going to run this campaign without spending money. I'm curious how far I'll get using only free tools and will be sharing the details of how this whole thing works.

FYI, Brooklyn Center is about 30,000 people an located just north of Minneapolis proper. And, since a couple of people have asked when I mentioned this in conversations in person, Jesse Ventura was mayor of the neighboring suburb: Brooklyn Park before running for governor.

Now I just need to read through the piles of campaign regulations to make sure I don't run afoul of anything accidentally. Then, it's down to the city office after work to plop down my Abe Lincoln and become an official candidate.